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 Friday to a year of probation for threatening to harm a woman if she reported him for alleged abuse.

The sentence for Servando Martinez-Vazquez, 24, capped a yearslong case that included a jury trial in September at which he was acquitted of aggravated domestic battery by choking and misdemeanor domestic battery but convicted of felony criminal threat.

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

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

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

The victim, in a statement Donovan later in the hearing described as “heartfelt,” told the court that she had not pursued the case “out of revenge” but to get Martinez-Vazquez “to listen.”

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

“This is my last and final time saying to you: Please stop,” she said, noting that he has been convicted of other crimes of abuse.

Martinez-Vazquez did not address the court. He was advised by his attorney not to speak at the sentencing because an appeal is in the works.

In addition to the year on probation, Martinez-Vazquez was ordered to pay over $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 she hoped he would take the classes seriously.

Even though he didn’t speak at sentencing, Donovan told him: “You know in your heart of hearts how things unfolded in this relationship.”

Martinez-Vazquez stood trial in June in a different domestic violence case regarding a different 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 choking. He received six months in the 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 that he kicked in.