State of Nebraska v. Trevor S. Zellers

Lincoln, Nebraska criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with assault and battery.







Zellers was originally charged by information on May 31, 2023, with first degree assault, a Class II felony; and third degree assault, a Class I misdemeanor. The charges arose out of an incident that occurred on March 2, 2023. An amended information was filed on January 16, 2024,



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which reduced the first charge to attempted first degree assault, a Class IIA felony. The third degree assault charge remained the same.



A plea hearing was held on January 16, 2024. The district court advised Zellers of the amended charges, potential penalties, and the rights he would be giving up upon the entry of his pleas. After a thorough examination, the court found that Zellers was freely, voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waiving his rights and that he understood the consequences of his waiver. The court received the following factual basis from the State:



On March 2, 2023, officers were dispatched to 1648 South Street, Phillips 66, regarding an assault.



Upon arrival, Janna Brave, employee at Phillips 66, reported that she was assaulted by a white male, later described as being in his 40s, about 5'5", wearing a gray shirt, gray pants, and glasses, with a scar on the right side of his face by his mouth.



She said the suspect came into the store and was playing the slot machines. She said he got upset and began hitting the machine, so she told him to stop, or he needed to leave.



He began insulting her as he was walking out the door. She said when she followed the suspect out the door[,] he punched her two times in the face and grabbed her shirt.



While this was occurring, Alyson Ahrens, an employee at [the] Subway attached to the gas station, followed them outside. Alyson said she saw the suspect grab Janna and punch her in the face what she believed to be three times.



She said she grabbed ahold of the suspect by the back of the shirt to pull him away from Ms. Brave. When she did this, . . . the suspect tried to spin toward her which caused them to fall to the ground.



Ms. Brave said it hurt when she was punched. She was observed to have red marks on her face and scratches on her neck.



Ms. Ahrens was observed to have an abrasion on her left knee and the palm of her right hand from where - from when she fell.



The defendant was later identified as the party responsible for this incident after a photo lineup was shown to Ms. Brave containing the defendant's photograph.



During a follow up interview with Ms. Ahrens, she said that she had surgery on her left knee due to the injury she sustained from the incident. She stated she had a broken femur which required three screws and two plates.



All events occurring in Lancaster County, Nebraska.



Zellers entered a plea of no contest to the attempted first degree assault regarding the injury to Ahrens and a plea of guilty to the third degree assault regarding the injury to Brave. The court found that the pleas were entered freely, voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently and that there was a sufficient factual basis to support the charges. The court found Zellers guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the two charges in the amended information. The court subsequently sentenced Zellers to consecutive terms of imprisonment of 6 to 10 years and 1 to 1 year.





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Legal issue Was the factual basis sufficient to support a plea of attempted first degree assault?



Key Phrases Attempted first degree assault. Ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Insufficient factual basis.

Excessive sentence. Consecutive terms of imprisonment.

Affirmed