What was supposed to be the first jury trial of the year for the new Greene County Attorney has taken a surprising turn as all five slated cases have been plea negotiated.

Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn tells Raccoon Valley Radio five cases were potentially slated to go to jury trials on Tuesday, January 29th, but plea agreements have been made in all cases. The top case, 21-year-old Noah Exline, who is accused of sexually abusing his sister, will take a plea agreement in which he will plead guilty to a lesser charge of indecent contact with a child, and will be placed on probation for three years and register as a sex offender.

The other cases include: Steven Jones, who reached a plea deal of six months in jail and three years of probation for sex abuse of a minor; Jerry Barker, who agreed to a ten year prison sentence for pleading guilty to a Class C Felony for conspiracy to deliver less than five grams of meth; and Rodney Halterman, who had two separate incidents happen in Greene County in which he was charged with Class B Felonies for distribution of a controlled substance to a person under the age of 18. He will be pleading guilty to a fourth degree theft charge and agreed to serve one year in jail and be placed on three years of probation, and have all other charges dismissed. Halterman is also facing a Class B Felony for attempted murder in Story County as well.

Exline, Barker and Jones will have their plea hearings on February 4th and Halterman’s plea hearing is scheduled for February 18th. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.