Hardesty Hesperanza, (Buffalo County Jail, Courtesy)
KEARNEY — A California woman has been sentenced after she pleaded no contest to amended charges stemming from an incident where children were found in the back of a U-Haul during an Interstate 80 traffic stop.
Hardesty Hesperanza, 39, Pittsburg, Calif., has been charged with four counts of committing intentional child abuse – no injury, a Class 3A felony and possession of a controlled substance, Class 4 felony.
Hesperanza had initially entered a written not guilty to the charges on July 16.
Appearing for a final plea hearing on Aug. 23, Hesperanza pleaded no contest to amended charges.
The child abuse charges were amended to failure to report child abuse, a Class 3 misdemeanor and possession of a controlled substance was amended to attempt of a Class 4 felony, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A no contest plea is neither an admission nor denial of guilt, but the plea is treated the same as a guilty plea.
Sentencing was conducted the same day; Judge John Marsh imposed a sentence of 75 days for each count to be served concurrently with credit for 49 days served.
According to court documents filed in Buffalo County Court, on Friday, May 10 at 10:09 a.m., troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol were instructed to be on the look out for a U-Haul truck with Arizona plates that had occupants in the rear of the vehicle.
NSP Trooper Winters was at the I-80 272 interchange and observed the U-Haul truck pass. He caught up with the vehicle and confirmed the licenses plate with dispatch. He then observed the U-Haul travel onto the shoulder of the highway and back onto the interstate.
Trooper Winters conducted a traffic stop and the U-Haul pulled over at the Odessa exit, mile marker 263. By this point, Trooper Stindt had arrived on scene to assist.
Trooper Winters approached the vehicle and observed a female driver and a female passenger. A Illinois license identified the driver as Melissa Seitz and a California licensed identified the passenger as Hardesty Hesperanza.
Seitz was asked to exit the vehicle and Trooper Winters began filling out a warning for driving on the shoulder. At this point, Seitz said she was traveling from Illinois to Wyoming to help a friend move.
Per Trooper Winters, Seitz did not know the county in which she was coming from in Illinois and also did not know the last name of the individual that she was helping move.
Later, Trooper Winters was informed by Hespernanza that they were traveling to California to start new and said nothing about Wyoming or helping anyone move.
At this point, Trooper Winters became suspicious of criminal activity.
After a licenses check, the troopers were advised that Seitz license was suspended and have a prior criminal history. Hespernanza was advised to have a criminal history and was a potentially dangerous offender.
After issuing a citation to Setiz for no operator’s license and a warning for driving on the shoulder, Trooper Winters asked to speak with Setiz, who agreed.
Trooper Winters pointed out the discrepancies between the two stories and asked if there were any drugs in the U-Haul. Seitz would state there was marijuana and her children in the rear of the moving truck.
The U-Haul was noted to be a box truck with a rear cargo area that was not ventilated and was closed.
After removing Hespernanza from the U-Haul, Troopers Winters and Stindt conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and located several pipes, marijuana, THC dispensary gummies and a tramadol pill bottle that was not prescribed.
Several sexual items were also located in a bag in the cabin area, per court documents.
When the back of the truck was searched, three young children were found, along with an older woman. There were several cats and a small dog that were also located. Trooper Winters observed the bay to be filled with clothing bags, trash and bedding.
The living conditions were observed to be “very poor,” at it appeared as if they had been in the back of the truck for an extended period.
The older woman was identified as Soulana Schultz.
Troopers called for members of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, who arrived on scene and determined the conditions to be unsafe for children.
The DHHS workers transported the children to a safe location and were removed from Seitz, their mother. The animals were taken to the Kearney Area Animal Shelter.
Hespernanza would suffer a seizure while in the back of the patrol car and would be transported to CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment.
Seitiz and Schultz would be booked into the Buffalo County Jail. Hespernanza would also be booked into jail after being medically cleared.
