Richard E. Brass, Jr. was arraigned in Custer County District Court on Thursday, April 23rd. On March 30th, Brass was charged with possession of a controlled substance–methamphetamine, a Class IV felony. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge and Judge Karin Noakes set a jury trial in the case for June 15th. Defense attorney Matt Furrow also requested a bond hearing for Brass. Bond is currently $100,000 with 10% privilege. Furrow asked the bond be reduced to $20,000 with 10% privilege. The State objected to a bond reduction as Brass was out on bond for another criminal charge when arrested in this case. Judge Noakes denied the bond reduction motion due to the defendant violating his previous bond’s conditions. Brass was remanded back to the custody of the Custer County Sheriff.
Thursday afternoon a bench trial was held in District Court for Virgilio Moran Rivera, age 54 of Lexington. In January of this year, the defendant pleaded not guilty to charges of assault by strangulation, a Class IIIA felony, and 3rd degree assault, a Class I misdemeanor, and requested a bench trial in the case rather than a jury trial. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in May 2025. After hearing evidence in the case and determining the facts, Judge Noakes found Moran Rivera not guilty on both counts.
