Less than a week into the job, and the Interim Box Butte County Public Defender announced that he is taking another job elsewhere, leaving the position in Box Butte County behind.
At the commissioners meeting on March 4, Darin Nepper, who began his job as interim public defender on Feb. 29, announced that he had accepted a different position and would not sign the public defender agreement, which was listed on the agenda.
During the meeting, Nepper said he had not been actively pursuing other employment, but that the offer came as the result of sending out his resume prior t accepting the interim public defender position.
The commissioners voted to release Nepper from his contract and to pay him $1,600 in court-appointed fees for the 16 hours he worked. The claim is set to be approved at the March 16 meeting.
Nepper was appointed to serve as the interim public defender during the Feb. 18 commissioners meeting, and was set to serve until July 31, when Box Butte County Public Defender Jon Worthman was set to formally resign from his position.
Worthman has been on leave without pay since the commissioners took action on Jan. 21. However, according to Commissioner Mike McGinnis in an interview, Worthman was allowed to delay his resignation to allow him to maintain his health insurance benefits from the county.
Worthman is currently charged with possession of 10 to 27 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver, a class 1D felony, in Scotts Bluff County. Judge Richard Birch, of North Platte, was appointed to preside over the case in Scotts Bluff County District Court.