Please help us afford a sentencing appeal

Hello everybody my name is Tasha Allen and I’m starting this go fund me for my son Max.

Max was unfairly sentenced a few days ago. His case took over a year before the DA would even offer a plea deal. He was facing multiple charges, many of which where tacked on by a small county DA in a desperate attempt to charge him with the death of a young girl who they presumed died of an overdose. However, the coroners report and toxicology report said that was not the case. She died of a CVA. (Head trauma due to a pre existing accident).

After being threatened with a homicide charge for many many many months, and them trying to send the case Federal, ( The feds kicked it back by the way, because there was not anything they were able to do). They finally offered him a plea deal.

He was told by his lawyer, that the plea deal was for one charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, under 10 g. and the second charge was for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute ( only 4 pills). Both class 2 Felonies in the state of Nebraska. Although he is guilty of the first charge with the cocaine, and he has never denied that from minute one, the fentanyl was not his. He had no knowledge of it, he did not know that this young lady had drugs in her house. He was not at her house to use or sell drugs, she had called him in the middle of the night to come over and hang out. He was originally arrested the next morning when they found her dead, on possession of cocaine because he allowed them to search his vehicle.

Later after he was booked in a couple days the DA tacked on all additional charges for all the pills they found in her house. Even with no connection or any kind of proof that Max had anything to do with those.

So after a long battle, and being jerked around by the court system and Covid, he finally excepted the plea deal also being told by his lawyer, that the DA would push for time served or close to it.

So he pled no contest to the two class 2 felonies and they scheduled sentencing for a month out.

This week the DA of the small county, put on a show for all the reporters! She said that my son was a predator, and that he deals in death. She said that even though the coroner report does not say that she died of an overdose, that she still had drugs in her system that led to her death. She said that Max caused her death. Out of all the drugs in her system, and a very high blood alcohol level, cocaine is never one of the things that showed up on the toxicology!

The judge finally passed down the sentence, sentencing Max 25 to 30 years in prison for the cocaine charge, and 30 to 40 years in prison for the fentanyl charge.

It should be noted that these are Max’s first felony convictions, and that he has never had any drug convictions either. He does have a past record but it’s stupid stuff. He’s never been to prison. 

As you may or may not know, I am disabled and live on a very fixed Social Security income. I am unable to financially help Max get an attorney to appeal the sentence. This is why I’m setting up this page and begging for any help you can give. This was an extremely unjust sentence by an overzealous small county DA and judge. We really need to get this appealed, so he can serve a fair sentence.