District Court News

A sentencing hearing was held Thursday in Fourth Judicial District Court in Sheridan for a man who recently pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

Last year 28-year-old Kyle Barton was arrested and charged with multiple crimes for engaging in illegal activity with a minor between August 10 and August 18 of 2023. Barton was sentenced for the crimes of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree and sexual exploitation of a child at a hearing Thursday in District Court.

Citing the aggressive nature of the case, District Court Judge Darci Phillips rejected the terms of the plea agreement that the defendant reached with the State and sentenced Barton to 9 to 12 years in prison for each of the two charges. The sentences will run concurrent to one another. Barton was given credit for 242 days of time served for presentence confinement and was ordered to pay $525 in court costs and assessments. Restitution to the division of victim services in the amount of $790 and public defender fees in the amount of $750 were not assessed by the Court due to Barton’s inability to pay because of the prison sentence.

Also from Thursday’s District Court Docket:

A sentencing hearing for 34-year-old Crystal Jenkins of Sheridan was held Thursday in Fourth Judicial District Court. According to court documents, on September 1, 2023, Jenkins was arrested for endangering children and driving under the influence with a child passenger. Jenkins had methamphetamine in her purse with two children in the vehicle and she was under the influence of methamphetamine while driving the vehicle.

District Court Judge Darci Phillips accepted the terms of the plea agreement reached with the State, and sentenced Jenkins to 3 to 5 years in prison on the felony endangering children charge, suspended in lieu of three years of supervised probation and 180-days in jail for the misdemeanor DUI with a child present charge, suspended in lieu of one-year of probation. Both the sentences and probation will run concurrent to one another.

Jenkins was ordered to pay a total of $525 in court costs and assessments and $500 in public defender fees.