S-19-0056 State of Nebraska v. Victor Guzman (Appellant)
Sarpy County District Court, Judge Stefanie Martinez
Attorneys: Gregory A. Pivovar (Attorney for Appellant) – Douglas J. Peterson, Nathan A. Liss (Office of the Attorney General, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant)
Criminal: First degree sexual assault; Tampering with a witness; Ineffective assistance of counsel; Excessive sentence
Proceedings Below: On August 14 – 22, 2018, trial was held and the Appellant was found guilty of first degree sexual assault, and tampering with a witness, informant, or juror. He was sentenced on December 21, 2018 for 12 to 20 years for first degree sexual assault, and two years for tampering with a witness, informant, or juror.
Issues: Appellant assigns the following errors: whether 1) the trial court erred in overruling the Appellant’s motion to suppress; 2) the trial court erred in not granting the Appellant’s motion for a mistrial based on prosecutorial misconduct; 3) the trial court erred when it failed to grant a directed verdict and there was insufficient evidence to support a jury verdict as to the charges; 4) the Appellant received ineffective assistance of trial counsel; and 5) the trial court abused its discretion in imposing an excessive sentence.
Appellee assigns as error whether the trial court erred by imposing a determinate sentence on Appellant’s tampering conviction which Appellee believes is invalid and unauthorized under § 29-2204.02.