Nebraska man sentenced to nearly 100 years in prison for killing roommate

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Columbus man was sentenced Thursday for fatally shooting his roommate and injuring another man.

Rodolfo Cateura-Nogueras, 40, got 65 to 90 years for second-degree murder and second-degree assault. He was credited for 310 days served.

He was previously charged with first-degree murder and assault.

But a plea deal lessened the charges and dropped two other counts of kidnapping and weapon charges.

SEE ALSO: Man convicted of murdering roommate in northeast Nebraska

Court documents say Cateura-Nogueras shot and killed Ariel Varella Herrera on April 7 at a storage unit in Schuyler, about 15 miles east of Columbus.

He also shot a 38-year-old man, with one of the bullets breaking a tooth and the other grazing his face and piercing his arm.

Authorities said Cateura-Nogueras reported himself, telling the 911 dispatcher that Varella Herrera was abusing his daughter and giving her drugs.

“I’m not calling you to turn him in,” Cateura-Nogueras said, according to an arrest affidavit. “I’m calling to tell you I shot him in the head and I killed him.”

Deputies and officers came to the area, finding blood and two .22-caliber shell casings on the ground.

They opened one of the storage units and discovered Varella Herrera’s body under some tarps, the affidavit says.

Police determined that Cateura-Nogueras, who had left the scene, was renting that storage unit.

They used his cellphone to track him, and he was pulled over in Missouri.