State v. Stewart

The defendant appeals from a sentence of 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment for assault in the first degree.

The record shows that on February 23, 1980, the defendant and a female companion were waiting for the elevator in the Howard Johnson Motel in Omaha, Nebraska. Stewart Peters, the victim, and a group of his acquaintances were in the elevator when it reached the first floor where the defendant and his companion were waiting. The defendant testified that, when the elevator door opened and Peters and his party began getting off, one of the men in the party made an obscene remark to the defendant’s…