Grand Island Independent, The (NE) - My Life of Crime ...



Grand Island Independent, The (NE)

September 15, 2006 | | |

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Man sentenced to 22 to 36 years in prison for shooting

Author: Sarah Schulz; sarah.schulz@

BROKEN BOW -- An Arnold man was sentenced in Custer County District Court Thursday to 22 to 36 years in prison for shooting another man on New Year's Eve.

Seth J. Strasburg, 28, pleaded no contest in July to manslaughter and using a gun to commit a felony for the death of Thomas "Tiff" Varney, 21, of Arnold.

A charge of terroristic threats was dismissed for the same incident.

Custer County Attorney Tami Schendt said Judge Mark Kozisek sentenced Strasburg to 10 to 16 years in prison for manslaughter and 12 to 20 years in prison on the weapons charge. By law, the weapons sentence must be served after the manslaughter sentence is completed.

Strasburg was also ordered to pay the Varney family $29,748 in restitution to help pay for funeral and counseling expenses, among other things, she said.

Schendt said she didn't request a particular sentence length at Thursday's hearing.

"From a legal standpoint, I think it's a good sentence," she said. "From the family's standpoint, nothing could be enough."

Varney died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney on Jan. 2. According to court records, Strasburg reached through the window of Varney's vehicle and put a pistol under another occupant's chin. That person and Strasburg struggled and the pistol discharged, striking Varney in the head. The incident occurred between 1 and 1:30 a.m. outside of a home where a party had taken place.

Varney's parents each gave victim impact statements at Strasburg's sentencing hearing. Strasburg, who has been in custody since Jan. 1, didn't speak on his own behalf, Schendt said.

He was given credit for the 257 days he has served in jail and will be eligible for parole in 11 years. His mandatory discharge will come after serving 18 years, she said.

Strasburg was originally charged with felony second-degree murder but prior to his preliminary hearing in January, Schendt filed an amended complaint against him, changing the charge to manslaughter. She said she felt the change was appropriate based on the evidence.

After the shooting, Strasburg fled the scene and was involved in a single-vehicle accident about five miles south of Arnold. He fled the vehicle and hid near the river bottom. After threatening troopers, Strasburg was tracked down by a Nebraska State Patrol aircraft with a heat-seeking device. He was arrested shortly before 7:30 a.m. Jan. 1 and taken to the jail in Broken Bow, according to the State Patrol.

This was the third shooting that has taken place in Arnold, a town of about 630 people, since Schendt became the Custer County attorney in 1995.

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