State v. Blazek, A-16-612

Blazek was charged with a Class III felony burglary (occurring Jan 16, 2015) and pled no contest in March 2016 pursuant to a plea agreement that dismissed two other felony matters and avoided a separate theft citation.
Factual basis: Blazek was found inside an Orscheln Farm & Home after alarm; officers discovered forced entry, lined-up boots matching his size, a headlamp, and a phone with a police scanner app—facts the court found supported the burglary charge.
The district court sentenced Blazek to 2–4 years’ imprisonment (55 days credit), within the statutory range for a Class III felony at the time of the offense.
Blazek has an extensive adult criminal history including prior burglaries, prison time, and substance-abuse issues (methamphetamine); PSI rated him high risk on several recidivism factors.
At sentencing defense urged probation/drug-treatment based on Blazek’s treatment participation; court emphasized prior record and public protection and imposed incarceration.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Excessive sentence	Sentence (2–4 years) is excessive; court failed to weigh mitigating factors	Sentence is within statutory limits and properly considered PSI, offense nature, and recidivism risk	Affirmed: no abuse of discretion; sentence not excessive
Ineffective assistance of counsel (drug court application/venue)	Counsel failed to timely file drug-court application and in correct venue, causing loss of opportunity for postplea drug court relief	Record shows counsel sought drug court; plea produced favorable deal; prejudice not established	Record insufficient to resolve: appellate record cannot conclusively determine deficiency or prejudice; claim not resolved on direct appeal

State v. Abejide, 293 Neb. 687 (Neb. 2016) (standard for disturbing sentences)
State v. Dixon, 286 Neb. 334 (Neb. 2013) (factors sentencing court should consider)
State v. Nevels, 235 Neb. 39 (Neb. 1990) (minimum portion of indeterminate sentence measures severity)
State v. Meehan, 7 Neb. App. 639 (Neb. Ct. App. 1998) (court may consider nonadjudicated misconduct at sentencing)
State v. Sellers, 279 Neb. 220 (Neb. 2010) (Strickland standard cited in Nebraska context)
State v. Fester, 287 Neb. 40 (Neb. 2013) (prejudice in plea-related ineffective-assistance claims requires showing defendant would have gone to trial)
State v. Shambley, 281 Neb. 317 (Neb. 2010) (describing drug court as postplea/postadjudicatory program with plea and potential withdrawal upon successful completion)
State v. Crawford, 291 Neb. 362 (Neb. 2015) (discusses drug court eligibility, plea knowledge, and ineffective-assistance claims related to drug court)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)