Sentencing was handed down on Thursday, November 12th in Custer County District Court for Jared J. Meister, age 40 of Rising City. Judge Karin Noakes sentenced the defendant to two years probation and ordered restitution be made to Mitch and Roxanne Huggins in the amount of $5,000. A plea agreement was reached in the case in October. At that time, 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, Meister changed his previous plea from not guilty to no contest. In August of 2025, Meister pleaded not guilty to the original charge of theft by unlawful taking in an amount of 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 information shared in court during sentencing, civil cases are pending in the matter.
Louis E. Keezer, age 37 of Ansley, appeared in District Court for arraignment in two separate cases that were filed in August of this year. Keezer is charged in one case with possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, a Class IV felony. In the other case, the defendant faces three counts—2nd degree sexual assault with a dangerous instrument, a Class IIA felony; failure to stop and render aid, a Class III felony; and willful reckless driving, a Class III misdemeanor. Keezer pleaded not guilty to all charges and Judge Noakes set jury trials for February 8, 2027. A pretrial conference will be held in January of 2027.
Appearing remotely for arraignment was Shawn E. Boger, age 36 of Iowa. The State announced that a plea agreement had been reached in the case and Boger pleaded no contest to a charge of criminal attempt, a Class IIIA felony. Judge Noakes found him guilty of the charge and sentenced him to two years at the Nebraska Department of Corrections. He was also ordered to pay restitution to Country Partners in the amount of $1,150, Evans Feed in the amount of $150, and $580 to Jim’s Bar. Boger has been charged in several Nebraska counties for a string of burglaries that occurred in August of 2023.
A hearing on a motion to dispose of evidence in the case of State v. Trenton R. Esch was heard in District Court on Thursday. Judge Noakes sustained the request that will allow firearms and ammunition as listed in the motion to be destroyed.
