A North Platte man is going to prison for three to five years for his role in the burglary of a residence whose owner had just passed away.

Timothy Leeper appeared for sentencing, on Monday, in Lincoln County District Court.

Leeper and several others are accused of burglarizing a residence north of North Platte in February.

According to prosecutors, Leeper and his co-defendants knew the home’s owner had passed away, and decided to burglarize it for drug money.  They say Leeper and his cohorts made off with a massive amount of property, including firearms.

Lincoln County Attorney Rebecca Harling asked Judge Richard Birch to sentence Leeper to the penitentiary for a substantial amount of time.

Harling said Leeper and the others stole from a gentlemen after he had passed away, leaving his grieving daughters to deal with the fact that their father’s belongings had been stolen.  She also noted that Leeper had an extensive criminal record.

Leeper’s attorney, Marty Troshynski, asked the court to consider that Leeper had entered into a plea agreement in the case, and had saved the state the time and expense of a trial by pleading no contest to the charge.

Judge Birch then stated that it was obvious that probation was not an option, and sentenced Leeper to not less than three or more than five years in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

He gave Leeper credit for 103 days already served in jail.

Two of Leeper’s co-defendants also appeared in court Monday.  Dennis Razes and Brian Spotts both had their cases continued.