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Attempted possession charge nets jail time
McCOOK, Neb. -- A McCook man previously convicted in Red Willow County for attempting to distribute a controlled substance received jail time last week for attempting to possess methamphetamine.
The offender, 25-year-old George Blankenship of 1407 West 16th Street, was sentenced to 90 days in jail on the misdemeanor offense and given credit at sentencing for 12 days already served. His court costs were also waived by Red Willow County District Court Judge David Urbom.
Blankenship accepted a plea agreement in May reducing a Class IV felony alleging possession of methamphetamine to a Class I misdemeanor offense for attempted possession of meth. The plea also dismissed charges in an unrelated case; including a second felony meth possession charge and an infraction alleging possession of drug paraphernalia.
The dismissed charges stemmed from Blankenship's arrest in August of 2015 following a search warrant of his West 16th Street residence. He was arrested after a syringe found in the front right pocket of the shorts he was wearing tested positive for meth and was accompanied by a metal straw believed to be used for snorting, according to court documents.
The attempted possession offense Blankenship was ultimately convicted on stemmed from a more recent arrest following a search warrant of 1411 West 15th Street in McCook. A baggie containing a crystal substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine, found in a dental floss container led to the initial felony charge.
The search warrant was looking for Work Ethic Camp clothing belonging to escaped inmate Andrew Blume who fled the McCook facility on Dec. 11, 2015, according to court documents.
The clothing was not recovered and Blankenship and Joshua Lytle of 1604 West 4th No. 49 were subsequently arrested on felony drug charges. Lytle accepted a similar plea agreement admitting guilt to attempted possession of meth and was sentenced to probation in May.
Blankenship has a history of drug and alcohol arrests in Red Willow County. In May of 2013 he received jail time after a previous probation sentence was revoked on a variety of violations.
The probation sentence stemmed from a 2010 conviction on a Class IV felony for attempting to distribute a controlled substance. The charge stemmed from his arrest in 2008 after he sold an ounce of marijuana to a confidential informant under the surveillance of the Nebraska State Patrol.
Less than a month following the 2010 conviction Blankenship was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol; possessing an open alcohol container and for procuring alcohol to a minor. The procuring alcohol charge was not pursued and Blankenship was subsequently sentenced to four days in jail and fined $100 on the other two offenses. He would later be sentenced to four days in jail and ordered to complete the Work Ethic Camp program for the convictions violating his probation in the felony case.
In March of 2013 Blankenship's probation in the felony conviction was revoked and he was sentenced to 240 days in jail for missing probation appointments, testing positive for marijuana and failing to follow aftercare recommendations from his 2011 completion of the WEC program.