Ferguson pleads no contest in shooting death of Jesse Krausnick

Tristan Ferguson, 21, of Imperial pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony charges in the shooting death of Jesse Krausnick, 19, at Ferguson’s Imperial residence Nov. 24, 2022.
His no contest plea came as a result of a plea agreement between the state and Ferguson.
Chase County District Judge Patrick Heng told Ferguson the court accepted his no contest plea and found him guilty of both charges. The two charges include manslaughter and attempted possession of a deadly weapon or firearm during the commission of a felony.
Judge Heng explained both are Class IIA felonies punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a minimum of none.
He ordered a pre-sentence investigation with sentencing to occur May 7 at 11 a.m. MT in Chase County District Court. Ferguson remains free on bond and must report for probation in the interim prior to his sentencing.
Case continued
since August 2023
The case has been continued several times since an initial motion to continue in August 2023. During this time, attorneys for the state and the defendant have been negotiating a plea agreement. Had Tuesday’s plea agreement not been reached, Judge Heng was going to set a trial date for the case.
Chase County Attorney Joel Burke, representing the state, said the original gun charge was filed as a Class II felony. This charge carries a minimum sentence of one year up to a maximum of 50 years. In addition, the sentence must be served following the completion of any other sentence imposed, in this case, the manslaughter charge.
During a 45-minute recess during Tuesday’s hearing, Burke said they reached agreement to amend the original gun charge to “attempted” possession of a deadly weapon or firearm during the commission of a felony, a Class IIA felony.
With a Class II gun felony, the judge must impose a consecutive sentence for the charge. Amending the charge to attempted possession gives the judge the latitude of imposing the sentence as a concurrent or consecutive sentence.
While the amended charge changes sentencing guidelines, Burke said it still provides a guaranteed result compared to possible outcomes from a jury trial.
Probable cause found
The probable cause affidavit in the case was filed by Nebraska State Patrol Investigator J. Connelly. He said he received a call for assistance at 12:41 a.m. MT on Nov. 25, 2022, regarding a possible firearm-related homicide at a house at 126 West 12 Street in Imperial.
The gunshot victim, Jesse Krausnick, 19, of Imperial was declared deceased at the Chase County Community Hospital after being transported by EMS from the residence.
Ferguson, who was occupying the residence, was detained by the Imperial Police Department and later confessed to shooting Krausnick with a shotgun. He told police he pointed the shotgun at Krausnick and pulled the trigger one time, believing the gun to be unloaded.
After processing the scene and the review of witness statements, Investigator Connelly concluded the evidence collected supported the statements and actions by Ferguson, resulting in probable cause for his arrest.
Prior to the shooting, Connelly found Ferguson used a fake identification card to purchase a large amount of alcohol at Kwik Stop in Imperial. The alcohol was distributed to and consumed by minors at the residence on the night of the shooting.