Source: newschannelnebraska.com 5/15/23
NEBRASKA CITY – A Nebraska City man was sentenced to prison Monday for starting a fire after bragging he would deal with residents on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registration.
Otoe County Attorney Jennifer Panko-Rahe said 20-year-old Seth Buller went to a residence listed on the registry with intent to harm whoever was living there. She said when his attempt to gain entrance to the residence failed, he started a fire in a garage. Panko-Rahe said investigators found evidence of fuel spread to a work bench and other items in the garage.
He entered a plea to attempted arson and was sentenced Monday to two to eight years with credit for 230 days already served.
Judge Julie Smith said she took Buller’s young age and his clean prior record in his favor, but said the crime was too serious for probation.
Talk about a slap on the wrist and when he gets out and does it again the judge should be held responsible. This judge should be removed from the bench.
Why was this not attempted murder when clearly that is what happened through the fire and his mens rea showed he was doing just that? He wasn’t just burning a building that was not occupied. That would have justified the arson charge. I don’t care what his education level is because he knew what he was doing. Attempted murder plain and simple. The simpletons of NE just don’t get it.
It was attempted murder. It was planned. It was a Hate Crime. 2-8 years?
🤔 Was he intoxicated or just incredibly stupid?? ‘Not sure about elsewhere, but in both Florida and California, he just won himself a place on the Arson Registry!!
What a dumb*ss! 😆
Here’s more:
Investigator: arson suspect targets sex offense registry
😲 According to the article, Mr. Arsonist could be out in one year – 230 already served = 135 days!! 😳
So, will he placed on the Arson Registry? I know California has the Sex Offender and Arson Registry. His residence should be listed with full address and picture.
I’ll have to print out all the articles that state he had a list of registrants due to the registry and he targeted registrants because of his hatred and send it to the Nebraska Parole Board when his review is up. He’s a danger to the community and he should be kept in prison all 8 years and he’s only 20. Maybe he should have gotten past the ninth grade and be more productive. If anyone wants to join me I’ll put up the contact numbers of the Parole Board.
The prosecutor assigned to this case was certainly complicit in this travesty. Not only the prosecutor, but his boss as well (the elected D.A.), who would have approved, or ‘signed off’, on this weak-on-crime ‘deal’. I guarnatee you that this elected D.A. did not run on a campaign of “weak-on-crime”. If the DA’s office had strenuously objected to this sweetheart deal, it would have been noted in the news article. But lo, no such reporting appears.
Prosecutors typically justify this by claiming that: securing a conviction would be very difficult as local citizens (jurors) would be sympathetic to this creep as he was targeting “those dangerous sex offenders”. The elected DA would not be risking much, and may even be viewed favorably by taking such a weak position. So they give the creep a slap on the wrist, and likely, behind the scenes, a slap on the back “attaboy”.
Ok…so, if you try to burn down someone’s home, you get 2 to 8 years in prison…but if you forget to renew your “Price Club Membership” (which, by the way, is not punishment), you get 75 years in prison.
Got it!
Eight years for attempted murder, and premeditated at that???? But if a registrant misses a verification he gets twice that!!!
But fortunately this guy will be allowed to go on with his life when he gets out of prison and the community will welcome him back with open arms. (sarcasm added)
Under Nebraska law a person has to do half of their bottom number and half of the top number under the Good Time Law, so he could be out soon or stay in prison for 3 years. His sentence was asinine and what message does it send to the Arsonist and others who think like him, ” You can get away with it because we have your back.” Another example to use as evidence of registrants being targeted for being on the registry.
“Buller, who has a ninth grade education, will be eligible for parole a year minus the 230 days he has already served”
By God! This is what a 9th grade education can get you
“Tough on crime” conservative states like Nebraska can be pretty lenient when it comes to criminal justice. Probably because they don’t have an urban minority population to fear, and kick around like what’s happening in Wisconsin where good time credits have long been a thing of the past. The state’s all about truth in sentencing and mandatory minimums for first time cp viewing offenses. Plus Wisconsin requires people to keep registering long after they’d left that miserable state. Being a PFR is hard enough, but try being one convicted in Wisconsin.