Lincoln County District Court was a busy place Monday.  Here are a few highlights:

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  A Wyoming man who attempted to rob the Farmer’s State Bank in Wallace entered a plea.  20-year-old Drew Steier entered a No Contest plea to Attempted Robbery.  In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend 1 1/2 to 3 years in the State Pen and amend the charge from Robbery.  Authorities say Steier walked into the bank on August 13, 2012 and ordered the teller to give him money.  Steier was wearing a black ski mask and holding what appeared to be a handgun.  However the gun turned out to be a toy gun.  Steier and an accomplice, Tracy Black, were later apprehended in Imperial.  Steier will be sentenced on April 8.
  

 

 

 

 

 

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  A 41-year-old North Platte man plead Not Guilty to a charge of First-Degree Sexual Assault of a Child.  Edward Maline was arrested after a 19-year-old  came forward and claimed that he had sexually assaulted her eleven years earlier.  She accused Maline of inappropriate touching and committing acts that were sexual in nature.  The victim claimed the action started when she was eight or nine years old, and continued for the next decade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  A Hershey man charged with being a Habitual Criminal made a plea deal with prosecutors.  Chad Hall, 39, plead no contest to Theft by Taking, in exchange, prosecutors dropped the Habitual Criminal Charge, as well as a charge of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.  Deputies received a tip last January that Hall may have a gun in his residence in Hershey.  Upon execution of a search warrant, deputies found 21 long guns in a safe, including one that was considered an assault weapon.  Authorities also discovered seven pistols.  During the investigation, investigators discovered that Hall had also stolen and pawned jewelry.  Hall will be sentenced on April 8.

 

 

 

 

 

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  A 31-year-old Brady man who assaulted his girlfriend and threatened her with firearms received probation.  Jessy Ellison was given 18 months probation by Judge Richard Birch.  Prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony in exchange for a guilty plea and amended the charge to Attempted Terroristic Threats.  Police say that in October 2012, Ellison threatened his girlfriend with firearms before firing them into the air.  He then grabbed her and threw her into the grill of his pickup.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be weary of driving after you’ve consumed your corned beef and cabbage and green beers!

The Nebraska State Patrol want motorists to be aware that they will be conducting high visibility patrols, multi-agency checkpoints and DUI selective during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend.  The Patrol hopes to reduce the potential for accidents and drinking and driving.

Troopers and Communications Specialists will put in overtime hours beginning Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17 as they work to lower the risk of serious injury and fatality crashes caused by impaired drivers.

The extra patrol is made possible by a $19,040 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.

For information about enforcement activities in your area, you can call the nearest NSP Troop Area Headquarters:

Headquarters Troop-Lincoln 402-471-4545	Troop C- Grand Island 308-385-6000
Troop A-Omaha 402-331-3333	Troop D- North Platte 308-535-8047
Troop B- Norfolk 402-370-3456	Troop E- Scottsbluff 308-632-1211

 

Nebraska’s attorney general is warning residents to be skeptical of unexpected lottery winnings.

Jon Bruning issued a consumer alert Monday after people started complaining about fraudulent lottery letters. His office has received more than 450 calls or complaints in the past 90 days.

Bruning says scammers try to convince victims to pay fees as part of the lottery winnings. They often request wiring money or sending pre-paid charge cards.

Bruning warns scammers often claim to work for a government agency and can look legitimate.

 

Another North Platte man is facing an attempted murder charge after authorities say he fired a gun inside a residence.

At around 1:40 a.m on Monday morning, officers from the North Platte Police Department responded to the 400 Block of North Willow on the report of a disturbance involving a firearm.

Officers were met by a victim claiming that 25-year-old Miguel Fernandez had fired a shotgun inside her home following an argument.

The victim did not suffer any injuries, but stated that she was in close proximity to the gunfire.

Following an investigation, officers determined that there probable cause for an arrest.  They located Fernandez and booked him into the Lincoln County Detention Center on charges of Criminal Attempt 2nd Degree Homicide and Discharge of a Firearm at a Person.

Both charges are serious felonies.

This is the second person charged with Attempted 2nd-Degree Murder in North Platte in three days.  Tanner Matthies faces similar charges after police say he drove his vehicle through Perkins Restaurant following an argument with a male inside the establishment.

A North Platte man is under arrest after a slippery ride sent him in to a power pole just west of North Platte on Highway 30.

According to a report from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, 61-year-old Donald Garrick drove his car off the road and into a pole on Sunday.  Accident reports indicate the incident took place near the intersection of Front Road and Highway 30.

Garrick then attempted to flee the scene of the accident.

He was located in North Platte a short time later, and booked on charges of Driving Under the Influence of Liquor and Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident.

A 20-year-old North Platte man is facing serious criminal charges after he drove through a local restaurant.

According to North Platte Police Department (NPPD) Public Information Officer Rodney Brown, at around 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, officers responded to the report of a vehicle striking Perkins Family Restaurant at 2302 S. Jeffers.  Upon arrival, officers discovered that Tanner Matthies had driven his Dodge pickup into the front of the business after an argument over the phone with a 25-year-old male.

Matthies’ pickup continued through the front of the building and into the restaurant, striking the victim and causing extensive damage to the building.

The victim, from Greeley, CO, suffered extensive bodily injury and possible permanent damage according to police.

Matthies was arrested at the scene without incident and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center, where he was charged with Criminal Attempt 2nd-Degree Murder, 1st-Degree Assault and Criminal Mischief.

The relationship between the victim and Matthies is unknown to North Platte Police.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has scheduled training for apprentice firearm and bow hunter education instructors in Lincoln.

The bow instructor training is set for March 25 and the firearm training for March 27. Both workshops are scheduled to run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hunter Education Office in Lincoln.

Bow instructors should register by March 22 and firearm instructors by March 26. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter(at)nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

Nebraska’s annual brain injury conference will offer information to help those with brain injuries and their families.

The Nebraska Brain Injury Advisory Council is co-sponsoring the conference as well as a free March 27 national webinar on technology that could help people with brain injuries.

The 7th Annual Brain Injury Conference will offer sessions to help individuals and their families address adjustment, coping, acceptance and expressing themselves through journaling.

The conference will be held April 4-5 in Kearney.

Registration closes March 27. Register for the conference and the webinar at www.braininjury.ne.gov. Call 888-806-6287 for more information.

In what is becoming a trend in North Platte, two men have been charged with thieving from a local salvage yard.

According to a statement from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers received a call shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Saturday from the owner of ABC Auto Salvage, stating that he had been the victim of a burglary.

Investigators learned that the owner had been contacted by a resident in the area who spotted a suspicious vehicle parked in a ditch near the business.  The caller had followed the vehicle to a nearby apartment.

Initially, Deputies did not locate the suspects at the residence, however, they soon discovered that they had returned.

Upon returning to the suspect residence, Deputies arrested Shawn Reese and Stephen Marquez.  The duo was charged with a litany of felony charges including: Burglary, Theft by Unlawful Taking, Possession of Stolen Property, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Trespassing and Criminal Mischief.  The pickup along with the stolen items was also located.

Investigators believe Marquez and Reese spent several hours in the yard of ABC, and used company vehicles to transport stolen goods to their pickup.  Among the items they stole were batteries, tires and other miscellaneous auto parts that investigators believe they planned on selling for cash.

Both suspects were booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center.