Syracuse Teen Gets 18-Year Sentence
December 14, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.
Syracuse Teen Gets 18-Year Sentence
By David [email protected]
In accepting Nathan Ries’ plea agreement, Kosciusko County Superior I Court Judge David Cates suspended a total of six years of Ries’ sentence, with 12 years to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections.
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If Ries, now 18, completes a Purposeful Incarceration program, stays out of trouble and shows that he has improved himself while in prison, Cates said he would consider a sentence modification. After he serves his jail time, Ries will be put on probation and must get counseling at the Bowen Center.
In a memo dated Nov. 5, Kosciusko County Community Corrections said Ries was accepted to KCCC as a condition of his sentence.
Cates ordered that Ries also must pay all fines, costs and court fees associated with the court action.
“Mr. Ries, you wanted an opportunity to show me. I hope you do,” Cates told him before Ries was taken into custody.
Ries pleaded guilty on Nov. 15 to two charges resulting from two separate incidents as part of the plea deal. Charges of battery and theft were dropped in one case, and charges of burglary, battery by means of a deadly weapon and theft were dropped in the other case.
In the first incident, in October 2017, police say Ries and another man hit and kicked a male subject and robbed him of marijuana inside a Warsaw residence. At that time, Ries said the resident arranged to purchase half an ounce of marijuana for $130. The resident then told Ries and another man they should jump the male subject when he arrived and steal his marijuana, which they did.
While on probation for his involvement in the first incident, police say Ries was involved in a second incident in Syracuse involving weapons.
In that incident, Ries allegedly was part of a group of four men who broke into a residence and beat a man with a baseball bat. The man who was beaten was able to retrieve a handgun and chase the intruders out of his home.
The victim suffered a large laceration above his right eye, a large bruise on his back and side of his head, and abrasions on his elbow and shoulder.
He was transported to Goshen Hospital for treatment.
During the incident a Remington 1100 20-gauge shotgun, Savage HMR rifle and $2,150 in cash were stolen.
In court Thursday, Ries’ attorney, Scott Lennox, talked about the 12-step program Ries has completed and that he would be a candidate for KCCC.
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz spoke about how Ries’ actions were inexcusable and violent. He said Ries’ actions in October 2017 helped spawn the second group of young people’s retaliation that could have had enormous horrible consequences.
Voelz said the persons involved were all 16 to 18 years old, with some being sent to juvenile court while others, like Ries, were waived to adult court.
While Ries was on bond for the first incident, Voelz said Ries kept using drugs and then was involved in the March 2018 incident, also drug related and that involved guns.
Lennox said Ries was a child when the offensives happened and it was unfortunate Ries “saw the light” too late. He has since worked on his own to get the help he needed. Lennox said Ries started doing drugs “super young” and it kept snowballing, but Ries has now “taken the bull by the horns” and has sought treatment. “It’s a real change,” Lennox assured Cates.
He said Ries was asking the court to give him hope and a chance to redeem himself. The hope was that after six months of jail time, Cates would modify the sentence and let him serve his time on probation and home detention. He also mentioned Ries now has a 1-month-old baby.
“I know I made mistake after mistake. I can’t take back what I did,” Ries said, but he’d apologize to everyone if he could.
Cates told him, “You didn’t make mistakes, you made choices. There’s a difference. You made choices.”
Cates told Ries it appeared that Ries had a long-standing addiction and substance abuse problem that has not been addressed. Cates reminded Ries his second offense was committed while he was still out on bond for the first offense. He was still in counseling during the second offense and that didn’t stop him, Cates said.
Cates then accepted the plea deal and sentenced him to nine years for each of the two level 3 felony robbery charges with three years of each charge suspended. The two sentences are to be served consecutively.
In accepting Nathan Ries’ plea agreement, Kosciusko County Superior I Court Judge David Cates suspended a total of six years of Ries’ sentence, with 12 years to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections.
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If Ries, now 18, completes a Purposeful Incarceration program, stays out of trouble and shows that he has improved himself while in prison, Cates said he would consider a sentence modification. After he serves his jail time, Ries will be put on probation and must get counseling at the Bowen Center.
In a memo dated Nov. 5, Kosciusko County Community Corrections said Ries was accepted to KCCC as a condition of his sentence.
Cates ordered that Ries also must pay all fines, costs and court fees associated with the court action.
“Mr. Ries, you wanted an opportunity to show me. I hope you do,” Cates told him before Ries was taken into custody.
Ries pleaded guilty on Nov. 15 to two charges resulting from two separate incidents as part of the plea deal. Charges of battery and theft were dropped in one case, and charges of burglary, battery by means of a deadly weapon and theft were dropped in the other case.
In the first incident, in October 2017, police say Ries and another man hit and kicked a male subject and robbed him of marijuana inside a Warsaw residence. At that time, Ries said the resident arranged to purchase half an ounce of marijuana for $130. The resident then told Ries and another man they should jump the male subject when he arrived and steal his marijuana, which they did.
While on probation for his involvement in the first incident, police say Ries was involved in a second incident in Syracuse involving weapons.
In that incident, Ries allegedly was part of a group of four men who broke into a residence and beat a man with a baseball bat. The man who was beaten was able to retrieve a handgun and chase the intruders out of his home.
The victim suffered a large laceration above his right eye, a large bruise on his back and side of his head, and abrasions on his elbow and shoulder.
He was transported to Goshen Hospital for treatment.
During the incident a Remington 1100 20-gauge shotgun, Savage HMR rifle and $2,150 in cash were stolen.
In court Thursday, Ries’ attorney, Scott Lennox, talked about the 12-step program Ries has completed and that he would be a candidate for KCCC.
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz spoke about how Ries’ actions were inexcusable and violent. He said Ries’ actions in October 2017 helped spawn the second group of young people’s retaliation that could have had enormous horrible consequences.
Voelz said the persons involved were all 16 to 18 years old, with some being sent to juvenile court while others, like Ries, were waived to adult court.
While Ries was on bond for the first incident, Voelz said Ries kept using drugs and then was involved in the March 2018 incident, also drug related and that involved guns.
Lennox said Ries was a child when the offensives happened and it was unfortunate Ries “saw the light” too late. He has since worked on his own to get the help he needed. Lennox said Ries started doing drugs “super young” and it kept snowballing, but Ries has now “taken the bull by the horns” and has sought treatment. “It’s a real change,” Lennox assured Cates.
He said Ries was asking the court to give him hope and a chance to redeem himself. The hope was that after six months of jail time, Cates would modify the sentence and let him serve his time on probation and home detention. He also mentioned Ries now has a 1-month-old baby.
“I know I made mistake after mistake. I can’t take back what I did,” Ries said, but he’d apologize to everyone if he could.
Cates told him, “You didn’t make mistakes, you made choices. There’s a difference. You made choices.”
Cates told Ries it appeared that Ries had a long-standing addiction and substance abuse problem that has not been addressed. Cates reminded Ries his second offense was committed while he was still out on bond for the first offense. He was still in counseling during the second offense and that didn’t stop him, Cates said.
Cates then accepted the plea deal and sentenced him to nine years for each of the two level 3 felony robbery charges with three years of each charge suspended. The two sentences are to be served consecutively.
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