Wymore Man Sentenced to Two Years for Drug Possession

A Wymore man was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance.Robert L. Watson, age 57, appeared in Gage County Court on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Rick A. Schreiner was the presiding judge.Watson was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a class 4 felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and one year of post-release supervision. He was also charged with driving under a suspended license, a class 3 misdemeanor, but that charge was later dismissed.Watson was arrested on November 2, 2023. According to the arrest affidavit, Watson was originally contacted by law enforcement for not displaying a front license plate on the vehicle he was driving. Watson's license was suspended due to a no insurance ticket.The deputy that filled out the affidavit wrote, “Watson denied me consent to search the vehicle. Watson denied consent to searching his person.”A K-9 was called to do a drug sniff around the vehicle and, according to the deputy, the K-9 indicated the presence of possible drugs.A search of the vehicle and Watson's person was conducted and deputies reported locating “a brown eye glass case, containing a packaged syringe” and “a small self-sealed bag containing a white crystalline substance in Watson’s inside jacket pocket.”The white crystalline substance field tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine.Watson pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024.Judge Schreiner sentenced Watson to the maximum penalty, two years in prison, plus one year of post-release supervision. Jefferson County CasesWatson also has two cases pending in Jefferson County. He was scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, but was being sentenced in Gage County on that date.In the first case, Watson is charged with five counts alleged to have occurred on June 23 of this year:Possession of methamphetamine, a class 4 felony punishable by up to two years in prison, nine to 12 months of post-release supervision and a $10,000 fine;Driving under a suspended license, a class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine;Driving without proof of insurance, a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine;Driving without a license, a class 3 misdemeanor; andPossession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction that carries a $100 fine.A sixth charge was later added after the defendant failed to appear for court on July 24 . Failure to appear is a class 2 misdemeanor.In a second case, Watson charged with four counts alleged to have occurred on October 3, 2024:Third degree assault of a peace officer, a class 3A felony punishable by up to three years in prison, nine to 18 months of post-release supervision and a $10,000 fine;Obstructing a peace officer, a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine;Second degree criminal trespass, a class 2 misdemeanor; andFirst offense resisting arrest, a class 1 misdemeanor.According to the Warrantless Arrest Affidavit, a deputy attempted to trespass Watson from a residence in Plymouth. “The deputy wrote in the affidavit, “I informed Watson that he was trespassing and would be going to jail. I attempted to place Watson under arrest and grabbed his wrist while he was walking out of the building's east door. Watson began pulling away. Once outside, I grabbed Watson's right wrist and informed him that if he continued pulling away, he would go to the ground. Watson again pulled away. During this, Watson stated, ‘Let go of me.’ I retrieved my handcuffs and radioed the Jefferson County Communications for an additional unit.”According to the deputy, while attempting to restrain the defendant, “Watson began striking toward my face and chest area with both closed and opened fists.”The deputy indicated the defendant then fled on foot. Once the caught up to Watson, he was allegedly non-compliant, at which point the deputy deployed his department-issued taser at approximately 8:35 p.m.The defendant was then placed under arrest. Per the deputy, “Watson refused to be evaluated by medical staff.”

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