Jared J. Meister, age 39 of Rising City, appeared in Custer County District Court on Thursday, October 1st, for a pretrial hearing. John Icenogle, the defendant’s attorney, informed the Court that a plea agreement with the State had been reached in the case. In exchange for the charge being amended to theft by unlawful taking in the amount of over $1,500 but under $5,000, a Class I misdemeanor, the defendant changed his previous plea from not guilty to no contest. In August of 2025, Meister entered a plea of not guilty to the original charge of theft by unlawful taking in an amount over $5,000, a Class IIA felony. The case stems from an investigation into the disappearance of a blonde bison bull belonging to Mitch and Roxanne Huggins, owners of the Comstock Premier Lodge located in Custer County. According to the Nebraska State Patrol investigator in the case, a guest at the lodge had seen a blonde bison bull mount at a taxidermy in Schuyler, Nebraska and been told that the mount belonged to an individual named Meister. Further investigation led a Nebraska State Patrol investigator to believe Meister had committed the crime. Judge Karin Noakes ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for November 12th.
Plea Agreement Reached in Meister Case
