Jeronimo pleads guilty to leaving scene of fatal crash

A week ago, trial dates were being discussed for the man involved in a fatal traffic crash near Dalton in April. On Friday morning, a plea agreement was instead announced in Cheyenne County District Court.

Abel Domingo Jeronimo, who turns 39 on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing to stop, disclose information and render assistance in an accident involving death.

Jeronimo, of Sidney, originally faced a class three felony. As part of the plea deal, the charge was lowered to a class four offense.

District Court Judge Derek Weimer told the defendant the offense carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a possible fine of $10,000. There is no minimum sentence, he said.

Jeronimo was involved in a fatal crash on April 7 that killed 45-year-old Martin Geiger Jr., of Sidney and Chappell. A passenger in Geiger's vehicle – Kathy Berger, 53, of Bayard and Chappell – was also injured.

The defendant stopped briefly following the crash but failed to exchange information or provide aid, and then left the scene, according to court documents and testimony. He turned himself in to law enforcement two days later.

The crash occurred two miles south of Dalton on U.S. Highway 385.

Jeronimo is represented by court-appointed counsel Donald Miller. On Friday, as in previous hearings, an interpreter was present in court. English is the defendant's second language, according to court documents.

Miller told the court the two-page plea agreement was read to Jeronimo in Spanish.

Weimer asked the defendant if he understood the plea deal and that by agreeing to it, he was giving up his right to a trial.

Jeronimo responded, "Yes."

When asked how he wished to plead, he said "Guilty," through the interpreter.

Weimer ordered a pre-sentence investigation and requested that Jeronimo's DMV records be included.

At the hearing, Miller also asked the bond amount in the case be reviewed.

Following Jeronimo's arraignment in April, bond was set at $100,000. In May, it was reduced to $50,000.

On Friday, Miller said his client left the scene of the accident because he was "shocked, frightened and scared," not because he had been drinking or using drugs.

"Because of the circumstances of the case, we ask bond be reduced so Jeronimo has an opportunity to go back to work and prove to the court he is a good candidate for probation," Miller said.

Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub said there were no changes in the case since bond was initially set except a reduction in the charge. He also asked the court keep in mind Jeronimo had previously been convicted of leaving the scene of an accident in 2013.

Miller responded the prior conviction followed an incident where his client backed into a mailbox. While Jeronimo left to seek materials to fix the mailbox, he was arrested, the lawyer argued.

In that case, Jeronimo pleaded guilty to leaving an accident and having no proof of insurance. He received a fine of $400 and a jail sentence of one day. He was given credit for the one day he had already served following his arrest.

After hearing from both attorneys on Friday, Weimer ordered bond be lowered to $25,000.

Following Friday's court hearing, Miller said he believed the circumstances of the case merited the plea deal.

"It was a terrible tragedy – there was a loss of life," he said. "My client does not speak English well. He was shocked and afraid. I think the plea agreement that we reached fits the facts in the case."

Schaub was not immediately available for comment.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Jeronimo told Cheyenne County Sheriff's deputies he was on his way to work on the morning of April 7, driving slowly because of foggy conditions, when a truck attempted to pass his vehicle.

"He believed there was an oncoming vehicle from the north out of Dalton and that caused the truck to turn into him, making contact between the two vehicles," the document states.

Jeronimo told deputies he initially stopped his car and waited, but didn't know what to do.

"He advised not having any medical training and that he was so frightened that his English was forgotten, as it is only his second language," the probable cause affidavit continues. "He recalled other vehicles stopping, so he left and went to work. He advised that since he was 'local,' he knew that law enforcement would find him."

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. at the courthouse.