Groene trial delayed; man said to confess

Copyright 2008

COLUMBUS -- An 11th-hour motion to delay the trial of a 26-year-old Columbus man accused of assault in a beating that left a Duncan man in a coma was granted late Friday afternoon.

Platte County District Court Judge Robert Steinke delayed the trial of Bryan Groene until April 29 based on a defense motion claiming a third party has come forward to confess to the crime.

Defense attorney Glenn Shapiro of Omaha filed the motion Friday morning on the eve of Groene’s district court trial set to begin Monday.

Groene, who is charged with first-degree assault, is accused of beating 21-year-old Randall Scott Michalak of Duncan outside an 11th Street bar on Aug. 10

Shapiro said the third party, whom the defense attorney did not identify, has confessed to the assault and law enforcement officials have investigated the admission. Shapiro spoke to The Telegram shortly after faxing his motion for a continuance to the court Friday morning.

“The state has provided us with exculpatory evidence to suggest (my client’s) innocence,’’ Shapiro said. “This third person has confessed and because of the nature and timing of receiving the evidence, I need time to explore it.”

Platte County Attorney Andrea Belgau said late Friday she was prepared to go to trial Monday morning and would proceed with the prosecution of Groene at the trial scheduled in late-April.

Groene, who has been in custody at the Platte County Detention Facility since his August arrest, is also charged with being a habitual criminal.

Michalak spent the first seven weeks after the August incident in an Omaha hospital before being transferred in early-October to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

Michalak is now a resident of Golden Living Health Center in Columbus.

Belgau would not comment Friday on the defense motion for a continuance, but did say she hoped to be able to call the victim to testify at the trial.

Permanent injuries Michalak suffered in the assault may prevent his being able to appear as a witness, Belgau said. The victim has been subpoenaed to testify at the trial.

First-degree assault is a Class III felony, punishable by a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, $25,000 fine or both and a minimum of one year imprisonment.

Nebraska’s habitual criminal statutes provide for enhanced mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for a convicted defendant who “has been twice convicted of a crime, sentenced and committed to prison, in this or any other state ... for terms of not less than one year.”

A conviction on the current charge would be Groene’s third felony conviction for the purposes of the habitual criminal law.

If convicted as a habitual criminal, Groene could be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of 60 years.