OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old driver involved in a crash that killed a teenage passenger in his car has been charged as a juvenile with felony motor vehicle homicide.
Omaha police say that the 15-year-old boy was arrested and booked Tuesday night into Douglas County Youth Center. Investigators say he was driving recklessly before the crash that killed 14-year-old Kevin Ramirez-Cabrera. The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with a crime.
Police say the crash was reported around 2:25 a.m. Saturday, and first responders found that the car had been speeding, lost control and hit a utility pole. Ramirez-Cabrera, who had been in the back seat, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. Investigators say he was not wearing a seat belt.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new state law will lift licensing requirements for Nebraska banking and credit union executives.
Gov. Pete Ricketts signed the measure Wednesday as part of a larger overhaul of the state’s banking laws. The last major changes were made in 1963.
The bill would allow banks to opt out of licensing their executive officers and credit unions to opt out of licensing their loan officers.
Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha, the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee chairman, says the licensing requirement is not imposed on federal banks or bank officers in any other state. He says the measure would also increase oversight of executive officers.
Ricketts touted the measure as a piece of his effort to eliminate regulations. Lawmakers passed it with a 48-0 vote.
HICKMAN, Neb. (AP) — A southeastern Nebraska child care provider is in hot water after authorities say a child in her care tested positive for the psychoactive drug in marijuana.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to a Lincoln hospital emergency room for a 2-year-old girl brought in for being lethargic. Doctors discovered the toddler was suffering from exposure to THC.
After questioning from investigators, the child’s 31-year-old in-home day care operator in Hickman said she had baked marijuana brownies and used the same pan to bake cookies for the children in her day care.
The Sheriff’s Office ticketed the woman on suspicion of child abuse. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which licenses her day care, issued an emergency order Wednesday closing the day care.
Officials have recommended other children at the day care be tested for the drug.
The Nebraska State Patrol has identified the suspect in the slaying of John Fratis as 15-year-old Amedeus L. Leroux of Denver, Colorado. Leroux is still on the run and should be considered armed and dangerous. If you spot him, do not approach him and call 911.
Authorities investigating an extremely rare homicide in Ogallala have made two arrests.
According to the Keith County Attorney’s Office, 32-year-old Larry Derrera and 28-year-old Raylynn Garcia are in custody on charges of being accessories to murder in the death of 25-year-old John Fratis.
Authorities say Derrerra and Garcia shared a home with Fratis in the 900 block of North Spruce.
Authorities are searching for 15-year-old Amadeus Leroux on suspicion homicide in Ogallala, Nebraska. Courtesy Photo
Garcia, Derrera, Fratis and an unknown male referred to as Chris, were reportedly consuming alcohol and watching television when Fratis and Chris began fighting.
During the altercation, County Attorney Randy Fair says Fratis was injured. He was transported to Ogallala Community Hospital where he died. Scanner traffic indicated that Fratis had been stabbed.
An arrest affidavit says Derrera lied to authorities and failed to disclose information pertinent to their investigation. Garcia, allegedly met Chris at a local convenience store, after finding Fratis bleeding, then gave him a ride to Holyoke, Colorado. Garcia was also accompanied by her two young children. In addition to the accessory to murder charge, both have been charged with child abuse as well.
Law enforcement officials continue to search for the man known and Chris, pictured above, and say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, contact local law enforcement immediately.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has approved changes to Nebraska’s unemployment system intended to keep it sustainable and in line with national standards.
The bill signed at a public ceremony on Wednesday would prevent people from collecting benefits if they quit their jobs without good cause. It also would allow the state Department of Labor to provide electronic notice of determinations of an unemployment claim.
Ricketts says unemployment benefits should be targeted at those who lose their jobs. The bill was sponsored by Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell and backed by some of the state’s leading business groups.
An artistic rendering of the north-facing side of Con Marshall Press Box, the Don Beebe Stadium grandstands, and a section of artificial turf on Elliott Field in the proposed CSC Sports Complex
Athletics has been part of Chadron State since its founding in 1911. For more than 100 years, athletics has brought us together – as students, as families, as a community and as a region. Young men and women came to campus and became leaders on the fields of athletic competition. Leaders developed into champions. Leadership lessons imparted by the guiding hands of coaches and faculty are carried long after Eagles leave the nest. Those lessons contribute to Eagles’ ongoing success in the communities where they land.
Structural engineers have reported the existing grandstand, built in 1929, is beyond repair. The concrete is crumbling, safety is a real concern and something must be done. Other problems include crowded facilities, lack of restrooms, inadequate coaches’ boxes and a press box not equipped with today’s technology.
Seven national champions, a 3rd place at Nationals and an RMAC team championship. The Chadron State Eagles Track and Field Team has soared above the competition, in spite of not having an outdoor track facility.
An artistic rendering of the south-facing entrance to Don Beebe Stadium, with the overlooking hospitality room, in the proposed CSC Sports Complex
Chadron State College recently secured $6.2 million through a state bond program underscoring the importance of the $11.1-million Sports Complex Initiative. The initiative will provide approximately 20,167 square feet of new and replacement space and approximately 465,362 square feet of site improvements. The Sports Complex Initiative seeks to transform the Chadron State College athletic facilities in two phases.
Stadium Complex Initiative Renderings
Phase I will renovate/replace Elliott Field, Don Beebe Stadium and the Con Marshall Press Box. The proposed south side pavilion greatly improves access to the stadium with new and expanded seating. The new Don Beebe Stadium has two distinct levels. The first level is the Concourse Level and the second level is the Con Marshall Press Box.
The new Concourse Level at Don Beebe Stadium provides expanded concessions, bathrooms and ticket areas. The Con Marshall Press Box provides the technology and space needed for modern media. In addition to game management and media the Con Marshall Press Box will also be home to the Verne and Erma Lewellen Hospitality Center to provide a special gathering space for boosters, alumni and other Chadron State supporters. Elliott Field will also benefit from a modern turf playing surface providing greater safety for athletes and allowing year-round use of the field.
An artistic rendering of the Don Beebe Stadium hospitality suite in the proposed CSC Sports Complex
Phase II will construct the new outdoor track facility. Site assessments are currently underway to determine the best location of the state-of-the-art track. The new facility will allow current and future Eagles to continue to excel as well as provide a facility capable of hosting meets, including the RMAC Championships.
The new Sports Complex will satisfy the needs of student athletes and spectators. It will also aid greatly in the retention of students and the recruiting of student athletes to the CSC campus.
The Sports Complex Initiative is part of Next Horizon: The Campaign for Chadron State College which seeks to raise $40 million in state and private support. The campaign is raising funds for capital projects, academic and athletic program support and scholarship endowments.
To learn more about the Sports Complex Initiative or Next Horizon Campaign, contact the Chadron State foundation at 308-432-6366.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would create stiffer penalties for people who buy and sell sex in Nebraska has advanced in the Legislature, but lawmakers say it needs more work.
Senators voted 42-0 Wednesday to give first-round approval to a bill that would increase prison sentences for sex traffickers and provide other protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says the law now punishes victims and lets traffickers get away with probation if they are prosecuted at all.
Several senators say higher penalties that could result in life sentences for some traffickers don’t fit with recent legislative efforts to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha says lawmakers too often create higher penalties to appear tough on whatever crimes have gained attention.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man was slain and two other people wounded outside a convenience store in northeast Omaha.
The shooting occurred a little after 10 p.m. Tuesday. Police say the man was pronounced dead at the scene outside the B & T store. Another man and a woman were taken to a hospital.
The names of those involved and other details about the incident have not been released. It’s unclear whether the shooting was related to two other shootings reported in the area Tuesday night.
MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A woman who stole nearly $37,000 from her Norfolk employer has been sentenced to 90 days in Madison County Jail.
At her hearing Monday in Madison, Tonya Pearson also was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $1,200 in restitution. The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a financial transaction device after making a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Court records say Pearson used an Allied Tour & Travel credit card to make nonbusiness-related purchase.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County officials have agreed to pay $40,000 to a convicted killer who said he was injured by a fall while in county custody.
The county Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to settle the lawsuit filed by Avery Tyler shortly after his sentencing in 2014 to life in prison. He’d been convicted of fatally shooting 24-year-old Delayno Wright in September 2012.
Tyler said in his lawsuit that he was cuffed and shackled in a van when he was taken back to jail after a courthouse hearing. The lawsuit said the chains that bound his feet caught on a latch on the van floor, causing him to fall as he tried to exit the van. The lawsuit said the fall severely injured Tyler.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old driver involved in a crash that killed a teenage passenger in his car has been charged as a juvenile with felony motor vehicle homicide.
