Robert Coleman

A Bowbells man was found guilty in a jury trial in North Central District Court on Tuesday of luring minors by computer or other electronic means.

According to court documents, on June 5, 2023, Robert Jay Coleman, 59, was interacting with an undercover detective on an online dating website during an operation by the Ward County Sheriff’s Department. Coleman asked the undercover detective if they wanted to meet and was told by the detective two times that the persona they were portraying was underage. Coleman informed the detective that he was a short distance from a gas station and gave identifying information for his vehicle. A police lieutenant conducted a traffic stop on a truck matching the description given by Coleman and he was placed under arrest. He was also found to have eight pills of a controlled substance during a search at the Ward County Jail.

Judge Gary Lee presided over the caseand will sentence Coleman in a hearing scheduled for Oct. 11.