District Court News

A Sheridan man charged with two felonies changed his plea at a hearing Tuesday in Fourth Judicial District Court. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

In May this year, 22-year-old Hunter Weiss was arrested and charged with first degree sexual assault and strangulation of a household member. .Pursuant to terms of a plea agreement reached with the State, Weiss, at a hearing Tuesday in District Court, pleaded guilty to the strangulation charge. In exchange for the guilty plea, the State agreed to dismiss the first degree sexual assault charge.

The State is recommending a sentence of 4 to 7 years in prison, suspended in lieu of a split-sentence of seven months in jail followed by three years of supervised probation. The plea agreement is non-binding, meaning the Judge can reject the plea deal altogether at sentencing. The guilty plea entered by Weiss Tuesday is an Alford plea, which is a guilty plea where the defendant maintains their innocence, but admits that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial.

District Court Judge Darci Phillips ordered that a presentence investigation be completed by probation and parole and scheduled sentencing for February 13 at 9 am. Bond was continued under the same terms and conditions that were previously set in Circuit Court.

Also from Tuesday’s docket in District Court:

A 30-year-old Sheridan man was sentenced to prison for the charge of aggravated assault and battery. District Court Judge Darci Phillips accepted the terms of the plea agreement reached with the State and sentenced Steven Parker to 4 to 6 years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $5,798.15. Parker was also assessed $325 in court costs and fees and was given credit for 10 days served of presentence confinement. According to court documents, Parker was charged with the crime for an incident on April 29, 2023, where he caused severe bodily injury to an individual by cutting the man’s face with a box cutter. The lacerations required a total of 48 stitches to address the wounds on the victim’s face.

At an arraignment hearing, 30-year-old Jake Kolden entered a not guilty plea to the charge of felony possession of a controlled substance for allegedly being in possession of more than three grams of methamphetamine. Judge Phillips scheduled a three-day jury trial to begin Monday, April 1, 2024. A pretrial conference will take place February 29 at 10:30 am in District Court. Felony possession of a controlled substance is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Kolden was arrested for the crime on September 22 following a search of his home by an agent with Probation and Parole and a deputy with the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office. Kolden was on probation for a felony conviction in 2022. On November 15 of last year, Kolden was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison for the charge of strangulation of a household member. The prison sentence was suspended in lieu of a split-sentence of 120 days in jail followed by three years of supervised probation.