CUSTER COUNTY— Three felony cases were heard in Custer County Court on Monday, May 20 with one of those three bound over to District Court.
Shawn Lundry, 41 of Berwyn, is facing one count of tampering with physical evidence (class IV felony) and will be taking his case to Custer County District Court after a preliminary hearing was held. Lundry is being accused of deleting messages on a cell phone that was allegedly used in communication with an underage girl by Shawn Lundry’s son, Phil. Phil Lundry has already been arraigned in District Court and is facing a maximum sentence of 152 years if found guilty of multiple charges that include 1st degree sexual assault of a minor.
During the preliminary hearing, Broken Bow Police Officers David Taylor and Shane Fiorelli took the stand to be questioned by Country Attorney Steve Bowers and Shawn Lundry’s Attorney James Duncan on what took place concerning the phone.
According to the officers, Shawn Lundry went into the Broken Bow Police Department, approached Officer Fiorelli, and claimed that he was the one that “black-listed the phone” and not his son. The phone in question was taken by officers during a search warrant on January 8, 2019. When an investigator went to download the information from the phone, the messages had been deleted while phone calls, apps, etc. were still found on the phone.
During arguments, Duncan said that while the phone may have belonged to Shawn Lundry there was no definition as to what “black-listed” meant when he talked to officers. As this was a preliminary hearing only probably cause is needed to advance the case to District Court. Judge Tami Schendt ruled that there was enough evidence to bind the case over to Custer County District Court and set the case for arraignment on June 13 at 9:30 AM.
Branden Miller, 26 of Schuyler, could face the rest of his life in prison if found guilty of 1st degree sexual assault of a child (class IB felony) from the summer of 2017. Miller, appeared in court via video conference for his first appearance where he was appointed the public defender, Michael Borders, to represent him in the case. A personal recognizance bond was set with orders to have no contact with the alleged victim. A preliminary hearing has been set for June 10 at 3 PM.
Trent Royle, 24 of Broken Bow, made his first appearance via video conference while facing alleged charges of terroristic threats (class IIIA felony), false imprisonment (class IIIA felony), and 3rd degree domestic assault (class I misdemeanor). Gary Peterson has been assigned to represent Royle in the case which has been set for preliminary hearing on June 10 at 2:30 PM. Bond was set at 10% of $75,000 with a no contact order with the alleged victim.
