Jonathan Berry of Cortez, who pleaded guilty in June for possessing firearms and DUI as a previous offender and then was arrested later in June for carrying a firearm, is being held without bail while his previous plea agreement is still in effect.
Before being arrested in June for possessing a handgun, Berry pleaded guilty to a Class 5 felony weapons charge and misdemeanor DUI in court after his arrest on April 7. Seven other charges were dropped under a plea agreement.
He was arrested for driving under the influence and for possessing multiple firearms as a previous felony offender from a conviction of felony menacing in June of 2019.
His sentencing hearing was to take place on Tuesday, but did not proceed because of his arrest at the end of June.
Because Berry’s plea agreement from the April offense is still in effect, he is being held in the Montezuma County Detention Center without bail. Bail would be set for Berry, however, if he decided to withdraw his plea in the former case.
His counsel informed Judge Todd Plewe of the 22nd Judicial District that they would be in consultation with the people regarding the next steps before his preliminary/sentencing hearing, which has been set for Aug. 15 at 1:30 p.m. He will remain in custody until then.
Berry is the brother of Jeremiah Berry, a Cortez man who killed their 42-year-old father, Jack Berry, in February 2008. Jeremiah pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of their father, who had allegedly raped Jeremiah and said he needed to undergo a sex transition so he could become his “wife.”
Jeremiah shot his father to death, then reportedly dismembered him, fed parts of his body to coyotes and encased the rest of his body in multiple buckets of concrete.
Jeremiah served three years in prison and took his own life in March 2012 upon his release. He was 24 years old.
