Officials move to revoke Mahto’s probation

JAMESTOWN (AP) — Officials are moving to revoke the probation of a man who served about 15 years in prison for raping four Fargo women.

A petition to revoke Gero Mahto’s probation has been drafted and sent to court officials in Cass County, John Knutson, a state parole and probation officer, said Wednesday.

Mahto, 38, was arrested Monday night in Jamestown, after he called a service station and told an employee he needed help getting rid of marijuana, then tried to run from police when they came to question him at the motel where he lived, authorities said.

Mahto was charged with fleeing an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor paraphernalia charge Tuesday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and ordered to pay $325 in court feets.

The fleeing charge is a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maxiumum sentence of 30 days in prison and a $1,000 fine.

“The petition to revoke (probation) indicated Mr. Mahto had violated the conditions of his probation as a result of those new offenses,” Knutson said Wednesday.

Jamestown Police Chief Dave Donegan said Mahto did not immediately enter a plea to the fleeing charge in municipal court, and was being held Wednesday on $300 cash bail in the Stutsman County Correctional Center.

Mahto pleaded guilty in 1992 to raping four women living in south Fargo basement apartments. He originally was sentenced to two 10-year prison terms and 10 years of probation, but his stay was shortened with credit for good time and parole on the first sentence.

Mahto moved to Jamestown after his release from prison in July. He was serving the first of two five-year probation terms, and was monitored with a Global Positioning System ankle bracelet, Knutson said.

Assistant Cass County State’s Attorney Mark Boening said that if Mahto’s probation is revoked, he could be ordered to serve to the maximum allowed on his original sentence, which would be nearly 19 years in prison.

(Jamestown Sun staff contributed to this story.)

Tags: sexoffender, mahto, probation