Twenty-year-old sent to prison after admitting PRS violations

April 24 saw a short criminal docket in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh. The Honorable James Kube sentenced two individuals, sustained a motion to withdraw a not guilty plea and two motions to continue.

Haiden Sleister, 22, who was ordered by Kube to reside at the Norfolk Rescue Mission when he appeared in March, admitted violating provisions of post-release supervision as part of a plea deal with Smith. In return, the prosecutor recommended one year of incarceration.

Kube revoked Sleister’s PRS and sentenced him to a one-year term of incarceration in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Corrections. Sleister was given credit for 81 days previously served. Kube ordered drug and alcohol treatment be provided during incarceration.

Sleister was sentenced by Kube in February 2023 to one year in the Antelope County Jail, to be followed by an 18-month stint of PRS, on a conviction of criminal attempt, possession of a stolen firearm, a Class 3A felony. He allegedly violated the PRS when he was arrested earlier this year in Madison County.

Sleister was remanded to the custody of Antelope County sheriff Bob Moore for execution of sentence. He was represented by court-appointed counsel, Bradley Ewalt of Norfolk.

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Rowdy L. Burke, 52, of Elgin faced Kube for sentencing on a Class 4 felony charge of driving under revocation.

Kube allowed a letter from Burke’s employer to be attached as an addendum to the presentence report prepared by the Nebraska probation office. He has been employed at Elgin Livestock Market since 2020 and told the judge he drove to work when his wife wasn’t available to drive him.

His attorney, Martin Klein of Neligh, said his client had stopped drinking. requested deferral of the jail sentence so he could care for livestock during his employer’s upcoming absence from the sale barn.

Smith had no objection to a probation sentence nor to the deferred jail sentence.

Kube sentenced Burke to a 24-month term of probation. Terms of probation include 90 days in the Antelope County Jail, 60 days beginning April 27, with the remaining 30 days to be served prior to the end of probation unless waived. He was given credit for three days previously served. Burke was assessed probation-related fees totaling $750 and $138 costs of prosecution. Kube revoked his driver’s license for 15 years.

“Fifteen-year revocation is a long time, “ Kube said. “But I feel that in your situation, you try to make arrangements for

someone else to drive you, when it doesn’t work, you roll the dice. That’s a dangerous game to play. (You have to have backup arrangements. This is a felony for gosh sakes! You know better.”

Burke pleaded guilty to the crime Feb. 28, pursuant to a plea agreement with Antelope County Attorney Joe Smith. He was arrested by a Nebraska State Patrol trooper in Elgin on Nov. 14, 2023, on active arrest warrants from Lancaster and Saline counties and driving during revocation. He was into Year 13 of a 15-year revocation.

Kube continued bond, in the amount of $10,000, 10% cash. It was exonerated when he reported to the jail Friday morning.

“Don’t drive yourself to jail,” Kube warned.

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Joaquin Santos Escheverria, 28 of Brenham, Texas, (in custody ACJ) appeared on a motion to withdraw a not guilty plea he had entered in March. The motion, filed by Antelope County public defender Pat Carney, indicates there are “legitimate legal issues” for Escheverria’s plan to file a plea in abatement.

Kube sustained the motion and set an evidentiary hearing for May 29. The plea in abatement was ordered to be within 10 days. Bond is continued in the amount of $100,000, 10% cash, is continued.

A plea in abatement is a defense raised, not denying the claim, but arguing against its form or the timing or location of its presentation in court.

A defense request for continuance of a show-cause hearing on restitution was sustained for Trinity Graham. He told the judge he had recently been unemployed but was working to gain employment, “waiting on background checks at five places.”

Graham was ordered to pay restitution jointly and severly with others convicted in the 2022 break-ins at two Neligh businesses, Neligh Vape Shop and the Fit Stop.

Sentencing for Rider C. Short, 23, of Oakdale is continued to May 29, on Smith’s motion to allow restitution witnesses presence in court.

Short’s crimes include operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, a Class 4 felony, and unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Short was arrested July 4, 2023, in downtown Neligh, during the city’s 150th birthday/Old Mill Days celebration. Short was driving a Polaris Razor at a high rate of speed on L Street. The vehicle did not stop when a police officer attempted a traffic stop, with activated lights and siren, struck two lawn chairs and a wagon/stroller, collided with two trash dumpsters and, finally, the wall of the ESU building. Three individuals reported they had to climb a fence to avoid being hit.