Columbus man found guilty on drug charge

COLUMBUS - A 47-year-old Columbus man recorded selling cocaine to an undercover informant in April 2006 has been found guilty of the drug charge by a Platte County District Court jury.

The eight-man, four-woman jury found Steve Davis guilty early Tuesday evening of delivery of a controlled substance after deliberating for just under an hour during a two-day trial this week.

An enhancement hearing to determine if the city man will be sentenced as a habitual criminal has been set for July 9 in district court.

Sentencing is slated for 9 a.m. Aug. 1.

Delivery of a controlled substance is a Class II felony, punishable by a maximum of 50 years imprisonment and a minimum of one year imprisonment.

Testimony during this week's trial described a drug deal in which Davis met with a confidential informant in a 23rd Street mobile home with the informant wired to record the transaction.

Davis and the informant were observed entering Davis' mobile home together and, after exchanging $400 for the purchase of cocaine, the informant left the home alone, according to the arrest affidavit filed in the case by Columbus Police Investigator Doug Molczyk.

Molczyk stated he then met with the informant away from the area of the mobile home and took possession of the suspected cocaine. The Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab later determined the substance was cocaine.

Defense counsel Andrew Weeks of Norfolk rested his client's case without offering evidence.

Davis has a long history of criminal convictions dating back more than 25 years.

Nebraska's habitual criminal statutes provide for enhanced mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for a convicted defendant who “has been twice convicted of a crime, sentenced and committed to prison, in this or any other state ... for terms of not less than one year.”

Under the statutes, if Steinke rules at next month's hearing Davis is a habitual criminal the defendant could be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum 60 years imprisonment.

Since 1982, Davis has been sentenced to prison for district court convictions in Colfax and Platte counties, according to a felony information document filed in the case by Platte County Attorney Andrea Belgau.

Davis was convicted of a probation violation in Colfax County in 1982 and resentenced to a two-year prison term. He was sentenced to 42 months to seven years in prison for criminal attempted delivery of a controlled substance in 1991 in Platte County.

In 1994, Davis was sentenced in Platte County for burglary, third-degree assault of an officer and tampering with physical evidence. He received a sentence of 11-16 years for the convictions.