EVANSTON — The second of two men accused of causing nearly $70,000 worth of damage to Evanston’s Roundhouse last August appeared in Third District Court on the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 23, to enter a change of plea in the case. James E. Nordwall pleaded guilty to a charge of felony property destruction as part of a plea agreement reached with the Uinta County Attorney’s Office. 

Nordwall entered an initial plea of not guilty to felony charges of property destruction and conspiracy to commit property destruction related to the damage at the Roundhouse discovered on the morning of Aug. 30. When crews arrived at work that August morning they found numerous broken windows and other damage caused by rocks thrown at the building. 

Local law enforcement later arrested Nordwall and Dominic Burgess, who were 22 and 18 at the time of their arrests. Court documents said the two men confessed to causing the damage, as well as other acts of vandalism around town, following a night of excessive drinking. 

Burgess was sentenced in January to a suspended sentence of two to five years in prison, with three years of supervised probation and restitution of his share of $6,213.08. The restitution amount consists of the $5,000 insurance deductible paid by the City of Evanston to repair the damage, as well as the costs of materials needed to temporarily secure the building prior to the windows being replaced. 

Appearing before Judge Joseph Bluemel, Nordwall said he was voluntarily changing his plea to guilty. The plea agreement reached between Nordwall, his attorney Leonard Kaumo, and the county attorney’s office would carry a similar sentence to that handed down to Burgess of two to five years in prison. Nordwall, however, would face six months of incarceration at the Uinta County Jail, followed by three years of supervised probation and his share of the $6,213.08 in restitution. 

In court, Nordwall admitted to throwing multiple rocks at the Roundhouse with the intent of breaking the windows and to cutting himself while doing so. When Bluemel asked if he knew who the building belonged to at the time, Nordwall said he did not and that he was surprised to find it was such a big deal to the community. 

Prior to sentencing, Bluemel asked Nordwall if he had reviewed the results of a pre-sentence investigation completed in December 2017. Nordwall said he had, but he was concerned because he had been unable to complete a required Addiction Severity Index evaluation. 

Kaumo, Nordwall’s attorney, said he was anxious to get the addiction evaluation completed prior to sentencing, and Nordwall said he had made an effort to get the evaluation done but had not been able to get an appointment scheduled due to communication problems. 

Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson said the state’s position was that there had been plenty of time since the pre-sentence investigation was completed in December for Nordwall to arrange for the substance abuse evaluation, and there would now be ample time for Nordwall to have the addiction evaluation completed while he was incarcerated at the Uinta County Jail. 

Bluemel, however, said there had also been plenty of time since December for the state to make sure the substance abuse evaluation had been completed, and that he wanted that information prior to sentencing.

A sentencing hearing was then set for 3 p.m. on March 29. Nordwall’s bond will be continued until that time, and Bluemel instructed him to immediately report to the Probation and Parole office to arrange for the substance abuse evaluation and to follow through with that appointment.