LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group seeking to reinstate Nebraska’s death penalty spent more than $900,000 to place the issue on the 2016 ballot.
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty disclosed its expenses Monday. The group announced in August that it had collected nearly 167,000 signatures from a petition drive that began after lawmakers abolished capital punishment.
The largest contributions in the latest reporting period were $100,000 from Robert Mercer, a New York hedge fund manager, and $100,000 from the Washington-based Judicial Crisis Network.
Gov. Pete Ricketts and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, have collectively given $300,000 but did not contribute in the latest reporting period.
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty reported $10,350 in cash-on-hand. Spokesman Chris Peterson says the group will continue raising money to fight a lawsuit challenging the petition drive.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — As Nebraska’s utilities decide whether to sign new long term deals with power suppliers, they have new options that didn’t exist the last time they decided where to buy electricity.
A handful of local utilities in the northeast corner of the state are switching from the Nebraska Public Power District to a different supplier to take advantage the flexibility offered by the region’s power grid today.
The utilities making the switch — South Sioux City, Northeast Nebraska Public Power, Wakefield and Wayne — believe they will save some money. But mainly they wanted a shorter contract and more flexibility to buy renewable energy from other providers.
All 75 of NPPD’s wholesale customers are weighing their options this fall because the state’s largest utility wants them to sign new 20-year contracts.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lancaster County Truancy Diversion Project is seeing success in improving grades and attendance among students at the six participating schools.
The program allows students facing truancy petitions from the county attorney’s office to avoid possible legal punishments by participating in the program. The program requires students to avoid further unexcused absences or suspensions, attend counseling services and demonstrate passing grades.
Students who achieve perfect attendance, improved grades and commitment to therapy are now able to skip bi-weekly truancy diversion court hearings.
The program began in January 2011 at Park Middle School. Since then, average daily attendance at the school has increased from 94.2 percent to 95.5 percent.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — De’Mornay Pierson-El might be able to play in a limited role when Nebraska opens Big Ten play at Illinois on Saturday.
Pierson-El has been out since mid-August with a broken right foot. Coach Mike Riley said the dynamic punt returner and receiver is returning to practice this week. How much he plays this week, if any, depends on how he progresses in workouts. Continue reading “Nebraska’s Riley: Pierson-El could play some against Illini”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lancaster County sheriff says an internal investigation shows a deputy followed department protocol in shooting an armed 18-year-old, ending a chase across a street from the Nebraska Capitol.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said Monday that Deputy Jeffrey Moeller acted within the scope of the policy on use of force. Wagner says Moeller and a deputy U.S. marshal shot Tareik Artis after Artis pointed a loaded .45-caliber handgun at them. Artis was fleeing from a Lincoln officer after a traffic stop. Lincoln police say the officer saw that Artis was carrying the gun, so the officer called for more aid.
The U.S. Marshals Service hasn’t named the deputy marshal involved. The agency and Lincoln police also are investigating the shooting.
Police say a man making sure the load in his pickup was secure led to a head-on collision on the Buffalo Bill overpass last Friday.
North Platte Police say a 1987 Dodge Dakota pickup, driven by 33-year-old Richard Titchen, was traveling over the north Buffalo Bill overpass at around 8:24 a.m., on September 25.
Police say Titchen turned his head to check the load in his pickup, drifted across the center line and collided with a 2015 Ford F250, driven by 30-year-old Aaron Smith.
Investigators determined that Smith stopped in the traffic lane, but Titchen’s vehicle kept coming and eventually collided head-on with Smith’s vehicle.
Titchen and a passenger both sustained minor injuries, and police say both vehicles sustained heavy damage and were towed away.
A North Platte man has been charged with multiple felonies following a disturbance last Friday.
At around 4:31 p.m., on September 25, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of an assault in the 200 block of South Chestnut Street.
Officers arrived and found that the victim and the suspect were both still present.
The victim told police that Johnathon Hernandez had repeatedly hit her in the head and placed her in a “chokehold.”
According to Officer Rodney Brown, officers attempted to get Hernadez’ side of the story, but he was extremely angry and uncooperative.
Hernandez eventually approached officers in an aggressive manner, according to Brown, and they attempted to take him into custody.
Brown said as officers attempted to detain Hernandez, he continued to attempt to kick them. He said the officers only avoided injury because they were able to dodge the blows by Hernandez.
Once in handcuffs, Hernandez allegedly continued to struggle and remained aggressive until they were able to load him into a patrol car.
Hernandez was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed on charges of felony strangulation, felony attempted assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and third-degree assault.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has been charged with assaulting a 4-year-old boy with autism, including pulling three of his teeth out, while baby-sitting him last summer.
Authorities in Montgomery County said 27-year-old Nicholas Kernechel of East Greenville was charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses.
Authorities said the child’s mother brought him to Upper Perkiomen police in July along with a plastic bag containing the three “bloody but intact” teeth.
They said Kernechel hit the boy, identified only as “JN,” and took the teeth out.
Defense attorney Patrick McMenamin Jr. on Monday called the child’s injuries “an unfortunate accident” that occurred when he slipped as Kernechel was helping him out of bed to use the bathroom.
A 73-year-old North Platte man has been sentenced to prison for having sex with two teenage girls at an apartment complex.
Francisco Garcia appeared in Lincoln County District Court on Monday for sentencing.
On June 4, North Platte Police opened an investigation into a sexual assault after receiving a complaint from a 12-year-old female, that she and her 13-year-old friend had been sexually assaulted.
Both juveniles were interviewed at separate Child Advocacy Centers, and stated that, on June 3, they had been swimming at the apartment complex located at 221 West Francis.
They say Garcia invited them up to his apartment. Once in the apartment, the girls said Garcia paid them to perform a sex act and sexually assaulted them.
Garcia was originally charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, but the charges were reduced to attempted sexual assault of a minor when Garcia entered a no contest plea after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Tanya Roberts-Connick asked Judge Donald Rowlands to sentence Garcia to prison.
Roberts-Connick said the case involved two young girls who will be affected by this act for the rest of their lives.
Garcia’s attorney, Mark McKeone, said his client recognizes that he did wrong and cited his client’s age and health problems when addressing Judge Rowlands.
He said Garcia had been a working member of society for his entire life and had a minimal criminal history. He also said Garcia was more than willing to participate in programs.
Garcia then addressed the court and stated that he wanted to apologize to the victims and their families, and was willing to accept responsibility for his actions.
It was then Judge Rowlands’ turn to speak.
Judge Rowlands stated that a psychological evaluation, conducted by Dr. Rebecca Schroeder, determined that Garcia was not a pedophile and deemed him a low to moderate risk to reoffend.
However, before handing down the sentence, Rowlands said Garcia’s age and the age of the victims makes the acts something that “can’t be tolerated in a civilized society,” and said they must be punished accordingly.
Rowlands then sentenced Garcia to not less than 10 nor more than 20 years on both counts. The sentences will run concurrently, and Garcia was credited with 412 days already served in the Lincoln County Detention Center. The original charges against Garcia carried a sentence of 20-years to life in prison.
Additionally, Garcia must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
After Garcia had been sentenced, Lincoln County Attorney Rebecca Harling addressed the court, saying that she and other attorneys had a conversation with David Saxton. Saxton was recently sent to prison for second-degree murder after a transient was beaten to death in North Platte.
Harling said statements made by Saxton indicated that Garcia should not be housed near Saxton while in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Sevices.
According to Harling, Saxton said he would “be waiting for Garcia to get there.”
Judge Rowlands asked corrections officers, who were present in court, to notify the NDOC of this situation in writing.
The court was then adjourned, and Garcia was remanded to the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to await transport to Lincoln.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group seeking to reinstate Nebraska’s death penalty spent more than $900,000 to place the issue on the 2016 ballot.
