Sheridan Man Changes Plea on Interference Charge

A Change of Plea Hearing was held in Fourth Judicial District Court in Sheridan Tuesday for a man charged with Felony Interference With a Peace Officer. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details

22-year-old Nicholas Bell of Sheridan entered a plea of “guilty” to the charge of Interference With a Peace Officer, which is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The plea agreement reached with the State calls for a sentence of 2 to 4 years in prison, suspended in lieu of a split-sentence of 111 days in jail and two years of supervised probation. District Court Judge John Fenn ordered that a presentence investigation be completed and set sentencing for December 1 at 10:30 am.

According to court documents, the Interference charge stems from an incident that occurred on June 10 involving a vehicle that had been pulled over by an officer with the Sheridan Police Department. The driver of the vehicle was placed under arrest for Driving While Under the Influence.

During the stop, the officer noticed that Bell was hiding under the backseat of the vehicle, and while exiting the vehicle, Bell attempted to run through the officer and both Bell and the SPD officer sustained minor injuries from the fracus. Also while enroute to the Sheridan County Detention Center, Bell repeatedly slammed his head into the cage of the police car, causing a cut to the front of his forehead.