Two women receive probation on variety of charges

McCOOK, Neb. — Two women received probation for a variety of charges in Red Willow County District Court recently.

A North Platte woman received probation time on a pair of felony convictions for child abuse and possession of methamphetamine.

The woman, 31-year-old Melissa A. Romero, was originally facing five felony allegations, three misdemeanors and an infraction stemming from her arrest in March following a report of a drunk driver near Barnett’s Do-It Center in McCook.

The original charges included four Class 3A felonies each alleging child abuse without injury; a Class IV felony alleging possession of meth; two Class I misdemeanors each alleging she was carrying a concealed weapon; and an infraction alleging possession of drug paraphernalia.

Romero subsequently accepted a plea agreement admitting guilt to a Class 3A felony for child abuse without injury, and with multiple victims, and a Class IV felony for possession of meth, while dismissing the other allegations. During a sentencing hearing last month she was ordered to serve 30 months probation on the pair of felony convictions.

Romero was arrested by a Red Willow County Sheriff’s Deputy in March following a report of an orange colored 1978 Ford Mustang, “all over the road,” and headed south on U.S. Highway 83. Romero was a passenger in the vehicle along with her four children.

According to court documents, while the responding law enforcement officer was conducting a sobriety test on the driver, identified as 29-year-old Alfonso V. Romero, he noticed what appeared to be track marks from drug use and recently dried blood on the man’s left arm. “I believed that Mr. Romero had just injected an unknown substance into his arm prior to being stopped and that this unknown substance had yet to take effect on Alfonso,” according to the officer’s narrative of the incident.

A subsequent search of the vehicle found an uncapped needle containing a brownish liquid stuffed under the passenger seat where Melissa Romero previously sat. A 22 caliber Beretta handgun was also found in her purse, along with a used syringe, a pill bottle containing oxycodone pills and two baggies of a white crystallized substance containing methamphetamine. The second concealed weapon charge Romero originally faced stemmed from an SKS rifle found in the vehicle.

A third needle was found in a cigarette pack on the driver’s side of the vehicle and a spoon covered in the same brown liquid was found in the center console of the vehicle, according to court documents.

Three additional used needles were found under the passenger seat, prompting law enforcement officers to postpone the rest of the search for safety reasons amid concerns of being stuck with uncapped needles.

Alfonso Romero was arrested on charges including DUI drugs; driving left of center; possession of meth; child abuse; possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony; possession of a concealed weapon; possession of drug paraphernalia; and possession of legend drugs.

A Bartley woman facing felony charges in two unrelated criminal cases was sentenced to probation time after accepting a plea agreement dismissing most of the charges and reducing two remaining offenses to misdemeanors.

The woman, 36-year-old Mindi Y. Relaford, was originally arrested in January of 2016 on fourth offense DUI and second offense refusal charges, in addition to allegations of willful reckless driving, according to the appearance bond. Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood subsequently pursued a Class 3A felony alleging third offense DUI (.15+); a Class W misdemeanor alleging Relaford refused a chemical test; and a Class V misdemeanor alleging she refused a preliminary breath test.

Relaford subsequently pleaded not guilty to the charges in June of 2016 and three months later, while awaiting an upcoming motion hearing, she was arrested on new charges alleging she stole a pickup from a man giving her a ride home from a local bar.

Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood subsequently pursued a Class IV felony alleging theft by unlawful taking ($1500-$5000) and a Class 3 misdemeanor alleging driving under suspension, before offering Relaford a plea agreement covering both criminal cases.

The plea agreement reduced the Class 3A felony alleging third offense DUI (.15+) to a Class W misdemeanor for second offense DUI, in addition to dismissing both misdemeanor offenses. It also reduced the Class IV felony alleging theft by unlawful taking (property valued between $1500-$5000) to a Class I misdemeanor for theft by unlawful taking (property valued between $500-$1500), and dismissed the misdemeanor alleging driving under suspension.

Relaford was subsequently sentenced last month to 24 months probation, ordered to pay a $500 fine and her driver’s license was revoked for 18 months, on the misdemeanor second offense drunk driving conviction. She was also sentenced to 10 days in jail, however, she was given credit for 10 days already served.

Relaford was similarly ordered to serve 24 months probation on the misdemeanor theft charge.

According to court documents, the stolen pickup’s owner told investigators he met Relaford at the Rocket Inn Bar in Indianola and later proceeded with her to a bar across the street. He said the two left in his pickup just before 10 p.m. and traveled on a county road just south of Bartley, where he pulled over to urinate. Shortly after he got out of the pickup, Relaford slid into the driver’s seat and drove off with the vehicle.

His pickup was later located by law enforcement officers near Relaford’s home in Bartley.

Relaford is also known as Mindi Baker and Mindi Holdcroft, according to court documents.