A 35-year-old North Platte man has been sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison for shooting a man he found with his wife.

Judge Richard Birch sentenced Dustin Sauer on Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

In February of 2017, North Platte police officers responded to the report of a shooting in the parking lot of Nebraskaland National Bank, 121 North Dewey, at around 2:27 a.m.

The party calling 911 reported that her husband, Dustin L. Sauer, had shot a 36-year-old male in the neck.

An investigation revealed that Sauer went looking for his wife when she wasn’t at their home.

He eventually found her and the male, as well as another female, in the parking lot of the bank and confronted him.  A physical disturbance between the two men occurred and, at some point, Sauer produced a large caliber handgun and shot the man in the neck, according to prosecutors.

The victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries, but Judge Birch says the man should have died as a result of the shooting.

Sauer had originally been charged with attempted murder but, through a plea bargain, the charge was reduced to 1st-degree assault, a Class II felony.

Sauer was given credit for 29 days he already served in jail and was approved for good time credit.