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Judge declines guilty plea in drug case

Judge Stacy Louser refused to accept a guilty plea on Friday from Jeremy Bryan Feller, 37, of Voltaire, who is charged with Class B felony possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, two counts of Class C felony possession of drug paraphernalia and seven counts of felon in possession of a firearm.

Feller is scheduled to go to trial on the charges on Aug. 23 before Judge Gary Lee, and Louser said any change of plea would have to be put before Lee.

The plea agreement would call for seven of the charges to be dismissed, including the B felony intent to deliver fentanyl charge because the quantity of drugs was so small, said defense attorney Kyle Craig. Feller would agree to plead guilty to one C felony count of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of Class C felony felon in possession of a firearm.

Louser said the plea deal and rationale for proposing it so close to trial must be submitted in writing to the court since there are firearms charges. Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Breezy Schmidt said Feller would agree to forfeit the weapons that were seized under the terms of the plea deal, but Louser said she still wasn’t accepting the plea.

Feller was arrested after the Ward County Narcotics Task Force raided the home of another man in September 2021. Feller had been rooming with the man at the time.

According to court documents, the search turned up 0.89 grams of suspected fentanyl and $490 in cash. Feller’s phone also allegedly contained several messages from people who wanted to buy narcotics from him and responses from Feller discussing pricing. The search turned up four shotguns and three revolvers in a firearms bag. Feller was on probation at the time and not allowed to possess firearms. Drug paraphernalia was also found at the residence.

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