Two Alliance men are in Box Butte County District Court for their alleged role in a burglary and assault.
Jeremy Hemmer, 35, and Julian Poor Bear, 32, are both facing similar charges from an assault that occurred in November 2022. According to the Affidavit and Application for Arrest Warrant that was filed in Hemmer’s case, on Nov. 6, officers with the Alliance Police Department were dispatched to the 600 block of Niobrara Avenue in Alliance in reference to a reported assault.
Upon arrival at the address, an officer heard someone yelling from inside the residence. The officer entered the residence and heard someone direct their attention to the basement. After descending the stairs, the officer located a man lying on the floor and screaming, According to the Affidavit.
The victim advised the officer that he had been beaten with a bat and that he was in pain in multiple locations on his body. He told the officer that Jeremy Hemmer knocked on his door. The man responded by saying “come in,” but after realizing who it was, the man told Hemmer to leave, and Hemmer left.
According to the Affidavit, shortly after Hemmer left, he returned without the man’s permission, bringing a man identified as Julian Poor Bear and an unidentified female into the residence. The man told them to leave, but they refused to leave.
The victim told the officer that Poor Bear began to get angry with him and stood on the stairs, preventing the man from leaving, according to the Affidavit. Poor bear began kicking at the man and making threatening gestures.
“Affiant was advised that, (the victim) grabbed a baseball bat and swung at Julian Poor Bear with the bat, at which time, Defendant (Hemmer) tackled (the victim) to the floor, held him down and would not let him escape,” the Affidavit said.
The victim told the officer that Hemmer jabbed his finger into the victim’s throat, making it hard for him to breathe. According to the Affidavit, while Hemmer was holding the victim down, Poor Bear struck the victim multiple times with the bat. According to the Affidavit in Poor Bear’s case, the victim told the officer the bat was broken in half while it was being used to strike him.
The officer observed multiple injuries on the victim, “including scrapes on his head, red marks with raised swelling on his legs, gaping cuts on his legs, and open cuts on his neck,” according to the Affidavit.
According to the Affidavit in Poor Bear’s case, both men were interviewed by law enforcement. During the interview with Hemmer, he said the victim grabbed a baseball bat and swung it at Poor Bear, at which point he tackled the man. Hemmer told the officer that when he stood up, he noticed the baseball bat was broken in half, noting he did not think it was broken when he tackled the victim. He described Poor Bear as being intoxicated at the time of the assault.
Officers interviewed Poor Bear, according to the Affidavit. He said he heard the victim yelling that he was breaking into his house, noting that at that point the victim had grabbed the baseball bat. Poor Bear told the officer Hemmer tackled the man and held him down, and Poor Bear took the bat away from the man.
“Julian initially denied striking (the victim) with the bat; however during the interview Julian admitted to striking (the victim),” the Affidavit said.
Poor Bear told the officer he was intoxicated during the incident, according to the Affidavit. He was placed under arrest and searched. During the search, officers located a small marijuana pipe with residue on Poor Bear’s person.
Poor Bear was charged with burglary, a class 2A felony, second degree assault, a class 2A felony, and first degree criminal trespassing, a class 1 misdemeanor. He was arraigned in Box Butte County District Court on December 23, 2022 and a pretrial is scheduled for March.
Hemmer was charged with burglary, a class 2A felony, second degree assault, a class 2A felony, and first degree criminal trespassing, a class 1 misdemeanor. Hemmer entered into a plea agreement on Feb. 8, reducing the charges to third degree assault, a class 1 misdemeanor, and criminal trespassing, a class 1 misdemeanor in exchange for agreeing, “to testify honestly against Julian Poor Bear if Mr. Poor Bear’s case proceeds to trial,” according to the agreement.
Sentencing in Hemmer’s case is set to take place in April.