By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Nickolas Arrendondo’s announcement that he will be seeking new counsel came as a surprise, especially as Judge Sean Leuthold and the assistant prosecutor were prepared to accept his guilty plea in exchange for a one-time deal.
The state offered a 10-year prison deal in exchange for his guilty plea to one count of the illegal manufacturing of drugs (felony two), one count of the illegal assembly or possession of chemicals to manufacture drugs (felony three), having weapons under disability (felony three), and drug possession (felony five). The combined maximum sentences equaled 18 years in prison.
The 25-year-old Plymouth man had been set for a change of plea Monday afternoon but informed his appointed attorney, Rolf Whitney, that he was in the process of hiring attorney Thomas Nicholson. Leuthold was skeptical of the announcement in light of the fact that Nicholson was not in attendance for the hearing.
After a call to Nicholson, the court was informed that the attorney had not talked to Arrendondo’s family nor had he received any payment.
“I’m not sure I believe he’ll get paid today,” Leuthold remarked.
“He’ll get paid,” Arrendondo assured the judge.
“The bottom line is we’re not going to play games here,” Leuthold said.
The judge ordered a hearing set within a week to address Arrendondo’s attorney issues.
Arrendondo was arrested on the four charges in December at the same home in which he was arrested and charged on the same crimes in 2014. Though he was sentenced to 36 months in prison, he received judicial release after serving less than a year in prison.
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