Innocent Girl Held A Week In North Platte Jail

“We are horribly sorry,” the cop said.

The 17-year-old girl who was wrongly locked in jail for seven days might be feeling terribly lucky.

Amanda Sylvester might still be in jail, facing criminal charges that included aiding and abetting a robbery, were it not for an anonymous tip to a Crimestopper hotline.

Her arrest and arraignment stemmed from mistaken identity, according to Lieutenant Rick Ryan of the North Platte Police Department. One of the men involved in the recent robbery of a Kwik Shop identified Sylvester through a photograph, but said he didn’t know her name.

“Amanda Sylvester was not involved in the robbery,” Ryan said. “We have no information or any reason to believe that Amanda is involved in drugs or any illegal activity. We are horribly sorry about what happened.”

To make matters worse for Sylvester, she had been arraigned as a adult and County Judge Kent Turnbull set bail at $250,000; she would have had to post $25,000 to be released.

Sylvester cried in court October 24 as Turnbull read the charges to her.

"I wasn't even there," Sylvester said. "I know these guys but don't understand why they're using my name."

"That may be all true but at this point; I just don't know," Turnbull said. "Talk to your attorney."

Although she is only 17, Sylvester was arraigned as an adult.

A week later, the Crimestopper tip led to the arrest of Kayce Schildhauer, 19, of North Platte.

Ryan said the women have very similar looks, and that the mistake was easily understood because of it. (The photographs published with this story were taken from Nebraska drivers' licenses.)

“They have the same color hair, they’re about the same size and they wear the same earrings,” Ryan said. “But they are two different people.”

Her guardian said she was concerned about the way Sylvester had been treated by the system – especially the fact that she was arraigned as an adult.

Investigators brought Schildhauer in for questioning, which resulted in her arrest, Ryan said.

Sylvester’s photograph and name had previously been used by local media, informing the community that she was a suspect.

"There have been some really nasty, ugly, things said about Amanda that never should have been allowed," Ryan said.

Police Chief Martin Sutschenritter apologized for the error, adding “There is a lesson to be learned here, that everything isn’t always what it appears.”

In addition to Schildhauer, three suspects have been arrested in the case: Nicholas T. Zierke, 19; Jesse S. Dorris, 25; Erik C. Ritter, 19.