Woman who allegedly had duo stab her gets prison
Apr 19, 2012, 7:24 PM
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska woman has been sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly having two male acquaintances stab her so she could get out of going to a probation appointment _ a scheme the judge described as taking “stupid to an extreme.”
Jessalyn Stierwalt, Scott Roberson-Turman and Jerry Duke II, each pleaded no contest to misdemeanor obstruction of government operations in exchange for reduced charges, the Beatrice Daily Sun reported (
http://bit.ly/JMmwRe). Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund on Wednesday sentenced Stierwalt and Roberson-Turman to a year in prison, each.
Duke’s sentencing, which was scheduled for Thursday, was postponed until May 17.
Prosecutors allege that Stierwalt, of Beatrice, asked Roberson-Turman, of Fairbury, and Duke, of Beatrice, to stab her in the abdomen and shoulder last July so she could avoid going to a probation appointment the next morning because she needed time to “sober up.”
Korslund sentenced Stierwalt and Roberson-Turman to the maximum possible term for the offense, rejecting Stierwalt’s request for leniency.
“You have taken doing something stupid to an extreme that I don’t think I’ve seen before,” Korslund told Stierwalt. “I’ve thought about how to describe this, and the word `stupid’ just keeps coming back.”
He said Stierwalt was shown leniency when prosecutors dropped a felony conspiracy charge to a misdemeanor.
Korslund gave Stierwalt credit for 112 days in jail awaiting trial. She’ll be eligible for parole in about three months. Roberson-Turman will be eligible for parole in about six months.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as one for sentencing purposes.
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Information from: Beatrice Sun,
http://www.beatricedailysun.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)