Man involved in standoff accepts plea

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A plea agreement was reached with the McCook man responsible for firing a weapon at emergency responders, kicking off a 71⁄2-hour standoff that ended with him leaving peacefully with heavily-armed SWAT team members that had been called in from North Platte.

The man, 58-year-old Raymond E. Miley, had entered a plea of not responsible by reason of insanity in December, however after a report from a psychiatrist with the Lincoln Regional Center deemed he was competent to stand trial, Miley withdrew the insanity plea and accepted a plea agreement offered by Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood.

The plea agreement dismissed the Class IC felony charge of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and pleaded no contest to the Class II felony charge of attempted assault on an officer in the first degree.

The dismissal of the Class IC felony leaves open the possibility of a probation sentence for Miley, as Class IC felonies carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment.

Class II felonies carry a minimum of one year imprisonment, with a maximum of fifty years, however the minimum sentence is not mandatory and a probation only option is possible.

The plea made no agreement pertaining to a recommendation from the prosecution at sentencing.

Sentencing for Miley was scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 2, 2012, in Red Willow County District Court.

Following the October 2011 incident neighbors of Miley told the Gazette that he was a very nice man who had told them he was in the Vietnam war and suffered from flashbacks.

McCook police officers and ambulance personnel arrived at Miley's West H Street residence the morning of the incident after receiving a report of a possibly suicidal individual. A few moments after their arrival a shot was fired from a high powered weapon from inside the residence that penetrated the outside wall near the area where the officers had been standing.

Miley subsequently refused to communicate with officers and a Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team was called in to assist with the situation. The SWAT team forcibly entered the residence and Miley was taken into custody and transported by ambulance to Community Hospital for medical evaluation. He was determined to have no apparent injuries and no officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.