OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say DNA collected years ago from several black men in a controversial sweep has been destroyed, now that a suspect in a series of rapes has been charged.
Omaha police confirmed last week that they destroyed all DNA samples taken as part of the sweep.
Dick Davis II, who now lives in Georgia, was among the men from whom police collected DNA in 2004 as police desperately sought to solve the rapes. Davis says he voluntarily allowed police to swab his cheek, but says he felt coerced to comply.
The sweep led to state law that requires police to notify innocent people in writing that they have not been implicated by their sample, and to purge DNA samples and any identifying information.
Allen Myers, 53, formerly of North Platte, died Aug. 3, 2017, in Omaha. Services will be at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, at the North Platte Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the family.
Robert Morris, Jr., age 62 of North Platte, passed away Tuesday August 15, 2017 at Great Plains Health. Arrangements are pending at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home.
Country Music’s original supergroup returns to North Platte for the 2018 NEBRASKAland DAYS US Cellular Summer Jam Concert series.
Alabama, loaded with a library of number one singles and awards, will close the 2018 Celebration on Saturday, June 23rd 2018.
It’s been 40 years since a trio of young cousins left Fort Payne, Alabama, to spend the summer playing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, bar called The Bowery. It took Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook six long years of tip jars and word of mouth to earn the major label deal they’d been dreaming of, but then seemingly no time at all to change the face of country music. Alabama is the band that changed everything.
They reeled off 21 straight #1 singles, a record that will probably never be equaled in any genre. The accolades they have collected include more than 150 major industry nods, including two Grammys, the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian award, Entertainer of the Year awards three times from the CMA and five times from the ACM, as well as the latter’s Artist of the Decade award. They earned 21 Gold ®, Platinum ® and MultiPlatinum ® albums and were named the RIAA’s Country Group of the Century.
“Alabama is the perfect fit to end a year where we celebrate the 50th anniversary of NEBRASKAland DAYS moving to North Platte,” said Executive Director David Fudge. “When you add them to a weekend that already includes Florida Georgia Line, you get a really good lineup that celebrates multiple generations.”
Alabama previously appeared at the Wild West Arena in 1992, the same year as Alan Jackson, who appeared at the festival earlier this summer.
Tickets for both Florida Georgia Line and Alabama go on sale to the public on September 5 at 9 am. Tickets for FGL rangle from $149 to $69, while Alabama will sell from $119-59. Combo tickets for GA and seating will be offered for $118.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge in Nebraska has sentenced a Chicago couple arrested last year in a major drug bust.
66-year-old Michael Melchior was sentenced Wednesday to five years in federal prison, and 64-year-old Peggy Brennan received three years of probation.
Melchior and Brennan were arrested in what authorities have described as Lancaster County’s largest drug-cash seizure. Authorities confiscated more than $2.4 million from an RV during a traffic stop along Interstate 80 in Lincoln, plus nearly $607,000 and 10 pounds of marijuana in Chicago.
Melchior pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and Brennan pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony for failing to report her knowledge of what Melchior was doing.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $510 million, making it one of the largest in U.S. history.
No one matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, so the national lottery game will continue to grow ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. At $510 million, the drawing would be the eighth largest lottery jackpot.
The prize figure refers to the annuity option, in which winnings would be paid out over 29 years. A winner who took the cash option would snag $324.2 million, though that would be subject to state and federal taxes.
Powerball is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Columbus police are switching to a new digital radio system in a matter of weeks that would allow them to encrypt dispatches and restrict public access to their communications.
The change will come in a matter of weeks. Capt. Todd Thalken says the department requested encryption as a feature of the new system.
Currently, police dispatchers pass information to officers on police channels that the public can overhear with a scanner. The calls include everything from fender-bender accidents to high-speed chases and drug busts.
Police say they’re looking to balance transparency with the need to protect confidential information relayed in transmissions.
News outlets including the Telegram and many local residents monitor police channels as a way of keeping track of what’s happening in town.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state agency is warning the public about a woman who reportedly posed as a child protective services employee to try to gain access to homes.
The Department of Health and Human Services says it has received three such reports from Omaha and one from Holdrege in the last two weeks.
The department says in a news release that the woman wasn’t allowed into the homes because she couldn’t provide identification.
Department CEO Courtney Phillips says all of the agency’s employees carry state-issued identification badges and can provide a name and number to call to verify their employment.
The department says anyone unsure about the identity of a person who claims to be an employee should report their concern to the Adult and Child Abuse Neglect Hotline at 1-800-652-1999.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A team of fire investigators is trying to determine the cause of a natural gas explosion in Lincoln that damaged nearly 20 homes and gave two people life-threatening injuries.
Investigators and Lincoln police spent a second-day searching rubble for reasons behind Monday’s home explosion. Investigators didn’t find any evidence of a gas leak outside the home Tuesday, and Black Hills Energy officials reported no issues with its service lines to the home.
Chief Fire Investigator Bill Moody says investigators will try to determine if a mechanical failure, accident or foul play triggered the blast.
Fire officials say the explosion threw homeowners, Jim and Jeanne Jasa. A hospital spokesman says the couple remains in critical condition as of Wednesday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say DNA collected years ago from several black men in a controversial sweep has been destroyed, now that a suspect in a series of rapes has been charged.
