Suspect in Theft of Sheriff’s Vehicle Wants To Keep Case In County Court

Bird Roy Nightwalker, 39, of Clinton, Oklahoma, appeared in Jefferson County Court on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, via webcam. The defendant is currently in custody. Linda Bauer was the presiding judge.Nightwalker is charged with theft by unlawful taking, with a value greater than $5,000, making the charge a class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He is accused of allegedly stealing a Sheriff's vehicle from the parking lot of the Jefferson County Law Enforcement Center.The Alleged IncidentAt approximately 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 18, 2021, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Grundy County Sheriff's Office (GSCO) in Missouri about a Jefferson County Patrol vehicle that had been parked and abandoned on the side of the road outside of Trenton, Missouri.According to a press release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, “It was then realized that a spare patrol vehicle, one that was not actively driven by a deputy, was missing from the parking lot of the Jefferson County Law Enforcement Center. With the assistance of the Jefferson County Computer IT department, we were able to retrieve clear footage of the incident.”Surveillance revealed that, on the evening before, December 17, at approximately 9:30 p.m., a male suspect on foot attempted to gain access to vehicles around the Law Enforcement Center building before entering a patrol vehicle and eventually driving away.A surveillance photo was circulated on social media. The GSCO warned the public, “If you see the suspect, do not try to apprehend him but please call 911.”After a joint investigation with GSCO, the suspect was identified as Bird Roy Nightwalker, of Oklahoma. At 12:57 p.m., GSCO posted an that included a description of the suspect as Native American, age 39, 6 feet 4 inches in height and weighing 230 pounds. GSCO also warned, “Nightwalker has an extensive criminal history and is known to be violent. If you see Nightwalker do not try to apprehend him, but call 911. In addition, please make sure your home and vehicles are secure and check on friends and family in the area.”The suspect's criminal history includes charges in Oklahoma and Montana.Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi said, “It (the vehicle) was found during the investigation Nightwalker had an acquaintance in Trenton, Missouri. We believe the patrol vehicle ran out of gas, resulting in Nightwalker abandoning the patrol vehicle and meeting up with his acquaintance until eventually turning himself in to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office.”Nightwalker waived extradition and was transferred to the custody of Jefferson County.The vehicle has been returned to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff noted, “There is minor damage to the vehicle where it appears he side swiped a pole but the vehicle is still operational.”District CourtBecause the charge is a felony, the defendant has the right to a preliminary hearing, to determine if there is sufficient evidence to transfer the case over to District Court, where felonies are heard. The defendant is represented by Public Defender Scott Gropp, who told the court, “So my client's willing to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in exchange for investigative reports from the state.”However, Gropp said, “As the Court's aware, we don't have a District Court judge on a fairly regular basis, and if there is any possibility that we can work something out for bond, either reduction or some type of pretrial release for treatment for Mr. Nightwalker's alcohol issues, then we'd like to keep it in county court so that we have a judge who's more available.”Jefferson County's District Court Judge, Vicky Johnson, retired at the end of January, 2022. Until a replacement is found, Jefferson County will have to rely on judges from other counties.Gropp indicated the defendant had recently moved to Fairbury and was living with a friend.“My client is a Marine veteran. He was going through a divorce in Oklahoma and moved up here,” said Gropp. “They were in the Marines together. He works here in town.”Gropp said, “So what he's asking for is to be able to be placed on some type of pretrial release with an ankle monitor, so he can receive treatment.”Safekeeper StatusNightwalker is currently being held at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln. The Nebraska Department of Corrections houses inmates from other counties for a variety of reasons. The Jefferson County Jail is a minimum to medium security facility which is not equipped to handle a high-risk inmate. These are called “safekeeper” inmates.“He does indicate that the 'safekeeper' status that he's been under at D&E (Diagnostic and Evaluation) has, he believes, impaired his ability to receive any type of program up there. He's had difficulty reaching out to get some type of evaluation. He's had difficulty reaching me,” said Gropp. “So he just feels that during his time as a ‘safekeeper' at D&E, everything is moving rather slowly. And the quarantine rules, they're such that he doesn't feel like he's receiving a fair shot at meeting with me, talking about events, and he would like to ask for a pretrial release or pretrial treatment.”Jefferson County does offer a pretrial release program. However, County Attorney Joseph Casson told the Court, “Given his status as a flight risk, he would not be eligible for our pretrial release. If he wants to go into treatment, he's obviously going to need an evaluation. And we can easily modify his bond, transporting directly to treatment, if that can be arranged.”Casson added, “As far as putting him on an ankle monitor, our office, I don't think, is prepared to monitor someone who's a flight risk.”The defendant's name was originally misspelled when he was booked as Byrd R. Nightwalker. Gropp said, “My client also indicates that because he was booked in under a misspelled name…”The judge interrupted, “We fixed that last time.”The misspelling was noted at a previous hearing and current court documents show the correct spelling.Gropp said, “Well, evidently, it's still probably at D&E because things that are being mailed to him by family are being refused because of the spelling of his name. I'm going to work on trying to sort that out as well.”The Judge's DecisionJudge Bauer said she was unwilling to lower the bond at this time, “So I'm inclined to continue bond as previously set. I would consider, you know, modifying his bond to allow him to go into treatment if he's able to get an evaluation and get a recommendation. But since he doesn't qualify for the local pretrial release program, I don't really have any other options. Because of the nature and circumstance of the offense and that it's a 2A felony, I don't think that $50,000, 10 percent, is unreasonable.”A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2.

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