photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Servando Martinez-Vazquez is pictured Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

A Lawrence man was sentenced to one year of probation Friday for threatening to hurt a woman if she reported him for alleged abuse.

The sentence for Servando Martinez-Vazquez, 24, capped a years-long case that included a jury trial in September in which he was acquitted of aggravated domestic assault by suffocation and felony domestic assault, but convicted of felony criminal threatening.

Judge Stacey Donovan sentenced Martinez-Vazquez to six months in prison for the threat, which occurred on Oct. 12, 2022, but suspended it on 12 months of probation, as required by sentencing guidelines, given the score Martinez-Vazquez’s criminal background check.

Before sentencing began, Martinez-Vazquez’s attorney, Razmi Tahirkheli, sought to have the jury’s verdict thrown out, arguing that the finding of criminal endangerment could not be legally sustained given the acquittals on the choking and battery charges — an argument which Donovan rejected, saying the jurors had heard evidence and received instructions that properly supported their verdict.

The victim and her father addressed the court on Friday. The father spoke of witnessing his daughter’s pain over the years and “many horrible nights of worry”. He said domestic violence is not just a crime against an individual, but deeply affects entire families.

The victim, in a statement Donovan described later in the hearing as “from the heart,” told the court she did not pursue the case “out of revenge” but to get Martinez-Vazquez to “listen.”

“You’re dangerous to be around,” she told Martinez-Vazquez, recounting a history with him that went back to childhood and happier times, but became violent and abusive in recent years.

“This is the last and last time I’m going to tell you: please stop,” she said, noting that he has been convicted of other abuse crimes.

Martinez-Vazquez did not address the court. He was advised by his lawyer not to speak at the sentencing as an appeal is pending.

In addition to the year of probation, Martinez-Vazquez was ordered to pay more than $600 in various court costs and fees. He must also undergo domestic violence assessments and attend classes to address his behavior, among other requirements.

Donovan said he hopes he takes the classes seriously.

Although he did not speak at the sentencing, Donovan told him, “You know in your heart how things went in this relationship.”

Martinez-Vazquez was tried in June in another domestic violence case involving another victim a year later. In that case he was found guilty of beating a woman with a sex toy and criminal damage to her home, both misdemeanors, as The Journal-World reported. As in Friday’s case, he was acquitted of the more serious charge of aggravated domestic battery by strangulation. He received six months in county jail for each misdemeanor, suspended to 12 months of probation. He was also ordered to pay the woman nearly $1,000 for a door she kicked in.