State v. Walker, A-17-144, A-17-145

Michael C. Walker pled no contest in two consolidated Douglas County cases: (A-17-144) possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person (post-L.B. 605) and (A-17-145) manslaughter (pre-L.B. 605).
Factual basis: manslaughter arose from the February 2015 death of Elston McArthur; ballistics and witness statements tied two guns and persons (including Walker and Darryl Wellon) to the scene; a confidential informant linked Walker to a .32 semiautomatic that he said “had a body on it.”
Weapons case arose from a December 14, 2015 search of Walker’s residence where police recovered multiple firearms that tested positive for Walker’s DNA; he had a prior felony conviction (2013).
Sentences imposed January 17, 2017: A-17-144 — 45 to 50 years with 401 days’ credit; A-17-145 — 19 to 20 years with 368 days’ credit; sentences ordered to run consecutively.
Walker appealed as excessive and challenged inaccuracies in the presentence investigation report (PSI). The State conceded a plain error issue regarding duplicative credit for time served.

Issue	Walker's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether sentences were excessive/abuse of discretion	Sentence overly harsh given age, background, risk of rehabilitation, and alleged PSI inaccuracies	Sentences within statutory ranges and court considered relevant factors; PSI presumptively reliable absent objection	No abuse of discretion; sentences affirmed
Whether PSI inaccuracies prejudiced sentencing	PSI misstates convictions and treats dismissed charges as convictions; misclassifies weapons concealment as firearm possession	PSI identified dispositions; scoring and narrative supported high recidivism risk; Walker failed to object at sentencing	No showing court relied on incorrect or improper PSI material; claim fails
Allocation of presentence credit when sentences are consecutive	Both sentences received credit for time served (401 and 368 days)	Credit for time served may be applied only once against the first of consecutive sentences	Plain error found; 401 days credit applied only to A-17-144; 368 days stricken from A-17-145
Appropriateness of longer weapon-possession sentence than manslaughter sentence	Argues incongruous that weapon possession sentence exceeds manslaughter sentence	Sentencing classifications and ranges are legislative; possession-by-prohibited-person carries enhanced penalty	Noted as result of statutory scheme; both sentences within statutory limits

State v. Abejide, 293 Neb. 687 (general standard: appellate review of sentences)
State v. Dixon, 286 Neb. 334 (factors sentencing judges should consider)
State v. Tyrrell, 234 Neb. 901 (presumption judge considered only relevant/competent PSI material)
State v. Freeman, 267 Neb. 737 (failure to object to PSI at sentencing precludes appellate challenge)
State v. Williams, 282 Neb. 182 (presentence credit for consecutive sentences applied only to first sentence imposed)
State v. Banes, 268 Neb. 805 (same: presentence credit applied only once against consecutive sentences)