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Lacey's Spring man gets 10 years for enticing minor, Huber sentence delayed

Decatur Daily - 9/7/2017

Sept. 07--A Lacey's Spring man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after a jury convicted him of enticing a minor into a vehicle for immoral purposes.

Harlan LaShane Nesmith, 36, of Lacey's Spring, was arrested in 2016 after a Morgan County grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years of age, and enticing a minor into a vehicle for immoral purposes. He was acquitted of two sex-abuse charges.

The indictments came after the Morgan County Sheriff's Office investigated a complaint that Nesmith had inappropriate sexual contact with two minors in November 2015 and turned the case over to prosecutors for presentation to a grand jury.

A jury acquitted Nesmith of both sex-abuse charges, but found him guilty of enticing a minor for immoral purposes. Due to a prior felony conviction, Nesmith faced two to 20 years in prison for the conviction.

One of two alleged victims in the case stood with prosecutors during the sentencing hearing.

"The victim is here and willing to stand in front of you," Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery said.

Before the sentence was delivered, defense attorney Timothy Shelton asked the court to set aside the verdict, arguing there were inconsistencies in testimony from one of the victims at trial.

"The evidence that was probably the most damning at trial was Mr. Nesmith's own statement by having furnished this toy -- I'll call it -- to her," Shelton said, adding later that there was "insufficient evidence to connect the supplying of that toy to the illicit purposes set forth."

Absent a ruling to set aside the verdict, Shelton asked the court to sentence Nesmith to time served, plus probation.

Nesmith declined to speak on his own behalf when asked by Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson if he had anything to say before sentencing. Thompson sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment without probation, while giving him credit for time served.

Also in court Wednesday, Thompson continued sentencing for Kristina Kandis Huber, who was convicted in April for the 2014 murder of her mother.

Huber's attorney, Paul Holland, said he needed more time to obtain records regarding Huber's prior treatment for mental and psychological disorders. Holland requested a delay for the same reason in May.

Depending on what the records show, they could help persuade the judge to issue a sentence toward the bottom end of the scale, Decatur attorney Brian White said.

Huber, 27, of 73 Northeast Hill Road, Somerville, was 23 when she reportedly shot and killed her mother, 45-year-old Melissa Ann Huber, with a .22 caliber firearm at their Somerville home.

Investigators said the motive for the shooting was the threat by her parents that they would send her to a mental health center or drug rehabilitation center for treatment and that Huber fled the scene after the shooting and was discovered by deputies as she attempted to climb out the window of a neighbor's house.

Due to the aggravating circumstance of a firearm being used, Huber faces 20 years to life imprisonment.

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evan.belanger@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2439. Twitter @evanbelanger.

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