BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — The trial of a man accused of stuffing a Colorado man’s body into a barrel after killing him in 2015 won’t be moved to another location.

Morrill County District Court judge Leo Dobrovolny ruled Tuesday that 25-year-old Zachary Mueller’s trial would be held in Bridgeport.

Lawyers for both sides started narrowing down a pool of 120 potential jurors on Tuesday. Opening arguments could be held as soon as Wednesday.

Mueller has pleaded not guilty to killing 33-year-old Pedro Dominguez of Greeley, Colorado.

A farmer found the barrel with Dominguez’ body inside near Bayard, Nebraska, on December 4, 2015. Authorities said Dominguez had been shot in the back of the head.

A Colorado man is in custody after he allegedly stole a car in North Platte, then crashed it into the river and set it on fire.

At around 11:25 a.m., on January 2, a North Platte police officer was on patrol when he observed a Sport Utility Vehicle on fire and partially submerged in the South Platte River, just south of Harvest Christian Fellowship Church, 1501 South Dewey Street.

The officer investigated further and was contacted by a witness who stated that a male subject had run eastbound from the vehicle.

According to Investigator John Deal, the witness was able to give a description of the suspect and a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol made contact with the man, later identified as 30-year-old Daniel Founds.

Deal says Founds was uncooperative and did not comply with verbal commands given by the officers.  Founds reportedly became combative and Deal says it took several officers to detain him.

The officers noticed that Founds clothes smelled of gasoline, and found his pants and feet were soaked.  He also appeared to be intoxicated.

Officers learned that the 1986 Chevy Blazer, which had by now been extinguished by the North Platte Fire Department, had been stolen earlier in the day from a residence in the 600 block of South Silber Street.

Officers turned their focus to the vehicle and determined that the fire had been intentionally set in the passenger compartment of the Blazer, which explained why Founds smelled like gasoline.

Deal said that Founds had been staying with family members in town.  Police contacted the family members and they were able to identify a key found near the vehicle as theirs.  They also showed officers a car speaker that Founds had brought to their home at an earlier date.  Deal says that was stolen from a vehicle in the 800 block of South Taft Street, on December 29.

Founds was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with theft by unlawful taking, resisting arrest, obstructing justice, arson, driving under the influence of liquor and refusal to submit to a chemical/breath test.

The Blazer was deemed a total loss.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Soaring numbers in a monthly survey of business supply managers suggest economic conditions are improving in nine Midwest and Plains states.

The Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Tuesday says the overall economic index for the region jumped to 53.1 in December from 46.5 in November. The October figure was 43.8.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the December and November increases point to an improving regional manufacturing economy.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Among the issues facing the Legislature and its Executive Board as the 2017 session begins this week is where one of its members lives and whether he may remain a member.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers’ opponent in the November election, John Sciara, filed a residency qualifications challenge with the Legislature shortly after the vote count showed Chambers’ overwhelming victory.

Sciara says several people have told him that Chambers lives in Bellevue but has a residence in north Omaha that he uses as a home address for residency so he may represent District 11.

Chambers says he has not falsified his residence and says he sent information to his fellow senators in November showing evidence that he lives in north Omaha.

MINATARE, Neb. (AP) — A Bayard man has been charged with the crash death of an Alliance woman.

Court records say 29-year-old Trevor Teichroeb is due in court Jan. 13 to face a misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide. Court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could speak for Teichroeb.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 68-year-old Barbara Fritzler was fatally injured Oct. 18 while waiting for a pilot car at a construction site on U.S. Highway 26, about a mile and a half east of Minatare. The patrol says Teichroeb’s pickup rammed into the rear of Fritzler’s car, knocking it into a vehicle ahead of hers.

RELATED CONTENT:

http://www.northplattepost.com/2016/10/19/3-vehicle-crash-kills-1-in-scotts-bluff-county/

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says he’s confident the state can reduce income and property taxes and balance the budget despite an $895 million projected revenue shortfall.

Ricketts is offering few specifics before his annual address to lawmakers, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he says the plan will focus on slowing state spending growth. He also hints that he might call on lawmakers to tap the state’s rainy-day fund.

Lawmakers begin their 2017 session on Wednesday. Legislative leaders say the budget will make it nearly impossible to pass any major spending bills.

Ricketts says he’s willing to discuss changes to his proposals as long as they don’t raise taxes. He says he won’t call for cuts to the Department of Correctional Services, an agency plagued by staffing shortages.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — The trial of a Nebraska man accused of killing a Colorado man and stuffing his body in a barrel is scheduled to begin this week.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the trial of 25-year-old Zachary Mueller in Bridgeport, Nebraska. The first-degree murder trial has already been rescheduled twice.

Mueller has pleaded not guilty to killing 33-year-old Pedro Dominguez of Greeley, Colorado.

A farmer found the barrel with Dominguez’ body inside near Bayard, Nebraska, on December 4, 2014. Authorities say Dominguez had been shot in the back of the head.

A pool of 120 potential jurors has been called for the trial that is expected to last roughly a week.

Update: 1/1/17 2:24

The Lincoln Police Department has released more information on the suspected murder-suicide in Lincoln, which left two women dead.

According to police, officers responded to the area of Superior Place Apartments, in Lincoln, at around 3:00 p.m. Saturday, on the report of someone making threats.

As officers were searching the area, they observed a black SUV and approached it.  As they did so, they heard a single gunshot.

Inside, they found 31-year-old Meagan Schroeder dead in the driver’s seat, and her ex-wife, 40-year-old Brenda Schroeder, with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Brenda was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police say that the initial investigation shows that Brenda Schroeder took Meagan Schroeder’s life before taking her own.

Family members say Meagan Schroeder had sought a protection order against Brenda. The couple was divorced in August.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Police are investigating a shooting outside an apartment complex that left two women dead.

Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Brian Jackson says officers were called to the apartments near 15th and Superior streets shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday because someone reported being threatened.

Officers searching for the person who called them found a vehicle parked nearby with two women inside. As the officer tried to contact them, a single gunshot was heard.

Officers found one woman dead in the driver’s seat, and a second woman in the passenger’s seat with a gunshot wound to the head. The second woman later died at a Lincoln hospital.

Jackson says police are still trying to determine if the incident was a murder-suicide.

The identities of the women who died were not immediately released.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Post has confirmed through family members that one of the women involved in this incident was former North Platte resident, Meagan Schroeder.  We have received reports that the other person involved was also a former North Platte resident, but we have not confirmed their identity with the Lincoln Police Department. Our thoughts and prayers are with Meagan’s family.  We will have more details as they are available.