Blue Springs man receives two concurrent sentences

A 43-year-old Blue Springs man received two concurrent jail sentences in Gage County District Court on Wednesday for resisting arrest, second offense, and obstructing a peace officer in connection with a December assault in Blue Springs.

Wesley O'Keefe Sr. was sentenced to 48 to 60 months in state prison for the resisting arrest charge, a Class IIIA felony, and 12 months in state prison for the obstruction charge, a Class I misdemeanor.

Judge Paul Korslund ruled the sentences are to run concurrently, while O'Keefe also received three days credit for time served.

As part of an earlier plea agreement, a charge against O'Keefe of third degree assault of a peace officer, a Class IIIA felony, was dismissed.

A Class IIIA felony carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both. A Class I misdemeanor has a maximum sentence of one year in jail or a $1,000 fine or both.

O'Keefe was arrested following a family argument and fight at his house on Dec. 23.

O'Keefe's son, Billy, 21; Jesse C. Orr, 25; Jarod R. Hicks, 20; and Christopher O'Keefe, 14, all of Blue Springs, were arrested in connection with the beating of Timothy Mayhew of Beatrice at O'Keefe's residence that night.

Billy O'Keefe, Orr and Hicks have pleaded not guilty to their charges, while Christopher O'Keefe's case was moved to juvenile court.

Mayhew has been undergoing rehabilitation at the Nebraska Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln for severe head injuries.

According to court documents, Wesley O'Keefe Sr. attempted to stop authorities from taking Mayhew's body from the residence to an awaiting ambulance on the night of Dec. 23.

According to a report from Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Wach, O'Keefe yelled at deputies on the scene and told them to leave and quit tending to Mayhew's injuries.

One of the family members in the residence tried to assist law enforcement by talking to O'Keefe, but O'Keefe and his brother, Dusty Mayhew, got into a fight.

Deputies then tried to break up the altercation, but O'Keefe allegedly pushed and struck a deputy in the face with his elbow, the report said. Wach said he used a TASER gun to try to restrain O'Keefe, but he resisted and pulled away.

After the Wymore ambulance arrived, deputies retrieved a backboard and neck collar for Timothy Mayhew. After Mayhew was placed on the backboard, O'Keefe allegedly shut and locked the front door and said neither Mayhew nor anyone else could leave the residence.

According to the court document, Dusty Mayhew then moved O'Keefe out of the way so Timothy Mayhew could be taken to the ambulance. After more law enforcement officials arrived, O'Keefe was arrested.

Following the altercation, Timothy Mayhew was transported to the Wymore National Guard Armory and from there by helicopter to BryanLGH West.