A-24-0953, State of Nebraska v. Carlos Rodriguez-Padron
District Court for Hall County, District Judge Andrew C. Butler
Attorney for Appellant: Katheryn L. Harouff (Harouff Law)
Attorneys for Appellee: Michael Hilgers & Jordan Osborne (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal Action: Theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief
Action taken by the Trial Court: The charges against Rodriguez-Padron arose from a series of diesel fuel thefts at a gas station in Grand Island, Nebraska and damage to one of the station’s diesel fuel pumps. The manager of the gas station at the time of the thefts died prior to trial. During a pretrial hearing, the trial court granted the State’s motion to substitute the interim manager as a trial witness. A jury trial was held. At trial, the State offered business records from the gas station documenting the thefts, which contained handwritten notations from the deceased manager. The trial court received the records in evidence over Rodriguez-Padron’s objections to the handwritten notations. The jury convicted Rodriguez-Padron on both counts, and the trial court subsequently sentenced him to concurrent sentences of 20 months’ imprisonment for theft by unlawful taking and 365 days’ imprisonment for criminal mischief.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Did the trial court err in admitting hearsay evidence? Was the evidence sufficient to support Rodriguez-Padron’s convictions? Did the trial court impose excessive sentences and abuse its discretion in sentencing? Did Rodriguez-Padron receive ineffective assistance of trial counsel?