Father, son sentenced to prison time

McCOOK, Nebraska -- At the end of the day, casualties from the 2010 roll-over accident that injured four, including paralyzing injuries to a 26-year-old Bartley man, were far greater than anyone could have imagined. Eric Sides, also 26, was sentenced to a combined 11-15 years in prison and his father, 52-year-old Leslie J. Sides, was sentenced to a combined 6-9 years in prison.

One side of the Red Willow County District Court was packed with supporters of the four victims from the crash, Monday afternoon, the other side contained the more recent casualties of the incident, the family and friends of Leslie and Eric Sides.

Just prior to sentencing Eric Sides to a combined 11-15 years in prison and Leslie J. Sides to a combined 6-9 years in prison, Red Willow County District Court Judge David Urbom said, "I don't know if we'll ever know what happened that night."

One thing was clear however; both men were convicted of one Class II felony count of assault in the first degree, one Class III felony count of assault in the second degree and two Class I misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree.

Urbom said that although exactly what happened may not be known, both men admitted culpability when accepting the plea agreements in November that admitted guilt to the charges.

"That day a bad thing happened, a life was changed and two more are going to be changed by your actions," said Urbom. Urbom explained that he couldn't overlook the seriousness of the injuries sustained by 26-year-old Joseph Sitzman, who was ejected and paralyzed during the incident, adding that neither men were suitable candidates for probation.

Earlier during the hearing the defense attorney for the Sides pair, Bob Lindemeier of North Platte, had tried to make a case for a sentence of probation for the offenders. He offered their version of the events leading up to the accident. Lindemeier said it was a drunken 28-year-old Brandon Howell who chased after Eric Sides and a concerned Leslie Sides who pursued the two vehicles. Lindemeier claimed that Howell had a blood alcohol content of .06 three or four hours after the accident, and was easily over the limit during the crash. He attributed the roll-over to a blown tire from Howell's vehicle as he attempted to pass Eric Sides vehicle on the shoulder, not repeated ramming from Eric Sides as the prosecution had maintained.

Lindemeier claimed the actions of the four in the vehicle that rolled, as well as their criminal records, supported the Sides recount of the events. Lindemeier claimed that they refused to speak to the Nebraska State Patrol Officer that responded to the scene, without their lawyers present, and that Sitzman and 23-year-old Mahlon Wright, who was also injured in the crash, had previously been convicted of running someone off the road in Furnas County.

Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood, who prosecuted the case, said "The presentence investigation reports are thick and tell us exactly what happened. There may be two sides, but the evidence shows what happened and also tells us why, if we look a little more careful."

Wood said that more than just the life of Joe Sitzman had been destroyed by the events, "Nobody wins in a thing like this."

Wood described Eric Sides as a 28-year-old who had been to court 16 times and on probation twice before, including a conviction for one prior felony, which he said was also a violent crime with serious injuries.

He described Leslie Sides as a 53-year-old with 18 court appearances in his background and also having been on probation twice before. He said that Leslie Sides had a pattern of violence that was becoming more apparent and that Leslie Sides was still looking for Joe Sitzman after the vehicle Sitzman was in had crashed.

Wood said the crime called for severe punishment and asked Urbom to sentence the pair to 10 to 15 years before eligibility for parole.

Prior to sentencing Urbom sustained objections from the Sides defense attorney to several reports submitted for consideration during the presentence investigation. The reports included statements from a Nebraska State Patrolman, victims that Lindemeier argued did not fit under the definition of victims and one composed by the ex-wife of Eric Sides, that Lindemeier said was "Frankly a cheap shot at Eric."

Urbom did allow submitted statements from Sitzman and Brandon Howell, with Sitzman being paralyzed in the crash and Howell suffering less severe injuries to his back.

The Sides pair entered not guilty pleas in February 2011 to each of 17 felony counts originally brought against them. In November 2011 they accepted a plea agreement that pleaded no contest to one Class II felony count of assault in the first degree, one Class III felony count of assault in the second degree and two Class I misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree.

Eric Sides was sentenced by Urbom to 8-10 years on his Class II felony count of assault in the first degree. That sentence was ordered to run consecutively to his sentencing of 3-5 years on a Class III felony count of assault in the second degree. He also received 12 months in prison for each of the two Class I misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree, but that sentence was to run at the same time as the Class III felony sentence.

Leslie Sides was sentenced to 4-6 years on his Class II felony count of assault in the first degree. Similarly, that sentence was to run consecutively to his sentencing of 2-3 years on his Class III felony count of assault in the second degree. He also received 12 months in prison for each of the two Class I misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree, but that sentence was also to run at the same time as the Class III felony sentence.