Serrano Faces Decades In Prison

William Serrano was sentenced May 2 on four charges, including involuntary manslaughter, two counts of terrorist threats, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

In March, a Kimball County jury of five women and seven men found Serrano guilty of the shooting death of his girlfriend, Tessa Ghering. The shooting occurred at their Kimball home on Jan. 3, 2022.

The manslaughter conviction resulted in the sentence of “not more than 20 years and not less than 20 years” – a sentence of 20 years, in other words. The sentence of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony was set at “not more than 20 years and not less than 10 years.” These two sentences will run consecutively.

The jury found Serrano not guilty of the charge of attempted first-degree murder.

While receiving credit for 485 days of “previously incarcerated in this matter,” Serrano received one year for each of the terroristic threats, which will be served concurrently with the manslaughter and firearms charges.

Before Serrano was sentenced, Special Deputy County Attorney Douglas Warner, reviewed the pre-sentence investigation, which included Serrano’s history of alcohol abuse, protection orders and harassment orders.

Warner stated that Serrano’s conduct led to the death of Tessa.

Defense attorney Kelly Breen said that Serrano deserved a chance to prove himself and return to society as a law-abiding citizen. Breen also stated that Serrano had periods of sobriety and had completed four terms of probation successfully. Breen also said that Serrano has struggled with the death of his own mother and has tried to be a good father.

District Judge Derek Weimer saw the case through from start to finish. He concluded: “There are tragedies from one end of this case to the end of it. People’s lives will never be the same because of what happened that night.” Then Judge Weimer read the sentence of the court.