Cuffe: 'the contemplated sentence is going to be much harsher than in the agreement'

Jeremiah Kendall was given a week to weigh his options after Lincoln County District Judge Matthew Cuffe rejected the sentencing recommendations in his plea deal with prosecutors.

Kendall, 39, admitted to the brutal assault of his then-girlfriend in 2014 during a Sept. 8 change of plea hearing. In exchange for a guilty plea to aggravated assault and tampering with or fabricating evidence, prosecutors recommended he serve 10 years of a partially suspended 20-year sentence for the first charge and a suspended 10-year sentence for the second.

Both terms were to run concurrent, under the deal, and Kendall’s sentencing hearing was duly scheduled for Oct. 19.

But Cuffe this week opted to continue the case, telling Kendall and the prosecutorial team that “the contemplated sentence is going to be much harsher than in the agreement.”

“I am not going to be following or accepting the recommendations of that plea agreement,” Cuffe told the defendant and assembled attorneys.

Investigators first began looking into Kendall after he and his mother brought his then-girlfriend to the emergency room of a local medical center in December 2014. The pair told medical workers that she had fallen while intoxicated about 36 hours prior, according to court documents. She was suffering from serious head injuries.

Doctors, though, deemed the injuries inconsistent with a fall. According to court documents, they found 38 areas of injury to her body, including bruising, abrasions and bleeding beneath the skin.

Meeting with investigators, Kendall initially told them the victim had fallen while dancing on a table during an evening of drinking. She fell again in the bathroom, he said, according to court documents.

Later, Kendall changed his version of the story, allegedly telling authorities that he had found her in the bathroom with a shotgun. She fell after he disarmed her, he said.

Authorities also accused Kendall of accessing the victim’s mobile phone while she was in a medically induced coma, using it to delete text messages and a Facebook Messenger conversation containing past allegations of abuse.

Authorities brought Kendall up on the outstanding charges in Lincoln County in 2019, after he completed a 30-month sentence in federal prison. He was dealt that sentence after admitting to possessing a firearm while under a restraining order.

Initially, Kendall pleaded not guilty to the charges. He changed his plea after Cuffe indicated he would deny a motion potentially preventing the prosecution from using Kendall’s criminal history in a trial.

Once out on a $100,000 bond, Kendall has appeared in court from the Lincoln County Detention Center since late summer. Authorities took him back into custody after he admitted to drinking beer and, at least once, using marijuana and methamphetamines.

Despite accepting Kendall’s change of plea, Cuffe remind the court in September that he was not bound to follow the sentencing recommendations. The maximum punishment for aggravated assault and tampering with or fabricating evidence is 20 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine for each.

During the brief sentencing hearing, Cuffe told Kendall to consider his options until Oct. 26. He can withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial, if he so wishes.

Relatives of both Kendall and the victim were in the courthouse for the scheduled sentencing, sitting on opposite sides of the courtroom. Hissed obscenities were audible as they shuffled out following the hearing.