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Defendant Kelly Bell enters guilty pleas to reckless driving and fourth-degree assault; sentencing set for March 24
Summary
At a Feb. 5 readiness hearing, the court accepted Kelly Bell's guilty pleas to amended reckless driving and assault in the fourth degree under an Alford plea; sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2025, with the city recommending electronic home monitoring instead of jail time.
The court accepted guilty pleas Tuesday from Kelly Bell to an amended charge of reckless driving and to assault in the fourth degree, and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. on March 24, 2025.
The plea was entered during a Feb. 5 readiness hearing conducted remotely. Jeff Cragle, defense counsel for Bell, told the court he and Bell had reviewed the statement of plea and that Bell wished to enter the plea and set sentencing. Bell responded to the court, “Guilty, your honor,” for both counts.
The court recited the nine-page plea form on the record, noting Bell’s age (55) and education; the judge confirmed Bell had reviewed the elements of the amended reckless-driving charge and the assault charge with counsel and understood she would be waiving constitutional rights by pleading. The court also reviewed maximum exposure for the charges — 364 days in custody and a $5,000 fine — and stated it retained discretion at sentencing.
The prosecutor explained the city would move to amend a driving-under-the-influence charge to reckless driving and would present a probable-cause statement from Detective Wilcox. The judge said she reviewed a sworn statement indicating Deputy Helmer responded to a collision on Aug. 6, 2021, and that Bell presented as intoxicated and struck Deputy Helmer multiple times; based on that sworn statement the judge found facts sufficient to accept the assault-in-the-fourth-degree plea.
Bell’s written plea statement on the record included an Alford-type statement: she stated she was pleading not because she believed she was guilty but because she believed there was a substantial likelihood of conviction if the case went to trial and she wished to accept the city’s offer.
The court signed the plea form and set sentencing for March 24 at 9 a.m. The city indicated it was not seeking additional jail time and recommended electronic home monitoring; the judge approved conducting sentencing remotely by Zoom because Bell resides out of state and no in-custody sanction was anticipated. The court asked counsel to research electronic-home-monitoring locations before sentencing.
The judge closed the matter after confirming the date and that notice would be mailed to Bell.
