Violent Crimes Lawyer Omaha, NE

A fight can be over in seconds. A threat may be one line pulled from a much longer argument. A police report can then turn those messy moments into a neat story with one aggressor, one victim, and very little room for context.

A heated moment may be over quickly. The consequences may last for years, or even a lifetime.

You may have been defending yourself or trying to protect someone else. The injury may have happened during a struggle or fall. Witnesses may have seen only the end of the confrontation. In other cases, angry words, an object nearby, or an accusation made after a breakup can push a case into felony territory before anyone takes a serious look at what happened.

Nebraska violent crime charges range from misdemeanor assault to murder charges carrying life in prison or the death penalty. The outcome may depend on the injury, the use of a weapon, your intent, your relationship with the other person, and whether the State can prove that you caused the harm at all.

Miltenberger Law Offices represents people accused of violent crimes in Omaha, Douglas County, and throughout Nebraska. Call (402) 217-2267 or contact the firm online for a free, confidential consultation.

What Is Considered a Violent Crime in Nebraska?

“Violent crime” is not the name of one specific offense under Nebraska law. It is a broad category that includes charges involving physical injury, threats, force, restraint, weapons, or death.

These cases may involve allegations that someone:

Hit, pushed, kicked, choked, or injured another person
Threatened to hurt or kill someone
Used force or fear to take property
Held or moved someone against their will
Used or displayed a firearm, knife, vehicle, or another alleged weapon
Caused serious injury or death
Committed violence against an intimate partner, child, police officer, healthcare worker, or another protected person

One incident can lead to several separate charges. An argument involving a firearm, for example, could result in assault and use of a deadly weapon allegations. Prosecutors must still prove every part of each offense.

Violent Crime Charges We Defend in Omaha

Assault and Strangulation

Not every assault charge involves a severe injury. Nebraska law covers everything from threatening someone in a menacing way to intentionally causing serious bodily harm.

First-degree assault: Intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury. It is a Class II felony.
Second-degree assault: Intentionally causing bodily injury with a dangerous instrument or recklessly causing serious bodily injury with one. It is a Class IIA felony.
Third-degree assault: Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury, or threatening someone in a menacing manner. It is usually a Class I misdemeanor.
Assault by strangulation or suffocation: Intentionally interfering with someone’s breathing or blood flow by applying pressure to the neck or covering the mouth and nose. It is usually a Class IIIA felony but may become a Class IIA felony when serious bodily injury, a dangerous instrument, or a qualifying prior conviction is involved.

Domestic Violence

A domestic violence arrest often begins with officers arriving in the middle of a loud, emotional situation and making a fast decision about who they believe was responsible. That decision may be based on visible injuries, one person’s statement, or little more than who called 911 first.

Under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-323, domestic assault means causing or threatening harm to an intimate partner. The degree of the charge depends on the alleged injury and whether a dangerous instrument was involved:

Third-degree domestic assault: Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to an intimate partner, or threatening them with immediate bodily injury.
Second-degree domestic assault: Intentionally causing bodily injury with a dangerous instrument, or recklessly causing serious bodily injury with one.
First-degree domestic assault: Intentionally and knowingly causing serious bodily injury to an intimate partner.

Nebraska considers someone an intimate partner if they are:

Your current spouse
Your former spouse
Someone with whom you share a child, whether or not you were married or lived together
Someone with whom you are currently in a dating relationship
Someone with whom you were previously in a dating relationship

A dating relationship generally means a frequent and intimate relationship involving an expectation of romantic or sexual involvement. It does not include a casual acquaintance or an ordinary business or social relationship.

A no-contact order or protection order may also take effect quickly. Follow it exactly. Even when the other person reaches out first, responding can lead to another charge and make the original case harder to defend.

Terroristic Threats

No one has to be physically injured for a person to face a serious violent crime charge. Under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-311.01, terroristic threats generally means threatening to commit a violent crime:

With the intent to terrorize another person
With the intent to cause an evacuation
While recklessly ignoring the risk that the threat would cause terror or an evacuation

Terroristic threats is a Class IIIA felony. These cases may turn on one sentence pulled from a much longer argument, text exchange, or online conversation. Tone, context, the relationship between the people involved, and what happened before and after the statement can all matter.

False Imprisonment and Kidnapping

False imprisonment and kidnapping involve allegations that someone was kept from leaving or was moved against their will. Restraint does not always mean ropes, handcuffs, or forcing someone into a vehicle. A case may instead involve a blocked doorway, physical force, threats, or claims that the person reasonably believed they were not free to leave.

Second-degree false imprisonment: Knowingly restraining someone without legal authority. It is a Class I misdemeanor.
First-degree false imprisonment: Knowingly restraining or abducting someone under terrorizing circumstances, in a way that risks serious bodily injury, or to hold the person in involuntary servitude. It is a Class IIIA felony.
Kidnapping: Abducting or continuing to restrain someone for purposes such as ransom, holding them hostage, terrorizing them, committing another felony, or interfering with a government or political function.

These cases often depend on how long the alleged restraint lasted, whether the person could leave, whether force or threats were used, and what the accused allegedly intended to accomplish.

Robbery and Burglary

Robbery and burglary are often confused, but they involve different conduct under Nebraska law.

Robbery: Taking property directly from another person through force, violence, or fear. The value of the property does not control the charge. Robbery is a Class II felony carrying 1 to 50 years in prison.
Burglary: Forcibly entering real estate or a building with the intent to steal or commit another felony. Nothing has to be successfully taken for the State to file the charge. Burglary is a Class IIA felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.

Burglary does not always involve violence, but the stakes can rise quickly when the allegation involves an occupied home, a confrontation, an injury, or a weapon. A single incident may lead to burglary, assault, robbery, or weapons charges depending on what prosecutors claim happened inside the property.

Weapon-Related Charges

A violent crime allegation involving a firearm, knife, vehicle, or another object may bring a separate weapons charge. Under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-1205, using or possessing a deadly weapon during a felony can be charged separately from the underlying crime.

This creates a major sentencing risk. A sentence for use of a deadly weapon must generally run consecutively, meaning it is served after the sentence for the other felony rather than at the same time.

Murder, Manslaughter, and Fatal-Injury Cases

When a death is involved, the difference between murder, manslaughter, and motor vehicle homicide often comes down to intent, how the death occurred, and what was happening in the moments leading up to it.

First-degree murder: Includes a deliberate and premeditated killing, along with certain deaths that occur during crimes such as robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, or first-degree sexual assault.
Second-degree murder: Intentionally causing death without premeditation.
Manslaughter: Causing death without malice during a sudden quarrel or unintentionally causing death while committing an unlawful act.
Motor vehicle homicide: Unintentionally causing death while violating Nebraska traffic or driving laws. The charge may range from a misdemeanor to a Class II felony depending on the alleged violation and prior record.

A death does not automatically prove murder. Self-defense, accident, lack of criminal intent, medical complications, or other factors may completely change the case.

Nebraska Violent Crime Charges and Penalties

There is no one-size-fits-all penalty for a violent crime. The same event may lead to a misdemeanor, a felony carrying several years, or a charge punishable by life in prison. The table below shows the potential penalties for several common offenses.

Charge	Classification	Potential Sentence
First-degree murder	Class I or IA felony	Death or life imprisonment
Second-degree murder	Class IB felony	20 years to life in prison
Kidnapping	Class IA or II felony	Life imprisonment, or 1 to 50 years if the alleged victim is voluntarily released alive and safe without serious bodily injury before trial
First-degree domestic assault	Class ID felony	3 to 50 years in prison; a qualifying prior conviction may increase the charge to a Class IB felony with a 15-year mandatory minimum
First-degree assault or robbery	Class II felony	1 to 50 years in prison
Second-degree assault, second-degree domestic assault, manslaughter, or burglary	Class IIA felony	Up to 20 years in prison
Terroristic threats, stalking, first-degree false imprisonment, or standard strangulation or suffocation	Class IIIA felony	Up to 3 years in prison and 18 months of post-release supervision, a fine of up to $10,000, or both
Third-degree assault, third-degree domestic assault, or second-degree false imprisonment	Class I misdemeanor	Up to 1 year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both
Motor vehicle homicide	Class I misdemeanor to Class II felony	Ranges from up to 1 year in jail to 1 to 50 years in prison, depending on the underlying driving violation and prior record
Use or possession of a deadly weapon during another crime	Class IC, II, or III felony, depending on the weapon and alleged conduct	May carry up to 50 years in prison, including mandatory minimum time in firearm-use cases; the sentence must run consecutively to the underlying offense

The final charge may depend on prior convictions, weapon allegations, the identity of the alleged victim, and the severity of the injury. Separate weapons or intimidation charges may also add consecutive sentences.

Possible Defenses to Violent Crime Charges

Self-Defense or Defense of Another Person

Sometimes the person arrested was not the person who started the confrontation.

Under Nebraska’s self-defense law, force may be justified when someone reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect themselves against unlawful force. Nebraska law also allows force in certain situations to protect another person.

The defense may need to show who started the confrontation, what threat you faced, how quickly events unfolded, and why your response was reasonable at that moment.

The Injury Was Accidental or Caused by Someone Else

People can be injured during falls, struggles, crowded fights, vehicle collisions, or attempts to separate others. Being nearby does not prove that you intentionally caused the injury.

The defense may use video, medical evidence, witness statements, scene photographs, or the injuries suffered by the accused to reconstruct what actually happened.

The Injury Does Not Support the Charged Degree

Prosecutors may charge a higher degree of assault based on an early medical report or the initial description of an injury. Later records may tell a different story.

The length of treatment, need for surgery, permanent effects, pain, and actual risk to the person’s health can all affect whether the injury meets the legal definition used in the charge.

The Object Was Not Used as a Dangerous Instrument

Almost any object can be described as dangerous in the right setting. That does not mean every object near a confrontation becomes a dangerous instrument.

The State must prove how the object was used or intended to be used. A tool in a vehicle, a kitchen knife across the room, or a firearm owned by someone else should not automatically turn an argument into an enhanced felony.

The Alleged Threat Was Taken Out of Context

People say reckless things when they are angry, frightened, intoxicated, or hurt. That does not make every statement a felony threat.

The complete conversation may show sarcasm, exaggeration, a conditional statement, a joke, or words that were never meant to be taken literally. Timing, tone, follow-up messages, and the relationship between the people involved can all matter.

The Accusation Is False or Exaggerated

Violent crime allegations may arise during breakups, custody fights, family disputes, workplace conflicts, or attempts to gain leverage in another legal matter.

A defense can compare the accusation with photographs, medical records, messages, prior statements, witness accounts, location records, and video. Inconsistencies do not always mean someone is lying, but they should never be ignored.

The Identification or Police Investigation Is Unreliable

Witnesses to a violent event may be frightened, intoxicated, distracted, or focused on protecting someone they know. Police may settle on one version before speaking with everyone involved.

Surveillance footage may begin after the confrontation started. A witness may identify clothing rather than a face. Officers may overlook injuries to the person they arrested. These gaps can change how the entire case should be understood.

What to Do After a Violent Crime Arrest

Do not give police a statement without an attorney. Even an explanation of self-defense can be used to fill gaps in the prosecution’s case.
Follow every no-contact and protection order. Do not respond when the other person contacts you first.
Do not send messages through friends or relatives. Indirect contact can still violate an order.
Preserve evidence. Save messages, videos, photographs, call records, social media posts, and witness information.
Photograph your own injuries. Bruises, scratches, and swelling may disappear within days.
Do not post about the case. A joke, angry comment, or vague message may be treated as evidence.

How Miltenberger Law Offices Can Defend You

A violent crime case can turn on a few chaotic seconds. The police report may flatten those seconds into a simple story. Miltenberger Law Offices looks at what happened before, during, and after the confrontation.

That may involve:

Locating witnesses and surveillance footage
Documenting injuries suffered by the accused
Reviewing medical records and the cause of the alleged injury
Reconstructing the confrontation
Evaluating self-defense or defense of another person
Examining weapons and forensic evidence
Recovering complete text, phone, and social media conversations
Challenging searches, seizures, or interrogations
Addressing bond, protection-order, and no-contact conditions
Preparing the case for trial

Cody Miltenberger began his legal career with the Douglas County Attorney’s Office in 2010 and has more than 10 years of trial experience. His background includes murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery, burglary, weapons, and motor vehicle homicide cases. He has tried serious violent crime charges before juries and understands how quickly the stakes can rise when an accusation involves injury, threats, or a weapon.

Violent Crimes Lawyer Omaha, NE | Miltenberger Law

Speak With an Omaha Violent Crimes Lawyer

A violent crime charge may be based on one side of a fast, emotional, and confusing event. The injury, alleged threat, use of force, and reason for your actions can all be examined rather than accepted at face value.

Miltenberger Law Offices represents people facing misdemeanor assault, felony assault, domestic violence, strangulation, terroristic threats, robbery, kidnapping, weapons charges, manslaughter, murder, and other violent crime allegations in Omaha and throughout Nebraska.

Call (402) 217-2267 or schedule a free, confidential consultation with an Omaha violent crimes lawyer today.