Former CSC student pleads guilty to drug charges

A former CSC student reached a plea agreement Jan. 13 with Dawes County District Court stemming from his August 2014 arrest on a Class III felony drug charge.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m., March 10, for Taquan D. Kelly, 20, of No. 30, 1010 Maple St., Chadron.

Police arrested Kelly, Aug. 21, 2014, at his home located within a mobile home park that is within 1,000 feet of Chadron’s Wilson Park.

He was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a public institution or park.

Court documents state that, on the day of his arrest, police noticed the scent of marijuana coming from inside Kelly’s home.

The records also state that, upon investigation officers observed plants, grow lights, hydroponic equipment, fertilizer, watering equipment and fans inside Kelly’s residence.

Following his arrest, Kelly’s bond was set at 10 percent of $50,000.

At a bond hearing on Sept. 17, 2014, Judge Russell W. Harford reduced the bond to 10 percent of $10,000.  Kelly posted that bond and was released.

On Dec. 9, 2014, Kelly waived his right to a preliminary hearing which moved the case to the District Court.

On Jan. 13, he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of possession of a controlled substance—more than one pound of marijuana—a Class IV felony.