Storm Lake man gets up to five years for domestic violence assault

A Storm Lake assault that left a woman with a broken jaw and a child in her arms ended with Sidney Pino Becquer sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Judge Carl Petersen handed down the sentence in Buena Vista County District Court on April 21 after Pino Becquer, 48, entered a written guilty plea in February to assault causing serious injury, a Class D felony, and child endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor. The court ordered the terms to run concurrently, making the five-year prison cap the controlling sentence rather than a stacked punishment.

The case began with a 911 hang-up call to 708 Michigan St. in Storm Lake around 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2025. Storm Lake police arrived to find a woman with severe facial injuries and blood outside the apartment door. Investigators concluded that Pino Becquer assaulted her during a domestic dispute while she was holding a child.

The injuries were serious enough that the victim reportedly lost consciousness, vomited blood on the way to treatment and was first taken to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center before being airlifted to another facility. Medical staff told officers she had a broken jaw in two places and a possible brain bleed. Pino Becquer was later booked into the Buena Vista County Jail on a $14,000 bond.

Prosecutors initially charged him with willful injury causing serious injury, domestic abuse assault with intent to inflict serious injury and child endangerment. The Buena Vista County Attorney’s Office pressed for incarceration at a contested sentencing hearing, and the judge imposed prison time after the February plea resolved the underlying case.

The sentence leaves Pino Becquer with a prison term that can run as long as five years, a significant penalty in a case built on a 911 response, a child exposed to violence and injuries severe enough to require air transport. For Storm Lake, the record now traces the case from the apartment door on Michigan Street to a felony conviction in Buena Vista County District Court.