Former district judge Craig Key was booked at the Lincoln County Jail on Dec. 12 and appeared before Judge Emily Mueller on Dec. 19 for violating his probation terms, according to court records.
On Friday, Judge Mueller tentatively set his next court date for March 12 and said that the case would be assigned a judge later.
Key has not made any restitution payments since 2022, according to the application to revoke his suspended sentence. As part of the rules and conditions for his probation, Key was ordered to pay a total of $527,734.29 for all cases combined by February 2026 and had a set amount to pay each month.
The documents stated that Key has paid $6,962 so far and the last payment was made in October 2022 for $101. As such, the application to revoke and a bench warrant was filed by the Attorney General’s Office on Dec. 12.
On Feb. 5, 2016, Key pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including embezzlement, delivery of a forged note or instrument, conspiracy to commit a felony, larceny of a domestic animal or implements of husbandry and harboring a fugitive. He was sentenced to seven years in a state penitentiary, with all but the first five to be suspended.
He was released from the Department of Corrections on May 15, 2017, according to court documents.