Photo by File photo Briana Turnbull

A woman who pleaded no contest to three class-one misdemeanors was sentenced Wednesday to three years probation in Dawson County Court.

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Briana Turnbull, 23, was found guilty May 20 of attempted violation of a custody order, attempted juvenile escape and contributing to the delinquency of a child.

Turnbull had been in the employ of the Wilcox house when she and Kaden Clark-Guthrie, 17, a resident of the house, absconded to Missouri. The pair lived there for three months.

Turnbull faced a maximum of three years in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Visibly anxious

Turnbull looked visibly anxious as the prosecutor and the defense made their arguments for sentencing to the judge.

Special prosecutor Charles Brewster, a Kearney attorney, began by saying, “The defendant exercised phenomenally poor judgement.”

Brewster acknowledged that Clark-Guthrie manipulated Turnbull, but went on to say that did not excuse Turnbull's actions.

Brewster said that while there was no real damage done to the victim, Clark-Guthrie’s family had not been happy with the situation.

He finished by saying the state was not opposed to Turnbull being put on probation.

Turnbull’s attorney, Robert Lindemeier, said that he agreed with much of what Brewster said.

He also revealed that Clark-Guthrie continued to contact Turnbull throughout her trial. The calls were recorded for Turnbull’s protection, according to Lindemeier.

During the phone calls, Clark-Guthrie would tell Turnbull that he could get the matter dropped.

Lindemeier pointed out that Clark-Guthrie admitted to manipulating Turnbull to help him move to Missouri. And, when the pair lived together in Missouri, Turnbull suffered physical, mental, and verbal abuse at the hands of Clark-Guthrie, Lindemeier told the judge.

Lindemeier also said Turnbull is at an advanced stage of pregnancy.

“She’s going to be paying for her mistake for many, many years,” he said.

Lindemeier added that the attention Turnbull received from the media and the public has been extra punishment.

He closed by asking Kearney County District Judge Terri Harder delay the start of Turnbull’s probation until October. Lindemeier said throwing a new mother directly into the structure of probation would set her up to fail.

As he prepared to issue the sentence, Harder told Turnbull that she was not going to jail. The judge praised the defendant, saying that there were more positive things in her pre-sentence investigation than in most she’d seen.

Harder said defendants she sees are not often described as having a big heart and a great personality. She said she believed that Turnbull has a giving nature and is compassionate.

But, Harder was concerned with the lack of remorse or acceptance of responsibility on Turnbull’s part. The judge said Turnbull’s behavior indicated that she considered herself to be the victim in this situation.

“We don’t need to turn this into blaming the victim,” Harder said. “We need you to accept responsibility.”

On counts one and two, Harder sentenced Turnbull to two years of intensive supervised probation. She also sentenced Turnbull to 90 days in jail at the conclusion of her probation.

The jail time can be waived if Turnbull’s probation officer decides it is unnecessary.

On count three, Harder ordered one year of traditional probation to run consecutively with counts one and two. Turnbull was also sentenced to 30 days in jail at the conclusion of the traditional probation that could also potentially be waived.

Harder closed by agreeing to Lindemeier’s request that Turnbull’s probation be delayed until Oct. 15.