LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gage County has lost its appeal of a jury verdict awarding more than $28 million to six people who were wrongfully convicted in the 1985 slaying of a southeast Nebraska woman.
The appeal filed last month in U.S. District Court in Lincoln said there wasn’t enough evidence to find against the county and said the award was excessive.
Judge Richard Kopf said Tuesday that there was plenty of evidence to find against the defendants and said it was “laughable to suggest that the jury verdict was excessive.”
James Dean, Kathleen Gonzalez, Debra Shelden, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Thomas Winslow and Joseph White served a combined 77 years in prison before DNA testing cleared them in 2008. Joseph White died in 2011.
A North Platte man is in custody, accused of intentionally setting a home, that was being used as storage, on fire.
On Monday night, the North Platte Fire Department responded to the report of a structure fire in the 600 block of East 5th Street. Officials say the home was unoccupied and was being used as storage by Andersen and Sons NAPA, which sits directly south of the house.
Once the fire was extinguished, officers began interviewing potential witnesses.
According to Investigator John Deal, an officer spoke to a neighbor who said they had seen a shirtless man standing just outside the fence, near the back door, at the time of the fire. Deal says it was discovered that the back door had been forcibly opened.
Additionally, Deal said it had rained that night and investigators discovered shoe prints in the area where the man was reportedly standing.
The owners were contacted and responded to the scene. They told officers that, a few months ago, an employee, identified as 41-year-old Wade Wolf, had gotten upset and quit. The owners said that Wolf had been inside the house during his employment and was familiar with its contents, which included a set of valve covers that Wolf allegedly wanted.
The owners said he was not allowed to have or buy the valve covers, and this was one of the reasons that he had gotten upset.
Because the residence was unoccupied, Deal says the owners had installed motion cameras, which were still in operation at the time of the alleged arson.
Officers reviewed the footage and observed a man they say looked like Wolf pouring liquid on the floor of the residence and setting it on fire.
The videos also allegedly show Wolf carrying what appears to be valve covers, which were missing.
Investigators determined that there was probable cause to arrest Wolfe and, on September 6, an investigator located him and placed him under arrest.
He was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center on charges of felony burglary and felony arson to a business.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man sought on an arrest warrant for drugs has been fatally shot by Douglas County sheriff’s deputies in southeast Omaha.
The shooting was reported around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say shots were fired as deputies tried to take the 25-year-old man into custody. A 911 audio recording shows deputies reported that they’d been fired upon and called for help. None of the deputies reported being injured. A 19-year-old woman near the scene was treated for cuts to a leg. It’s unclear how her injuries occurred.
The man was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at an Omaha hospital. He’s been identified as David Anderson.
The deputies involved have been placed on paid administrative leave. The Omaha Police Department has taken over the shooting investigation.
MPCC Rodeo Team members Sam Elliott, of Prineville, Ore., Garrett Heinert, of Papillion, and Nate Bausch, of Waterbury, get ready for a practice bull ride on Sunday. The team will host the 2016 Mid-Plains Community College Stampede on Sept. 16-17 at the Wild West Arena in North Platte.
The 2016 Mid-Plains Community College Stampede will pit some of the toughest cowboys and cowgirls in the region against the rankest livestock on the circuit.
The public is invited to watch the action Sept. 16-17 at the Wild West Arena, 2400 N. Buffalo Bill Ave, in North Platte. Performances will begin at 7 p.m. each night. Admission is payable at the gate. It’s $10 for adults and free for children 10 and younger. Continue reading “MPCC Stampede headed for Wild West Arena”
Two Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team members won their events at the Nebraska State Fair on Monday, earning $1,000 worth of scholarship money in the process.
Reece Weber, of Valentine, was first in the team roping and Rowdy Moon, of Sargent, claimed the top spot in the bareback riding during the Nebraska High School/College Rodeo Showcase. Continue reading “MPCC cowboys win at state fair”
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7am. Areas of fog between 7am and 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. East wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Northeast wind around 6 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. East northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a north wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 44.
Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 76.
Saturday Night
Clear, with a low around 53.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 84.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.
Monday Night
A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49.
Tuesday
A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 66.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Police in North Platte are searching for a suspect after they say a house was purposely set on fire earlier this week.
Police say the 11:30 p.m. Monday fire was started intentionally. Napa Auto Parts Andersen and Son’s was using the house as storage at the time of the fire. No one was injured.
Police say witnesses reported seeing a shirtless man walking around the area at the time of the fire.
GREELEY, Neb. (AP) — A suspect has been arrested on suspicion of burglarizing the home of the brother of Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who died in a car crash this summer.
Greeley County Sheriff David Weeks says the man was arrested Tuesday, after having already been arrested on other charges in York County. Weeks declined to give the suspect’s name, saying he has not yet been charged.
The burglary happened sometime after the Foltz family left home around noon to attend Saturday’s game in Lincoln and before they returned around 3 a.m. Sunday. The thieves took tools and a television, all worth about $1,400, from Jordan Foltz’s home and vehicle in rural Greeley, Nebraska.
Sam Foltz, who would have been a senior at Nebraska this fall, died in a car crash in Wisconsin in July along with former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.
Foltz’s parents presented a scholarship in his name, and two of his nephews helped lead the team out before Saturday’s game against Fresno State.
Foltz’s parents presented a scholarship in his name, and two of his nephews helped lead the team out before Saturday’s game against Fresno State.
LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man has been injured in a boating accident on the Missouri River in Iowa’s Harrison County.
The Iowa Natural Resources Department says in a news release that the accident occurred just before 8 p.m. Sunday, about four miles south of the Little Sioux boat ramp. The department says the man was sitting in the boat bow when the boat hit the wake of another vessel, causing him to fall out over the bow. The boat propeller struck the man as the boat passed over him.
Other passengers got him back in the boat, and he was later flown to an Omaha hospital. The man was identified as 23-year-old Nathan Case, who lives in Omaha.
YORK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Gresham couple have been killed in a pickup collision with a gravel truck near York.
The accident occurred a little after 2 p.m. Friday. The York County Sheriff’s Department says the eastbound pickup pulled in front of the gravel truck and collided with it.
The two victims were identified as 77-year-old Rex Epke and his wife, 75-year-old Lois Epke. The truck driver was taken to a hospital.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gage County has lost its appeal of a jury verdict awarding more than $28 million to six people who were wrongfully convicted in the 1985 slaying of a southeast Nebraska woman.
