Pubdate: Sun, 03 Sep 2006
Source: Fremont Tribune (NE)
Copyright: 2006 Fremont Tribune.
Contact:  http://www.fremontneb.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2512
Author: Russ Krebs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TWO CASES, TWO DIFFERENT OUTCOMES

If you were going to plead guilty to a crime, would you rather be 
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor charge?

Misdemeanor, right?

Perhaps not.

Consider the cases of two Fremont men - Nathan D. Peterson and David W. Cress.

Peterson pleaded guilty to a felony and was sentenced to 10 months in 
a county jail.

Cress, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was sentenced to a 
maximum of one year in prison.

In late March, a Dodge County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled Peterson 
over after he turned into the Meadowbrook Trailer Court for not using 
a turn signal. According to court records, Peterson, 27, and Cress, 
36, got out of the vehicle and walked away from the deputy.

Deputies then found a cigarette package with 22 grams of 
methamphetamine on the ground in the path where the two men were had 
walked. In searching the vehicle, deputies found a syringe behind the 
seat in which Cress was sitting. Five others were found in Peterson's 
possession, along with $780 cash.

Initially, each man was charged with possession of a controlled 
substance-methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, a Class ID 
felony; possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine, a Class 
IV felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction.

Peterson also was charged with possession of money to facilitate the 
delivery of a controlled substance, a Class IV felony, and failure to 
signal, an infraction.

Through a plea agreement, Cress pleaded guilty in Dodge County Court 
to an amended charge of attempted possession of a controlled 
substance-methamphetamine, a Class I misdemeanor.

All other charges were dropped.

In a separate plea agreement, Peterson pleaded guilty in Dodge County 
District Court to possession of a controlled 
substance-methamphetamine, a Class IV felony.

"(The methamphetamine) wasn't found on anyone, so we thought having 
them plead to attempted possession and possession was a fair way to 
resolve it," said Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan.

He said Cress was offered the misdemeanor charge because Cress had 
agreed to testify against Peterson in District Court if Peterson's 
case went to trial.

"Law enforcement had some intelligence information that Mr. Peterson 
was involved in some drug activity," Vaughan said.

Both men had lengthy arrest records - 10 pages long for Peterson, 
including several marijuana possession charges, driving under the 
influence of drugs, obstructing a peace officer and the felonies of 
burglary and flight or escape. Various driving charges also are on 
Peterson's record.

Cress' criminal record includes a previous charge of possession of a 
controlled substance-amphetamine, a Class IV felony. He also was 
previously arrested for possession of marijuana, obstructing a peace 
officer, fugitive from justice and a protection order violation. 
Cress also has had various driving charges.

"I would say they had very similar criminal histories," Vaughan said. 
"Neither were strangers to the courts."

Regardless of how similar their records are, Peterson pleaded guilty 
to a felony in Dodge County District Court while Cress pleaded guilty 
to a misdemeanor in Dodge County Court.

Peterson was sentenced to 10 months in Dodge County Jail out of a 
maximum penalty of up to five years by Judge John Samson in Dodge 
County District Court.

Cress was sentenced to the maximum of one year in prison - two months 
longer than Peterson for a felony - for his Class I misdemeanor by 
Dodge County Judge Kenneth Vampola.

The code of ethics for judges restricts comments they can make on 
sentences. Peterson was contacted at the Madison County Jail where he 
is serving his sentence, but would not comment. A request to 
interview Cress at the Nebraska State Penitentiary was unsuccessful.

"We hoped (Peterson) would have gotten a longer sentence than a 
person with a misdemeanor," Vaughan said. "I usually hope that with a 
felony conviction, a person who is not getting probation get at least 
a year so it's a strike toward a habitual criminal (enhancement)."

People with at least two felony convictions that were sentenced to at 
least one year in prison on each conviction face a mandatory sentence 
of at least 10 years in prison with a subsequent felony conviction. 
That sentence must run consecutively with any other sentence.
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