Opinion ID: 1808114
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Criminal Mischief Complaint

Text: In late June 1986, Rhodes and Speer met in Rhodes' office to discuss the damage to the drive-in theater. Speer testified that Rhodes talked to him at the cafe and asked Speer to come to the office. Speer went to Rhodes' office the next day. During their conversation, Rhodes said, I'm sure by now you figured I'm the one that was leaving you the gifts. Rhodes' recollection was that when he spoke with Speer about the drive-in theater incident, Speer admitted it. Rhodes said he would file a charge and dismiss it at the end of the summer if Speer stayed out of trouble. According to Rhodes this was a standard practice of his. The record shows that Rhodes made the same agreement with the defendant in State v. Chris Mills. Rhodes also suggested that Speer think about going to college. During this conversation, Rhodes also asked Speer to go to a concert in Omaha with Rhodes and Mr. and Mrs. Carl Speer. Rhodes said he would pay for the trip. Speer's version of the conversation was that Rhodes talked about being friends with Speer's older brother, Carl Speer, who was a police captain in Broken Bow. According to Speer, Rhodes said, Well, your brother is running for sheriff and I am helping him run, and too many people know about this deal up at the drive-in, so if I don't file charges against you it will look bad for your brother when the election comes around. Speer testified that Rhodes said he would forget everything else that was involved in the deal and would charge Speer with criminal mischief. Speer also stated that Rhodes told him to ask for a continuance when the hearing date came up, that Rhodes would ask for a continuance when it came up again, and that Rhodes would drop the charge after it kind of fades out of everybody's mind. Speer claimed that Rhodes told him he would not need an attorney because the charge was going to be dropped. On July 3, 1986, Rhodes filed a complaint for criminal mischief in the Custer County Court against Speer (docket 38, No. 684) for the incident at the drive-in theater which occurred June 4, 1986. Rhodes testified that although other individuals were involved in the incident, he filed the charge against Speer because Speer's car had been traced. Another factor Rhodes considered was that Speer was in his twenties and was an Army veteran; the other individuals were younger and included juveniles.