TWO CASES, TWO DIFFERENT OUTCOMES

If you were going to plead guilty to a crime, would you rather be
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor charge?

Misdemeanor, right?

Perhaps not.

Consider the cases of two Fremont men - Nathan D. Peterson and David W. Cress.

Peterson pleaded guilty to a felony and was sentenced to 10 months in
a county jail.

Cress, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was sentenced to a
maximum of one year in prison.

In late March, a Dodge County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled Peterson
over after he turned into the Meadowbrook Trailer Court for not using
a turn signal. According to court records, Peterson, 27, and Cress,
36, got out of the vehicle and walked away from the deputy.

Deputies then found a cigarette package with 22 grams of
methamphetamine on the ground in the path where the two men were had
walked. In searching the vehicle, deputies found a syringe behind the
seat in which Cress was sitting. Five others were found in Peterson's
possession, along with $780 cash.

Initially, each man was charged with possession of a controlled
substance-methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, a Class ID
felony; possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine, a Class
IV felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction.

Peterson also was charged with possession of money to facilitate the
delivery of a controlled substance, a Class IV felony, and failure to
signal, an infraction.

Through a plea agreement, Cress pleaded guilty in Dodge County Court
to an amended charge of attempted possession of a controlled
substance-methamphetamine, a Class I misdemeanor.

All other charges were dropped.

In a separate plea agreement, Peterson pleaded guilty in Dodge County
District Court to possession of a controlled
substance-methamphetamine, a Class IV felony.

"(The methamphetamine) wasn't found on anyone, so we thought having
them plead to attempted possession and possession was a fair way to
resolve it," said Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan.

He said Cress was offered the misdemeanor charge because Cress had
agreed to testify against Peterson in District Court if Peterson's
case went to trial.

"Law enforcement had some intelligence information that Mr. Peterson
was involved in some drug activity," Vaughan said.

Both men had lengthy arrest records - 10 pages long for Peterson,
including several marijuana possession charges, driving under the
influence of drugs, obstructing a peace officer and the felonies of
burglary and flight or escape. Various driving charges also are on
Peterson's record.

Cress' criminal record includes a previous charge of possession of a
controlled substance-amphetamine, a Class IV felony. He also was
previously arrested for possession of marijuana, obstructing a peace
officer, fugitive from justice and a protection order violation.
Cress also has had various driving charges.

"I would say they had very similar criminal histories," Vaughan said.
"Neither were strangers to the courts."

Regardless of how similar their records are, Peterson pleaded guilty
to a felony in Dodge County District Court while Cress pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor in Dodge County Court.

Peterson was sentenced to 10 months in Dodge County Jail out of a
maximum penalty of up to five years by Judge John Samson in Dodge
County District Court.

Cress was sentenced to the maximum of one year in prison - two months
longer than Peterson for a felony - for his Class I misdemeanor by
Dodge County Judge Kenneth Vampola.

The code of ethics for judges restricts comments they can make on
sentences. Peterson was contacted at the Madison County Jail where he
is serving his sentence, but would not comment. A request to
interview Cress at the Nebraska State Penitentiary was unsuccessful.

"We hoped (Peterson) would have gotten a longer sentence than a
person with a misdemeanor," Vaughan said. "I usually hope that with a
felony conviction, a person who is not getting probation get at least
a year so it's a strike toward a habitual criminal (enhancement)."

People with at least two felony convictions that were sentenced to at
least one year in prison on each conviction face a mandatory sentence
of at least 10 years in prison with a subsequent felony conviction.
That sentence must run consecutively with any other sentence.