Haiden M. Sleister, 18, of Norfolk, who was convicted last month of assault and willful reckless driving, appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on Feb. 16, for sentencing, alongside his court-appointed attorney, Antelope County public defender Melissa Figueroa. Sleister was convicted of the Sept. 23, 2021, assault of an Antelope County road-department employee, near the Oakdale lagoon, after the worker witnessed and intervened in an incident of reckless driving by the defendant.

The victim, Brock Coover, nor his wife were in the courtroo...