Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. North wind between 11 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind between 10 and 13 mph becoming light.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Light wind becoming southeast between 13 and 16 mph. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.
(Alliance, Neb.)- An armed man who wounded three law enforcement officers and a hostage is dead after a more than 14 hour standoff at an Alliance pharmacy.
The suspect, identified as Andres Gonzalez, 472 Cody Avenue, Alliance was pronounced dead at approximately 11:30 p.m., (MDT), Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
The incident began just before 9:00 a.m., (MDT), Tuesday, June 12, when an armed male later identified as Gonzales, walked into the Thiele Pharmacy, in the 300 block of Box Butte Avenue, downtown Alliance. Officers with the Alliance Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man entering the building.
During the initial response, Gonzales exchanged gunfire with an Alliance Police Officer. Officer Kirk Felker, 43, a 15-year veteran of the Alliance Police Department was transported to the Box Butte General Hospital where he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to his arm. Officer Felker remains hospitalized in stable condition. No-one else was injured in the initial confrontation.
The owner of the pharmacy, Charles Lierk, 62, Alliance remained inside the building and was taken hostage by Gonzales.
The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) responded to the scene just after 9:00 a.m., (MDT). NSP resources began assisting local authorities with setting up a perimeter and the clearing of nearby buildings.
Just after 10:30 a.m., (MDT), a trooper with the NSP SWAT team was wounded when gunfire was exchanged through a door into an adjacent building. Trooper Tim Flick, 37, a 15-year veteran of the agency suffered three gunshot wounds to the left side of his body, to include his arm and midsection. Trooper Flick was transported to Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance where he remains in stable condition.
A second Alliance Police Officer suffered a shrapnel wound at the time Trooper Flick was shot. Officer Matt Shannon, 35, a five year veteran of the Alliance Police Department was treated and released from the Box Butte General Hospital.
The Nebraska State Patrol established phone contact with the suspect inside the pharmacy and began negotiations.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., (MDT), pharmacy owner Lierk, escaped from the building. During his escape, he suffered a gunshot wound to the back and arm and was transported to Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance where he remains in stable condition.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., (MDT), Tuesday, June 12, an exchange of gunfire occurred between Gonzales, who was barricaded inside a back office, and members of the Nebraska Sate Patrol (NSP) SWAT team. At approximately 11:30 p.m., (MDT), NSP SWAT team members were able to confirm the suspect was deceased at the scene. No SWAT team members were injured.
The scene, in the 300 block of Box Butte Avenue has been secured and is being processed at this time. The initial investigation has determined the suspect was armed with an assault rifle, as well as a handgun. The Box Butte County Attorney has scheduled an autopsy on the body of the suspect. Nebraska law requires a Grand Jury be convened anytime someone dies while in the process of apprehension or in the custody of law enforcement.
As of June 13, 2012, the Box Butte County Attorney is continuing to assist Nebraska State Patrol in the investigation of the events leading up to the hostage situation and stand-off involving Andres Gonzales.
“This is a very complex and involved investigation,” said K. J. Hutchinson, Box Butte County Attorney. “We continue to work multiple crime scenes and release of information will be subject to the Grand Jury process.”
The Nebraska State Patrol is also working a second crime scene at 472 Cody Avenue, Alliance. Investigators say a body identified as Larry Gonzales, 62, Alliance was discovered deceased by law enforcement at approximately 10:00 a.m., (MDT), Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Larry Gonzalez is the father of the armed suspect, Andres Gonzales. An autopsy will be conducted to determine cause of death. The investigation continues.
“I would like to commend everyone involved for their dedication and professionalism during this very dangerous situation,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Trooper Flick, Officers Felker and Shannon, and Mr. Lierk, as well as all of the individuals touched by the tragic events. We will continue to work these cases and cooperate with the Box Butte County Attorney throughout the investigative process.”
The Nebraska State Patrol was assisted by law enforcement officers from the Alliance, Scottsbluff and Chadron Police Departments, Box Butte & Dawes County Sheriff’s Offices, Nebraska Game and Parks, Nebraska Brand Committee, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) negotiators. Assistance was also provided by the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, Nebraska Department of Roads, and the City of Alliance.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. South wind between 7 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South southeast wind between 11 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. South wind 7 to 13 mph becoming east.
(Alliance, Neb.)- As of 9:00 p.m., (MDT), the Nebraska State Patrol continues negotiations with an armed suspect inside an Alliance pharmacy.
The incident began just before 9:00 a.m., (MDT), Tuesday, June 12, when an armed male suspect walked into the Thiele Pharmacy, in the 300 block of Box Butte Avenue, downtown Alliance. Officers with the Alliance Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man entering the building.
Source: http://www.kcowradio.com/
During the initial response, Alliance Police Officer Kirk Felker, 43, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire. Felker, a 15-year veteran of the Alliance Police Department is being treated for his injuries at the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance. His injuries are non-life threatening.
The Nebraska State Patrol responded to the scene just after 9:00 a.m., where NSP resources began assisting the local authorities with perimeter set up and clearing nearby buildings.
Just after 10:30 a.m., (MDT), a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team was wounded when gunfire was exchanged through a door into an adjacent building. Trooper Tim Flick, 37, a 15-year veteran of the agency suffered gunshot wounds to the left side of his body, and is currently in serious but stable condition at the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance. A second Alliance Police Officer suffered a shrapnel wound at the time Trooper Flick was shot. Officer Matt Shannon, a five year veteran of the Alliance Police Department was treated and released from the Box Butte General Hospital.
The Nebraska State Patrol was able to establish phone contact with the suspect inside the pharmacy and negotiations began.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., (MDT), the lone hostage escaped from the building. During his escape the hostage was wounded and transported to the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance. The name of the hostage and the extent of his injuries are not being released at this time.
The business district of downtown Alliance remains cordoned off and residents are urged to avoid the area.
The Nebraska State Patrol is being assisted by law enforcement officers from the Alliance, Scottsbluff and Chadron Police Department, and the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Assistance is also being provided by the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, Nebraska Department of Roads and the Alliance Street Department.
Further updates will be provided as developments continue to unfold
UPDATE: 8:58 pm- Around 7:45 Nebraska State Patrol held a Media Conference to discus the current situation at hand in Alliance Nebraska at Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts where a hostage situation arose Tuesday morning at what first was a robbery, that quickly turned into a hostage situation. Not only is a hostage situation unpredictable and nearly uncontrollable, it’s also a time when every thing is put to a halt and the community as a whole state of Nebraska feels the concern as time passes.
“When we woke this morning in the best hometown in america little did anyone in our wildest dreams foresee what would transpire today” says , Alliance Mayor Fred Feldges at the begging of the conference. “At 8:50 this morning a 911 call was receive that changed our lives in Alliance” he continues. Around that time Alliance police arrived at Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts where the first call that sparked the hostage situation was made. Once the police arrived, an officer had been shot, suffering from non-life threatening injury’s. “Our sympathies go out to all concerned with this incident, and the tragedy here is that it’s still on going” say Feldges as he opens up for questions by the media.
Lieutenant Lance Rodgers with the Nebraska State Patrol of Scotsbluff, Chief John Kiss, and City Manager J.D. Cox answered various questions for the media while trying to give as much information as they are aloud.
“We’re hopeful for everyone involved in today incident” says City Manager J.D. Cox as he begins to inform that there are many agency’s that helped the city of Alliance today. “After our police department had the initial response to this incident, it became very clear very early in the incident that we would need assistance, and so assistance was sought and assistance responded” says Cox. The City of Alliance does not have very much experience with this kind of situation and under the conditions everyone involved is working/worked very well to contain restore peace. The State Highway Patrol responded to the call for assistance as well as the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department was on the scene early and was still there during the conference.
Chief John Kiss then began to speak. “We did have two officers who were injured today. One was 35 Officer Matt Shannon, he was with Alliance Police department for 5 years, he was treated and released. The other officer was 43 Kirk Felker he has been with the Alliance police department 15 years, he has sustained injury’s and he’s recovering. ” Two officers today risked their lives today in response to the call.
Lieutenant Lance Rodgers says “We received the call at approximately 8:45 this morning” “Upon arrival we set up a corner” Rodgers continued. Each alliance has set up a corner, the Police Department, Sheriffs Department each had a corner as the authority began to asses the situation. Shortly after Negotiators arrived. Negotiators had not been able to create a communication with the gunman until approximately 7:30 in the evening. Negotiators worked at trying to get the gunman out of the building. Rodgers confirms there is a second location being investigated in association with the bodies found at 6th and Cody. Authority’s are unable to confirm that there is a body at that location.
A hostage of the gunman was able to escape. The name of the hostage is Charls Lierk, owner of Thiele Pharmacy and Gifts. He had been held hostage for over seven hours.
After the question heard below was asked, Negotiators are confirmed to have made communication with the gunman, but the details were unknown at the time.
Asmore information is available, will be posted.
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a gunman wounded two police officers and is holding at least one hostage inside a western Nebraska drugstore after a botched robbery attempt.
Local authorities say before the hostage situation began, the person had killed two people at a local mobile home. A second officer with the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team had been shot while trying to get into position. Both officers have non life threatening injury’s.
Source: http://www.kcowradio.com/
Alliance City Manager J.D. Cox says the gunman inside Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts is believed to be heavily armed and “there is tremendous concern” for the hostage.
Authorities say the standoff began about 8:50 a.m. Tuesday. Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins says a patrol SWAT team is on the scene, which she described as “extremely dangerous.” Entire downtown blocks in the small town of Alliance are shut down.
Cox says an Alliance police officer was shot early in the standoff and the trooper was wounded later in the morning. Cox says the first officer had surgery, but didn’t immediately know the conditions of either.
NORTH PLATTE- With all the excitement of Nebraskaland Days and the Miss Rodeo pageant both Miss Rodeo Nebraska Sierra Peterson and Miss Rodeo America Mackenzie Carr stopped by to talk to us at The North Platte Post about how excited they are to be here and what they enjoy about the pageant. I (Kris Allen) was able to snap a picture with the two rodeo stars before they left! They have a very busy schedule, the chance to interview them both was an honor!
(North Platte) (NPD) On 06/11/12 Donald L. Warfield, 69, was arrested for 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a child, (1B Fel) as a result of a lengthy investigation by the North Platte Police Department. At the time of disclosure the female victim was 15 years old. The juvenile victim alleged that inappropriate touching by Warfield began when she was as young as 7 years of age and progressed over the next 3-4 years. Warfield, who is a registered sex offender as a result of a 2002 conviction of 3rd Degree Sexual Assault on an 11 YOF, was living in a camper near the victim’s residence at the time of the reported sexual assault. Warfield is currently incarcerated at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
Warfield was also arrested earlier this year for a Failing to Register as a Sex Offender (4 Fel) but later plead guilty to an Attempt of a class 3A or class 4 felony (1 Mis).
As a reminder to the public that under Nebraska state law there is no statute of limitations on child sexual. Often we rely on our school counselors or staff to have conversations with children about inappropriate touching but in reality parents or guardians should be encouraging their children to speak about this matter on a regular basis. In this case the crime occurred several years earlier and it was only when the victim matured and grew confident that she was able to disclose to authorities.
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an officer has been shot and a man is holding police at bay inside a store in the Nebraska Panhandle city of Alliance.
Local Media reports the standoff at Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts began around 8:50 a.m. Tuesday.
The officer was shot in an arm and was taken to Box Butte General Hospital. No other shots have been reported, but the downtown business district has been blocked off.
The name of the officer and other details about the shooting and standoff haven’t been released. A police dispatcher told The Associated Press that more information isn’t available yet.
(Lincoln, Neb.)- NSP- Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Shanon Koubek took first place honors in the Nebraska Inspector Championships held June 8-9 in Grand Island.
A nine-year veteran of the Nebraska State Patrol, Trooper Koubek is stationed in North Platte and assigned to the Carrier Enforcement Division. The competition consists of a personal interview, hazardous materials table top exercise, a level one inspection, motor coach inspection and a cargo tank inspection. The Nebraska Inspector Championships is held each June in Grand Island as a part of the 2012 Nebraska Truck Driving Championships.
Trooper Koubek now will represent the State of Nebraska in the North American Inspector Championships (NAIC), in Minneapolis, Minn., August 5-11, 2012. During the NAIC, inspectors from across North America are tested in a series of timed events, in which they will demonstrate their knowledge of the North American Standard Inspection Program. In addition to the competition, each inspector receives training on the latest safety information, technology, standards and inspection procedures.
The NAIC is held in conjunction with the American Trucking Association (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships.
North Platte, Neb. – The Buffalo Bill Rodeo attracts the cream of the crop to North Platte this weekend.
Four-hundred thirty-six contestants will be in town for the rodeo, including eight world champions: bull rider Dustin Elliott, North Platte; steer wrestler Dean Gorsuch and tie-down roper Troy Pruitt, both of Gering; bareback rider Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas; tie-down roper and all around Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, team ropers Nick Sartain, Dover, Okla., and Kollin VonAhn, Durant, Okla., and saddle bronc rider Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Montana.
Along with those world champions are plenty of home-state cowboys who have just as much a chance as the “big boys” at earning the gold buckle. Seventy-three Huskers are among the 400 plus contestants.
And for those Nebraska cowboys, the trip to North Platte is among the shortest trips they’ll take as they hit the rodeo circuit. For Gering cowboy Riley Pruitt, who is a three hour drive away, the trip is “absolutely nothing at all.” Pruitt, who graduated from Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington this spring, will rope against his dad, Troy Pruitt, who won the world tie-down roping championship in 1990.
Local cowboy Dustin Elliott will ride bulls in North Platte on Saturday night. He’s won the Buffalo Bill Rodeo twice, and for him, the rodeo is extra special. “It’s always good to sleep in my own bed, and then go win some money,” he said. Elliott, who has lived in North Platte since 2004, gave his first North Platte buckle to his father-in-law to wear. He is the 2004 Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding Champion.
Another home-state cowboy has had good luck in North Platte. Garrett Nokes, who lives in McCook, won the steer wrestling title in 1999 and the tie-down roping title the year prior. He will compete in those events, plus the team roping, and with his brother-in-law and friends living in town, will have his own cheering section. “I’ve always enjoyed that rodeo, and seemed to do well there.”
For Bump Kraeger, competing in North Platte fulfills a lifelong dream. When the Weeping Water man was growing up, his family took summer vacations to NebraskaLand Days to watch the rodeo. As a child, his heroes were the cowboys in the arena and he thought, “I have just as good a chance at walking on the moon as I do at competing in North Platte.” He has steer wrestled at the rodeo for ten years, and his son, Hoyt, a college sophomore at UN-L, will also compete there.
Whether they’re home-state cowboys or out-of-towners, fans will still get treated to the excitement, pageantry, and unpredictability of rodeo.
The rodeo kicks off at 8 pm each night, June 13-16. Timed event slack is June 13 and 14 at 8 am and is free to the public. For more information, visitwww.NebraskaLandDays.com
