Burglary suspect's case moved to district court

Fifteen felony burglary charges have been added to the case against a Sidney woman accused of stealing prescription drugs, money and designer clothing from homes throughout Cheyenne County.

Mindy Richmond now faces 21 counts of burglary, each a class three felony.

On Friday morning, the 34-year-old woman appeared in Cheyenne County Court for a preliminary hearing.

Twelfth Judicial District County Court Judge Russell Harford explained that the purpose of the hearing was to determine if there was probable cause to bind the charges over to district court.

Nebraska Assistant Attorney General Doug Warner, who was appointed to prosecute the case because some of the homes allegedly burglarized belong to county law enforcement and court employees, called two witnesses.

Sidney Police Sgt. Justin Loghry and Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office Investigator Zach Goodrich separately explained the circumstances surrounding the individual counts.

Much of the court testimony heard against Richmond was gained through interviews with Tanya Yates, who told authorities she accompanied the defendant, but remained in a vehicle, while the burglaries occurred.

According to Loghry, Yates said she would ride along with Richmond and take care of children also in the vehicle while Richmond entered the homes.

As of Friday, no charges have been filed against Yates.

The defendant's court-appointed attorney, James Korth, said many of the charges lacked a direct link connecting Richmond to the alleged burglaries.

In many of the counts, he said, neither Richmond nor her vehicle were identified, and most of the stolen items were never recovered.

Warner argued the prosecution had established probable cause that Richmond committed the alleged offenses, some with corroborating evidence.

After nearly three hours of testimony, Harford ruled there was probable cause and bound the case over to Cheyenne County District Court.

Richmond is being held on $100,000 bond. She was arrested in Cheyenne County on June 11 after Yates approached the Sidney Police Department and told authorities about the burglaries, following the two women's arrests in Logan County, Colo., last May.

A search in June of Richmond's vehicle and two Sidney residences linked to her led to the discovery and seizure of jewelry, clothing and numerous prescription pill bottles – many with the labels removed.

Richmond is scheduled to appear in Cheyenne County District Court on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 8:30 a.m.