END Of A COSTLY ERA

Kimball County ended its long exhausting relationship with convicted murderer Vencil Leo Ash III on Friday, October 27, when he was delivered to the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

The Kimball County Sheriff's Office was responsible for the transportation of Ash from the Federal Super Max prison in Florence, Colorado, to the penitentiary in Lincoln.

Before Ash could fulfill his first degree murder sentence from Kimball County, he had to complete a sentence for federal gun charges from an incident in Wyoming.

Ash was convicted in 2015 of first-degree murder in the 2003 murder of Fort Collins, Colorado, resident Ryan Guitron. In 2010, Guitron's remains were found at an abandoned farmstead south of Bushnell. His sentence for Guitron's murder was to be confined in the Nebraska State Penitentiary for not less than the rest of his natural life.

In preparation for the transport, Sheriff Dave Hottell checked various options. A contract transport company estimated the cost to be just under $4,000. Other options for Ash's transportation from Colorado to Lincoln were unavailable due to Ash's reputation, previous threats he had made, and possible gang ties.

So Hottell and three deputies, along with a paramedic (just in case), made plans to go to the Super Max and transport Ash themselves. Hottell said that he had never been to the Super Max, "it was interesting and they definitely have high security."

On Thursday, October 26, two cars of officers headed south from Kimball and stayed overnight at Canon City, Colorado. They planned an early start to their long day and to deliver Ash in Lincoln before 4:30 p.m. that same day.

"The problem we had was that he was released on a Friday, and you have to have them in Lincoln before 4:30 p.m," Hottell said. "If it wasn't (done by) 4:30 on Friday it would have to be (done) Monday. The other problem was finding a jail to house him. Some of the jails I called were not interested in housing him because of his past."

The Kimball County team arrived at the prison at 5 a.m. on October 27. Ash, now 52 years old, was delivered to them. It soon became clear to all the deputies that Ash was no longer a threat, he was "just a broke-down old criminal," Hottell said. At Big Springs it was determined that two officers were plenty to take him the rest of the way.

"He didn't make any threats to us like he did in the past," Hottell said. "He didn't say anything threatening."

He walked with a cane. He told them of his health problems.

After dropping Ash off in Lincoln, the two from the sherriff's department headed back home the same day relieved after their trip.

Ash was found guilty by a Kimball County jury of Guitron's murder in 2012. The verdict was overturned in October 2013 by the Nebraska Supreme Court because the defense attorney didn't feel like he had ample time to prepare.

Ash was retried in 2015 and once again found guilty of first-degree murder.

Hottell stated that Ash did tell them that he thought he was going to get another appeal and a retrial and he also thought he was going to get out of prison.

Although all players in the Guitron murder were from either Colorado or Wyoming, the murder took place in Kimball County. Kimball County citizens were responsible for the prosecution. The senseless murder cost the citizens of Kimball over $113,000, spanning from July 2012 to December 2016. Some additional costs from housing in more secure jails and county employees were not tracked. The State of Nebraska was financially responsible for Ash's attorney, but the county had to pay for defense experts.

Hottell said, "My big thing was that I wanted to text the judge and say, 'He's in the pen'. Like the 211 gang, they kill prosecutors. Getting him there was a big thing to me so people knew the threat was over."

The final trip for Ash would cost the taxpayers of Kimball just over $800 for his delivery to the state pen. Ash is now the responsibility of the State of Nebraska.