CUSTER COUNTY— Custer County District Court was back in session for September with a handful of felony criminal cases on the docket.
Brandon Miller, 27 of Broken Bow, appeared in court on charges of alleged 1st-degree sexual assault of a child (class IB felony) and two counts of cruelty to an animal (each a class IIIA felony).
Before being arraigned on the aforementioned charges, a competency evaluation was presented to the court where it stated that Miller was competent to stand trial. Miller’s attorney, Gary Peterson, stated that a plea agreement had been offered that morning, but his client had not made the decision at that time if he would accept the offer.
Miller pled not guilty to all three charges and the case was set for jury trial to begin on October 26 at 9 AM. A pretrial conference was also scheduled for September 10 at 10 AM. If Miller is found guilty of all alleged charges, he could face a minimum of fifteen years and a maximum of life in prison for the alleged sexual assault charge.
Miller would also be required to register as a sex offender and would be under supervised release for the remainder of his life. The cruelty to animal charges each carries a no minimum prison sentence, but a maximum of three years in prison along with being subject to fines up to $10,000 for each charge.
Kreig Youngwolfe, 37 of Ansley, was arraigned on four alleged charges including two charges of terroristic threats (each a class IIIA felony), obstruction of a peace officer (class I misdemeanor), and aggravated (BAC .15 or higher) driving under the influence of alcohol-2nd offense (class I misdemeanor). Youngwolfe pled not guilty to all four alleged charges and his case was set for a jury trial to begin on October 26 at 9 AM with a pretrial conference scheduled for September 10 at 10 AM.
Youngwolfe could be incarcerated up to eight years, be subject to his license being revoked, and be fined over $20,000 if found guilty of all charges.
Daniel Haines, 41 of Ansley, pled no contest on Thursday to one charge of 3rd-degree domestic assault (class I misdemeanor) after taking a plea deal. Haines had initially been charged with strangulation and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, but through the plea deal, those two charges were dismissed.
According to the factual basis read by Custer County Attorney Steve Bowers, on October 25, 2019, the Custer County Sherriff’s Office responded to a call in Ansley of a domestic situation. According to Bowers, Haines and the victim had gotten into an argument where the victim used a board to smash in the windshield on Haines’ vehicle. Haines then caused injuries to the victim, which resulted in soreness to the victim’s throat and a bruise on the cheekbone. Bowers also stated that there had been alcohol involved in the incident.
Haines will now be back in court on October 22 at 10 AM for sentencing. Judge Karin Noakes ordered Haines to complete a presentence report with the probation office before sentencing in October.
