KEARNEY, Neb. — A Kearney man accused of threatening a police lieutenant and stalking the city’s police chief is back behind bars.

District Court Judge Patrick Lee heard arguments from the state and from 59-year-old Marcus Ditchman’s attorney at a sentencing hearing on Thursday, but he didn’t hand down a sentence. Instead, Lee described the pre-sentence as one of the most bizarre he’s ever read. He said he needed to see more material and added testing in order to issue a sentence.

As a result, Lee revoked Ditchman’s bond and committed him to the Department of Corrections for 90 days to undergo a complete study. Court documents say the evaluation will include a comprehensive medical, psychological, and neuropsychological assessment.

The case dates back to May of 2023. Ditchman identified himself as a “copwatcher” at the time and operated a social media page where he would film police and share his thoughts on law enforcement. He went to the police station on May 21 and had a heated encounter with Lieutenant Jason Koetters that Ditchman live-streamed on his Facebook page.

At one point, he counted up to five and then said, “I swear to God, I will let these dogs go and they will munch the f— out of you.” A police affidavit says he was holding the door handle next to the dogs while making the threat. That comment, combined with previous claims from Ditchman that he trained his dogs to attack officers, eventually led police to arrest Ditchman for terroristic threats.

In October, Ditchman made a plea deal with the state. The agreement lowered the terroristic threats charge to third-degree assault and Ditchman pleaded no contest. The state pledged to recommend a sentence of 18 months probation with a condition to include no internet use or social media presence.

The state also suggested a psychological evaluation if the probation officer deemed it appropriate. The evaluation never happened, which became a point of contention for the prosecution and the judge.

Ditchman’s attorney, Dustin Garrison, argued against the ruling saying Ditchman could take himself to the evaluations and said his client couldn’t go to prison because of his poor health. Lee said arrangements would be made if the Department of Corrections couldn’t care for him.

Ditchman is also involved in a separate case that was set for sentencing on Thursday. The county attorney charged Ditchman with two counts of misdemeanor stalking and three other violations for actions taken in September 2023. Court documents list police chief Bryan Waugh and his wife as the victims.

Ditchman made a plea deal in that case, as well. He pleaded no contest to one stalking offense and the state dropped the four other charges. The prosecution recommended a sentence of six months probation to run after the completion of the sentence in the threats case. The court continued the sentencing hearing for the stalking case in light of the decision in the other case. Both cases are now set for sentencing on February 28.