Jury trial set for Stromsburg woman

Katelynn Westley, also known as Katelynn Marker, 25, of Stromsburg faced the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on April 19, alongside her court-appointed attorney, Dennis Moreland of Norfolk. Westley is charged with three counts of disturbing the peace, each with a separate victim, all alleged Jan. 26. With no resolution reached, the case is set for jury trial. Antelope County Attorney Joe Smith estimated trial may take two days. He plans to call five witnesses and said evidence may include “computer record type things.” Taylor set jury selection and trial for June 2.

Jordan J. Knievel, 21, of Neligh appeared before Taylor, alongside Antelope County public defender Pat Carney, on three counts alleged April 2 in Neligh. Knievel’s charges include Count I, third-degree assault on a police officer, a Class 3A felony; Count II, false reporting, a Class 1 misdemeanor; and Count III, obstructing a police officer, also a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Carney requested a preliminary hearing be set on the felony charge. He said she faces a “companion case” in Madison ounty, where pretrial hearing is set June 26 and jury trial, July 11. He asked for the Antelope County hearing to be set after completion upcoming of treatment. Taylor set the hearing June 7. Bond, posted April 3, in the amount of $10,000, 10%, is continued. Knievel’s bond in the Madison County case was amended by the Honorable James Kube on June 18, allowing her admission to Valley Hope Treatment Center in O’Neill on June 19. She is ordered to reside with her parents in Neligh if she leaves the facility.

Austin R. Bertschinger, 30, of Oakdale faced Taylor for a status hearing on a count of possession of a controlled substance, tramadol, a Class 4 felony. Smith reduced the charge, “based on circumstances of the event,” to attempted possession of a controlled substance, a Class 1 misdemeanor. The amended charge carries a penalty of up to a $1,000 fine and/or one year imprisonment. Bertschinger pleaded guilty to the amended charge.

Taylor ordered Bertschinger to obtain a substance abuse evaluation from a certified drug counselor. Smith asked Taylor to use the police report in lieu of a presentence investigation report for sentencing, along with amendment of bond conditions to include drug testing at the request of law enforcement and for Bertschinger to be tested that day. Taylor ordered a test before he left the courtroom but told the defendant a positive test would not send him to jail. She said courthouse internet issues prevented review of bond conditions at the time. Sentencing is set June 7. Bond posted Dec. 11, 2022, in the amount of $1,000, 10%, was continued, with amendment adding the drug-testing condition.

Bertschinger is represented by Carney. He was arrested Dec. 10, 2022, by an Antelope County deputy, on the Madison-Antelope County line near Tilden, after a bottle of tramadol was found in the purse of a passenger during a search of his vehicle. According to a probable-cause affidavit filed by the officer, Bertschinger claimed the drug and told officers it was given to him by his grandmother for a dog bite he had suffered the previous day.

Shane Sleister, 48, of Oakdale pleaded not guilty to a Village of Oakdale public nuisance charge. Smith recommended continuing the case to allow Sleister time to continue clearing the property. “The case may be dismissed as soon as he finishes,” the county attorney said. Taylor set pretrial hearing May 17. Sleister is self-represented.

Smith dismissed a Village of Oakdale nuisance complaint he had filed March 29 against Tom Wilkinson of Oakdale and waived costs.