January 2015 – Page 45 – North Platte Post Archive

Police: Man Left 3 Kids in Freezing Car While He Was in Court

Posted on January 15, 2015

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man is facing child endangerment charges after police say he left his three children — ages 5, 3 and 9 months — inside a car for about an hour in freezing temperatures while he was in court.

Newton police Lt. Bruce Apotheker says a passer-by notified police about the children after spotting them Tuesday afternoon inside a car in a municipal lot near Newton District Court.

Police say it was 23 degrees outside and the unlocked car was not running. The children were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The 38-year-old Framingham man, whose name was not made public, told authorities he was only inside the courthouse for 12 minutes. Police estimate he was inside for an hour.

He’ll be summoned to court.

NP Man Accused of Choking Man Unconscious

Posted on January 15, 2015

A 53-year-old North Platte man is facing charges after he allegedly choke a man to the point he lost consciousness.

On January 7, at aroud 7:00 p.m., officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 700 block of Union Avenue.

Upon arrival, officers met with a 28-year-old male victim, who alleged that he had been socializing with Michael Fredrickson at a residence in the 700 block of East 10th Street.

The victim alleged that, at some point, he and Fredrickson began arguing. He said Fredrickson began punching in the face, then choked him until he became unconscious for a short period of time.

The victim stated that after he “came to,” he was able to fend off Fredrickson and leave.

On January 14, Fredrickson met with police at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Following further investigation, Fredrickson was placed under arrest and charged with 3rd degree domestic assault and felony strangulation.

Nebraska Man Gets 40 Years for Crash Deaths of 3 People

Posted on January 15, 2015

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (AP) — A 53-year-old truck driver has been given 40 years in prison for the crash deaths of three people in south-central Nebraska’s Clay County.

Kenneth Johnson, of Eagle, was sentenced on Wednesday. He’d pleaded no contest in November to two counts of manslaughter. Prosecutors dropped a third count and a charge of being a habitual criminal in exchange for Johnson’s pleas.

Authorities say Johnson was driving a load of sand on Nebraska Highway 14 in August when his semitrailer struck a sport utility vehicle near U.S. Highway 6. Three people were killed: 53-year-old Gary Isom; his wife, 52-year-old Susan Isom; and their daughter, 26-year-old Tiffany Isom. The couple’s teenage son survived the collision.

Carlino’s 3 helps Marquette beat Creighton 53-52

Posted on January 15, 2015

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Matt Carlino scored 19 Wednesday night and hit the game-winner on a pull-up 3 with 11 seconds left to lift Marquette past Creighton 53-52.

Marquette (10-6, 2-2 Big East) took possession trailing by two points after Will Artino’s travelling violation for Creighton (9-9, 0-5) with 21 seconds left. Carlino dribbled from the right wing off a screen to get free near the top of the key.

Carlino also had a 17-foot jumper off the dribble that pulled Marquette within 52-50 with 53 seconds left.

Duane Wilson added 17 points for the Golden Eagles, who led by 13 late in the first half. Creighton had back-to-back 3s in the final minute to cut the deficit to 28-21 at the break.

Rick Kreklow scored 13 and Toby Hegner 10 to lead the Bluejays, who pulled back in front midway through the second and led 50-46 on Kreklow’s 3 with 2 minutes left.

Lawson, Faried lead Nuggets past Mavericks, 114-107

Posted on January 15, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Ty Lawson had 29 points and 12 assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the slumping Dallas Mavericks 114-107 on Wednesday night.

Kenneth Faried scored four of his 22 points down the stretch and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets run their winning streak to five.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle gave three of his best players the night off after an overtime victory Tuesday night in Sacramento. Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo rested while Raymond Felton, Richard Jefferson and Greg Smith started. It was the first starts for Felton and Smith.

The starters struggled for much of the night, leaving the bench to keep the Mavericks in the game. The Dallas reserves scored 62 points, led by J.J. Barea with 17.

NPCC Defeats Laramie County in Key Region IX Game

Posted on January 15, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights Basketball team defeated the Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles 87-84 in a key Region IX game on Special Olympics night at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium Wednesday night.

The Knights improved to 13-4 and 6-1 in Region IX South sub-region play to remain in a tie with Northeastern Junior College for the lead in the South sub-region.

The Golden Eagles dropped to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the South Sub-region.

The standings in the sub-region are crucial because the top four seeds in both the North and South sub-regions will host the first round of the Region IX tournament. The winners of those games will advance to the top remaining seed in the North for the remainder of the Region IX tournament.

The Knights jumped out to an 11-0 and stretched the lead out 31-16 with 7:49 in the first half on a three pointer by freshman Matt Thomas.

Mullen native Riley Rice dished out 3 of his 6 assists in the first half.

The Golden Eagles outscored the Knights down the stretch in the first half 19-13 to cut the Knights lead to 44-35 at halftime.

In the second half. The Golden Eagles went on a 13-4 run to tie the score at 48 a piece with 16:49 left in the game.

Laramie took their first lead of the game 56-54 with just under 14 minutes to play.

During the rest of the game there were six lead changes and five ties. The final lead change was with 1:15 to play when Cameron Williams made a layup to put the Knights ahead 81-79.

The Golden Eagles cut the Knights lead to two, 86-84 on a three pointer by Spencer Svejcar.

Riley Rice was fouled on the inbound by Darien Fernandez and sent to the free throw line. Rice made one of two free throws to put the Knights ahead by three to clinch the win

“It was a good team win, we played unselfishly and passed the ball well”, Knights assistant coach Ryan Glenney said after the game. The Knights had 17 assists led by Rice’s 6 assists.

The Knights were led in scoring by Cameron Williams with 35 points to lead all scorers. Marco Pascolo scored 19 on some clutch three pointers and free throws. Shyquinn Dix was the other Knight to score in double figures with 16 points.

The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Kamari Robinson with 26 points. Three other Golden Eagles hit the double digit mark: Darien Fernandez scored 21, Spencer Svejcar scored 19, and Alexis Dargenton scored 12.

The Knights go on the road this weekend to face Central Community College in Columbus on Friday. They then travel to Beatrice to play Southeast Community College on Saturday. Both games are Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference games.

Tip- off for the Central game is 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday for the Southeast game.

Bears Interview John Fox for Coaching Job

Posted on January 15, 2015January 15, 2015

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Former Denver Broncos coach John Fox interviewed for the Chicago Bears’ job.

Fox met with the Bears on Wednesday, two days after he and the Broncos agreed to part ways.

He is at least the sixth candidate to interview for the job. He is widely seen as a strong possibility given his record and his ties to consultant Ernie Accorsi and new general manager Ryan Pace.

Fox was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 1997 to 2001 when Accorsi was the GM. Saints coach Sean Payton was the offensive coordinator for part of that time, and he is tight with Pace, who was hired out of New Orleans’ front office.

North Platte Weather-January 15

Posted on January 15, 2015

Today: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 47. West northwest wind 8 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 15. West southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 53. West wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. West wind 10 to 13 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 24 to 29 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 45.

Trial for Ex-Doctor Charged in Omaha Killings Moved

Posted on January 14, 2015January 14, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Trial for a former doctor accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school has been rescheduled for later this year.

The trial for Anthony Garcia is now set to begin Sept. 14. His trial had been set for Feb. 17. In December, Garcia waived his right to a speedy trial.

Garcia is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 deaths of Thomas Hunter, the 11-year-old son of Creighton University pathologist William Hunter, and Shirlee Sherman, the family’s housekeeper, as well as the May 2013 deaths of Creighton pathologist Roger Brumback and his wife, Mary.

Authorities contend that Garcia was motivated by revenge for being fired from Creighton’s pathology department in 2001.

Consultant Says Nebraska Can Avoid Building New Prison

Posted on January 14, 2015January 14, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A consultant that worked with top Nebraska officials for more than a year says the state can avoid building a new prison with cheaper solutions while maintaining public safety.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center presented its final report to senators on Wednesday.

The report suggests spending $33 million over five years to expand probation, parole and community-based services and building a statewide database to reduce sentencing disparities in different parts of Nebraska.

Marc Pelka, the group’s program director, says that expense would alleviate the need for a new prison, projected to cost more than $261 million.

Nebraska’s prison system reached 159 percent of its design capacity last month, with 5,221 inmates. Sen. Les Seiler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, says overcrowding needs to be addressed this year.