S-22-0010 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Wesley A. Mead (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Sherman County, Judge Karin L. Noakes
Attorneys: Christopher P. Wickham (Sennett Duncan Law Firm for Appellant) and Erin E. Tangeman (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee)
Criminal: Terroristic Threats, Aggravated First Degree Sexual Assault on a Child, Unlawful Intrusion, Excessive Sentence, and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.
Proceedings below: Appellant pled no contest to and was sentenced as follows: thirty (30) to forty (40) years in prison for Aggravated First Degree Sexual Assault on a Child, two (2) years to two (2) years in prison for Terroristic Threats, and two (2) years to two (2) years in prison for Unlawful Intrusion (class IV felony). After the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in a Memorandum Opinion, Appellant filed a Petition for Further Review by the Supreme Court, which was granted and this matter was transferred to Supreme Court docket.
Issues: On appeal, Appellant asserts the following assignments of error: 1) The Appellant’s pleas of no contest were not entered freely, intelligently, voluntarily, understandingly, and knowingly; 2) The District Court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence; and 3) Appellant received ineffective assistance of trial counsel for: failure to depose material witnesses prior to trial and/or plea and failure to file a motion to obtain a psychological evaluation prior to sentencing for mitigation purposes.