Woman sentenced to prison

Monday in Hot Springs District Court, Holly Herrera was sentenced to three to five years in prison on each of three counts of child endangerment — exposure to methamphetamine — and one year on a charge of second-offense possession of methamphetamine.

Herrera was found guilty of the charges in February, which are from a July 1, 2017 incident. She and three juveniles were passengers in a vehicle stopped for not having illumination on its rear license plate. During the stop, there were difficulties in verifying Herrera’s identity and the owner of the vehicle. However, a bag believed to belong to Herrera was located in the vehicle; inside was a pipe that could be used for smoking the drug.

The four prison terms were ordered served concurrently, and concurrent with a four to five year sentence she received in Washakie County for a probation violation. Herrera was also fined $3,000 on each of the three endangerment charges, but those fines were suspended.

Also in District Court James Folsom was sentenced to three years of supervised probation on a charge of felony child abuse. Folsom was originally charged with second-degree sexual assault of a minor, which alleged between June 8 and 17 he molested a juvenile female.

However, on Feb. 26 Folsom entered a no contest plea to a modified charge. Though sentenced to three to five years in prison, that sentence was suspended in exchange for probation. Folsom was also fined $3,000, which was also suspended.

Prior to sentencing, Folsom said the plea agreement for him should be accepted because he was trying to protect a mentally unstable juvenile. Judge Robert Skar noted Folsom had quite a record, and his benevolence might not be enough for him to accept the agreement. Folsom pointed out many of the charges on his rap sheet have since been dismissed.

Prosecuting attorney Marcia Bean said it was in the best interest of justice to accept the agreement, and noted the victim is in a treatment program for abuses and it would be damaging for her to come to the court to testify against Folsom.

Also in District Court on Monday, Michael Wilkinson agreed to plead no contest to domestic battery and strangulation of a household member. The charges are from a Sept. 5 incident during which Wilkinson allegedly assaulted and strangled Jacquelyn Tuttle after the two got into an argument.

A no contest plea means Wilkinson is not admitting to the charges, but is not contesting them either. However, Judge Skar entered a finding of guilty in the case. Wilkinson will be sentenced at a later date, though the agreement stipulates he would be sentenced to two to four years in prison, suspended for three years supervised probation, and fined $2,500 if the agreement is accepted.