Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
A new trial for Jason Assad, the Sidney man convicted in April of five felony charges including first-degree false imprisonment, is being sought by his attorney.
On April 27, 10 days after a Cheyenne County jury found Assad guilty, his counsel, Steven Elmshaeuser, filed a motion on behalf of his client for a new trial.
Assad was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. However, Cheyenne County District Court Judge Derek Weimer earlier this month ordered sentencing to be continued to June 11 at 4:30 p.m. A hearing regarding the motion for a new trial will instead be heard on Friday, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
In court documents, the defense alleges, as possible grounds for a new trial, the verdict was not sustained by sufficient evidence or is contrary to law.
The motion filing also claims an error of law occurring at the trial or misconduct of the jury, of the prosecuting authority or of the witnesses for the state may have “materially affected the Defendant’s substantial rights.”
Elmshaeuser’s office declined on Thursday to comment on the motion for a new trial.
On April 17, after a three-day trial, a jury of five women and seven men found Assad guilty on all five counts he faced. Deliberations lasted less than three hours.
Besdies false imprisonment, he was convicted of possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, terroristic threatening, use of a weapon to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Assad was arrested last fall at the El Palomino Motel in Sidney, a business he owned.
Sidney Police officers responded to the motel for a report of a woman screaming, according to testimony during the trial.
Unable to make contact with Assad, police obtained a search warrant.
In a subsequent search of the premises, officers found a female with two black eyes, according to police testimony. Surveillance equipment was also discovered.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the footage. Nearly two hours of that video, which was a large part of the prosecution’s case against Assad, was shown at the trial.
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