An ugly chapter in Alliance’s 125-year history came to a close Monday afternoon when a Hemingford woman was sent to prison for being an accessory to a death that was tied to the Thiele Pharmacy standoff last summer.
Box Butte County District Court Judge Travis O’Gorman ordered 20-year-old Rose Siefke to serve 20 months to five years in prison for her role in the death of former Alliance resident Josh Bullock, who was killed in Alliance and buried south of Chadron in December, 2011.
The judge stated that the evidence presented in a pre-sentence investigation revealed that Siefke sat on everything she knew about Bullock’s death.
Two weeks after Bullock was reported missing, his burned out pickup truck was found south of Chadron. During a standoff at Thiele Pharmacy on June 12, 2012, Siefke’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Andy Gonzalez, who held pharmacy owner Charles Lierk hostage for over seven hours, told law enforcement that he had killed Bullock and buried his body south of Chadron.
Siefke denied knowing anything about Bullock’s death from December, 2011 and until the day after the Thiele standoff, when she told law enforcement of what she knew.
Siefke was portrayed as a victim by her attorney, Larry Miller, who told the court that Siefke feared for her life because Gonzalez had threatened to kill her and her family if she told police what she knew.
However, Judge O’Gorman told Siefke that she had put on a great community performance for the past year, when in reality she did not fear Gonzalez. Text messages she had sent to Gonzalez revealed she had told him off on several occasions, and often used vulgar profanity in her communication.
The Judge also shared that when Gonzalez buried Bullock’s burned up body, Siefke helped determine the burial site, and also took part in disposing of Bullock’s severed head in Chadron dumpster.
O’Gorman also shared with the courtroom that Siefke also knew of Gonzales’ plan to rob Thiele Pharmacy, and that she could have prevented the entire ordeal.
The judge also felt the prison sentence he imposed was not long enough, but that his hands were tied by state statutes.
Judge O’Gorman also shared with the courtroom gallery that the case was an “issue of risk” for the state, because had Seifke gone to trial on the original charge of accessory to murder, which carried a sentence of up to 20 years, there may have been a hung jury and Siefke may have not received any punishment.
“While Andy Gonzalez told police he killed Josh Bullock, Gonzalez himself is dead and never was convicted of murder.” he stated. “Since Gonzalez was not convicted of murder, it would have been difficult for the state to prove that Siefke was an accessory to a non-conviction. Getting the guilty plea on the lesser charge ensures punishment.”
County Attorney Kathleen Hutchinson labeled Siefke as a liar. She stated that every page of the pre-sentence investigation was full of non-truths.
Hutchinson also told the court that when Siefke was in a drug rehab center 300 miles from Alliance, where she could have told police what she knew about Bullocks’ death, but still failed to do so.
“Rose’s refusal to share what she knew about Josh Bullock’s death led to a town being held hostage,” she concluded.
Prior to her sentencing, Siefke told the court that she was sorry for her actions, but that the recent birth of her daughter had given her new life.
Under Nebraska’s good time law, Siefke will be eligible for parole in 10 months.