BEATRICE – A gun conviction has landed a homeless man in state prison. 35-year-old Paul Martinez was sentenced Thursday to a three-year prison term by Gage County District Judge, Rick Schreiner.


Martinez earlier pleaded no contest to a charge of possessing a defaced firearm. He received credit off the sentence for 234 days spent in custody.
Martinez was ordered to spend two years on supervision after he is released from prison. Charges of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a controlled substance were dismissed.


Martinez was arrested in September of last year after Beatrice Police responded to a report of a disabled vehicle, near the Gage County Courthouse. The Toyota Avalon had no plates and Martinez was sitting behind the wheel. He told police he was working on the car for a friend and did not have any identification on him.


Police brought a K-9 to the scene to help conduct a search. Authorities found a handgun in the glovebox with six rounds in the magazine. The gun’s serial number was unreadable and part of the weapon was shaved off.


Police also recovered a backpack containing a scale, baggies and a bag with residue that field-tested as suspected methamphetamine. Martinez was found to have a felony conviction for domestic violence.


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Wednesday in Gage County District Court….49-year-old Terence Franzen of Beatrice was sentenced to a two-year state prison term for driving while his license was under revocation from a drunk-driving violation. District Judge Schreiner also ordered a one-year term of post-release supervision. Franzen was fined $150 and his driver’s license has been revoked for 15 years. He is allowed to later apply for an ignition interlock device in order to drive.


29-year-old Raheem Howard, of Lincoln was resentenced in Gage County District Court after having his post-release supervision term revoked, on convictions of theft by receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. Howard will serve a one-year state prison term, with credit for 93 days spent in jail.