PAST CO SHERIFFS l UNMARKED GRAVE I THE THIRTIES l MURDERS/THREATS l HOLDREGE SHOOTOUT
CURRENT SHERIFF
Phelps County Sheriff's Office History and Some Interesting Information
COUNTY
SEAT:
Holdrege is the third county seat location in Phelps County. The
first county seat was in Williamsburg in Williamsburg Township in
the northern part of the county. Information about Williamsburg is scarce but Rolf Johnson wrote
that there were four buildings in Williamsburg when he arrived in
1876.
Early County Board records indicate on July 10, 1878 the board
met pursuant to adjournment with Commissioners, A.S. Baldwin,
Chairman Dilworth, & Joseph Meehan.
Some Stories About the Sheriffs
JAMES
SWEEZE: Unmarked Grave of Former Sheriff and Would-Be-Killer
Somewhere in the prairies of southwestern Phelps County near
Spring Creek lies the unmarked grave of a would-be-killer who died
in 1877. Articles in the newspaper state James Sweeze was Sheriff
at the time. The deceased, William P. Miller, a former Sheriff, lived
in a combination dugout and log cabin. Miller always carried a gun
& threatened his neighbors. He kidnapped a 16 year old girl and
kept her imprisoned. Shortly after the birth of her second child, the
girl escaped.
After the escape, Miller appeared to reform. However, as the years
passed, more threats to the neighbors were reported. On July 19,
1877, Miller attempted to carry out his death threats. He
threatened to kill Sweezy. Sweezy ordered him to surrender without
result. Miller died from three gunshot wounds that day.
SHERIFF HANSON: The Thirties
G.Royal Hanson's biography mentions his duties as sheriff. "He was on call
day and night. Having no deputy, he had to handle all aspects of civil, criminal, juveniles, and delinquent taxes. As
County Health Chairman he quarantined all contagious diseases."
"Probably the roughest, rawest, era of law breaking was the
bootlegging period, and was probably the era that gave him the
most headaches."
A bank robbery occurred in 1934. Three men took $5000.00
and hostages, who were later released. Investigators branched out to
many states. One of the robbers was killed in a car accident, one
turned state's evidence, and the third was sentenced to 25 years.
In December 1934 a baby was found in a suitcase at the local
hospital in Holdrege. The suitcase had been sitting in the waiting
room for several hours before the baby was found.
Sheriff Hanson was notified. All efforts to find the mother failed
and a hearing was held and the court ordered the baby boy be put
in the Home for Dependent Children, Lincoln, for adoption.
The attempted derailment of a Burlington Zephyr near Holdrege
in 1936 was another of his top cases. it took a three week
investigation to secure confessions from the suspects.
In another case a murderer's body was found before the victim's body was
discovered.
SHERIFF GEWECKE: Murders and Threats
Sheriff Wilber Gewecke's time as sheriff had difficult periods as
well. On January 11, 1959, Carl "Shorty" a gas station night attendant
was murdered and his body found in a rural Harlan County roadside
ditch. Although dozens of people were interviewed, the murder was
never solved.
On January 7, 1960 a local intoxicated man shot into the home
of a neighbor of Sheriff Gewecke, thinking it was the Sheriff's home. "The next evening I was out following some leads on the
shooting and the man called my wife and informed her that he had
killed me, and was coming to our house to kill her and the three
kids, "Gewecke said." He returned home to find his wife lying dead of a heart attack in
the hallway and the phone torn off the wall.
SHERIFF NEWMAN:
The Great Holdrege Shoot-Out
Dwayne Newman was Sheriff when the Holdrege Shoot-out
took place on August 18, 1989. Two convicts were plucked
from a Colorado Medium Security Prison by a hijacked helicopter. The
helicopter and pilot had been taken at gun point by the convict's two
girlfriends prior to the escape. Eight hours later the group
was spotted in Holdrege in a Ryder van and a shoot out took
place involving several law enforcement agencies including the Phelps County
Sheriff's Department, including Sheriff Dewayne Newman. Numerous rounds were fired by
the convicts as well as law enforcement officers. The convicts
were finally captured right here in Holdrege after one of them was wounded.
SHERIFF TOM NUTT: Current Sheriff
Current Sheriff, Tom Nutt, has a department that includes 6 deputies, 2 reserve deputies, a head jailer, &
14 corrections officers. The
Sheriff's
department and correctional facility are located at the Phelps
County Justice Center in Holdrege, Ne.
Sheriff Nutt was elected to the officer after retiring from the
Nebraska State Patrol as a sergeant. he is a graduate of the
FBI's National Law Enforcement Academy and has a degree in
Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
FROM 1872 - 1878 WILLIAM P. MILLER, JAMES SWEEZY, & FRANK SWEEZY, & JAMES BALDWIN WERE MENTIONED.
JOHN SHAFER................................................. 1873-1877
FRANK HALLGAREN...................................... 1877-1881
A. A. WYATT....................................................... 1881-1883
L. A. NEWMAN................................................... 1883-1885
E. A. ERICKSON................................................ 1885-1889
J. A. RUBY........................................................... 1889-1891
D. S. CONLEY..................................................... 1891-1893
SIMON KNUDSON............................................. 1893-1899
J. N. GUSTUS...................................................... 1899-1911
GUSTAV ANDERSON........................................ 1911-1915
G. A. ANDERSON................................................ 1915-1923
ROYAL HANSON................................................. 1923-1955
WILBUR GEWECKE........................................... 1955-1971
DWAYNE NEWMAN............................................ 1971-1979
MERLE DIVIS....................................................... 1979-1983
DWAYNE NEWMAN............................................ 1983-1998
TOM L NUTT.......................................................... 1998-Curr