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Nebraskan Pleads Not Guilty in Suicide Case

assisted-suicide(AP) — A western Nebraska woman has pleaded not guilty to charges that she helped her husband kill himself and then hid his body.

Online court records say 53-year-old Deann Kimble, of Sidney, entered the pleas earlier this week in Cheyenne County District Court. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 18.

Deputies have said Kimble told them that she had promised 61-year-old Russell Kimble that she would not intervene when he decided it was “his time to die.”

She told investigators that Russell Kimble shot himself on March 22, believing he was gravely ill. Investigators say Deann Kimble then wrapped his body is a shower curtain and sheet and buried him in a shallow grave.

Nikko Jenkins Files to Plead Guilty

Nikko Jenkins
Nikko Jenkins

(AP) — A man accused of killing four people in Omaha within weeks of his leaving prison has filed paperwork to change his pleas to guilty.

Twenty-seven-year-old Nikko Jenkins filed the motion Friday in Douglas County District Court. He’d previously pleaded not guilty to killing the four last summer. A court hearing on Jenkins’ motion is expected to be held Wednesday.

Earlier this week Jenkins tried to plead no contest to the charges, but Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon (buh-TAL’-yuhn) said he wouldn’t accept the pleas because of the severity of the cases.

In February Bataillon ruled that Jenkins was mentally competent to stand trial on the four counts of murder.

Workers’ Comp Benefits OK’d for Shot Neb. Manager

ne-supreme-court(AP) — An Omaha clothing store manager shot up to nine times in an act of revenge for reporting an earlier robbery is entitled to compensation for drug and alcohol rehab and treatment of post-traumatic stress syndrome following the shooting.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court’s ruling that Matthew Kim is entitled to temporary total disability benefits. It also found that Kim’s emergency room visit and inpatient treatment for drug and alcohol use months after the June 2011 shooting should be covered.

The high court also upheld the lower court’s finding that Kim is entitled to payment of future medical expenses.

Two Omaha brothers, Gatdet and Gamar Chuol, were convicted and sentenced to decades in prison for Kim’s shooting.

Teen Charged in Neb. Jail Guard Killing Charged with Robbery

Dylan Cardeilhac
Dylan Cardeilhac

(AP) — A 15-year-old Wyoming boy charged with killing a Nebraska jail guard has pleaded guilty to the crime that originally led to his jailing.

On Friday Dylan Cardeilhac pleaded guilty to robbery in Scotts Bluff County District Court in Gering. His sentencing is scheduled for May 22. Prosecutors say Cardeilhac and a 14-year-old in December robbed a convenience store in Mitchell. The other boy has not been caught.

Cardeilhac has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the slaying of 24-year-old Amanda Baker on Feb. 14. Authorities say he lured Baker into his jail cell and then pounced on her, strangling her from behind.

2 Charged in Cybercrime Ring Plead Not Guilty in Nebraska

dept.-of-justice(AP) — Two Ukrainian men suspected of involvement in a major cybercrime operation that used computer malware to steal millions of dollars have pleaded not guilty in federal court in Lincoln, Neb.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that 31-year-old Yuriy Konovalenko and 36-year-old Yevhen Kulibaba are among nine people charged by a federal grand jury in August 2012 with racketeering activity, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, identity theft and other counts. The indictments were unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.

The Justice Department says Konovalenko and Kulibaba were recently extradited from the United Kingdom. The men pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon. Another hearing was set for June 2.

Officials say victims included a Nebraska bank and others in at least four other states: Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois and Massachusetts.

Officials: Inmate Hurt During Fight at Douglas Co. Jail

douglas-county-sheriff(AP) — Officials say an inmate was badly injured during a fight with another inmate at the Douglas County Jail.

Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning says 24-year-old Anthony Floyd had his testicles partially detached during the fight Thursday. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center for treatment.

The fight occurred in the jail’s library between Floyd and 34-year-old Marcus M. Escamilla.

Escamilla was booked on suspicion of assault by a confined person. Additional information was not released.

Floyd is charged with first-degree murder in the October death of 31-year-old Rodney Hunt. Escamilla is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2013 shooting death of Kenneth D. Gunia.

Officials say neither inmate had any disciplinary problems barring them from using the library together.

Neb. High Court Upholds Woman’s Life Sentence

Susan DeJong
Susan DeJong

(AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction and life sentence of a 57-year-old southeast Nebraska woman for beating her husband to death.

Prosecutors say Susan DeJong beat Thomas DeJong with two hammers at their home west of Fairbury on March 11, 2011.

Following her conviction in 2012, DeJong appealed. She argued her statements to police should not have been introduced at trial, because she had invoked her rights to silence and an attorney.

The state’s high court agreed that statements DeJong made early in the interview should have been suppressed, because she told police wanted to go home, but that the error was harmless.

But the high court said incriminating statements she made after invoking her right to an attorney were made voluntarily — not through police questioning.

Lancaster Co. Issues Health Warning for Smoke

lancaster-co-health-departm(AP) — Officials have issued a health advisory for Lancaster County because of high level of smoke from agricultural burning in the Midwest.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department issued the advisory Friday for people with asthma, lung disease and other respiratory conditions or heart disease. Individuals with those conditions should stay indoors and avoid strenuous physical activity if the air becomes smoky.

Chris Schroeder, air quality program supervisor for the department, says people may be exposed to smoke this weekend from extensive burning in the Midwest, especially the Flint Hills area of Kansas. There may be winds from the south.

Officials say most people’s health will not be affected.

2 Mine Workers Killed in Missouri Accident

ambulance(AP) — Two workers who fell to their deaths in a southeast Missouri mine have been identified by their employer.

Mississippi Lime Co. president Bill Ayers issued a statement saying 53-year-old John Hahl, of Farmington, Mo., and 29-year-old Chris Rawson, of Hillsboro, Mo., died in the accident around 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Hahl and Rawson were working in a lime mine near the town of Ste. Genevieve, about 60 miles south of St. Louis.

Ste. Genevieve County Coroner Leo Basler says the men were in a basket extended from a truck removing loose rock from either the wall or the ceiling of the mine.

Basler says loose rock hit the basket and detached it. The men fell to their death.

St. Louis-based Mississippi Lime Co. makes calcium products and calcium-based solutions.

Neb. Entities Get Breast Cancer Screening Grants

susan-g-komen-nebraska(AP) — A breast cancer charity is giving nearly $500,000 in grants to Nebraska entities that are expected to provide nearly 700 breast cancer screenings.

Susan G. Komen of Nebraska has awarded community grants totaling $486,991 to nine state organizations. Organizations receiving grants will provide breast health education, breast cancer screening and treatment services through March 2015.

Groups receiving grants ranging from $15,000 to $59,000 include the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Community Access to Coordinated Healthcare Inc., Central Nebraska Community Services, Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services, OneWorld Community Health Centers and Saint Francis Medical Center.

Legal Aid of Nebraska received $85,000, while the Visiting Nurse Association received nearly $170,000.

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