A North Platte man is facing a felony child abuse and a weapons charge after he allegedly assaulted his teen daughter’s boyfriend.

On December 28, at around 3:12 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 800 block of South York Avenue after it was reported that someone had broken into the home by kicking in the back door.

As officers were responding to the scene, a woman called the North Platte 911 Center to report that her 16-year-old son had been assaulted at the same residence where the alleged break-in had occurred, and that she was taking him to the Emergency Room.

An officer was dispatched to the Emergency Room at Great Plains Health, where he met with the boy and his mother.  The boy told the officer that he had been communicating with his 13-year-old girlfriend via telephone when she asked him if he would meet her outside her house, and wait in the alley.

The boy reported that, when he arrived at his girlfriend’s house, he saw the back door open and assumed it was her.  Instead, it was her father, 31-year-old Sean Naliielua, who was armed with what police are referring to as a “brass knuckle taser.”  The victim said Naliielua repeatedly punched him in the face with the weapon before he was finally able to escape and contact his mother.

Meanwhile, officers met with Naliielua at the residence.  Naliielua claimed that he had been sleeping when an unknown male kicked in his back door and entered the residence, so he began to punch him.  According to Investigator John Deal, Naliielua showed officers a splintered door jamb and claimed that was the point of entry.

However, the officers noticed that the door jamb had already been repaired, and found it strange that a door would be repaired shortly after a home invasion was reported.

The officers then interviewed Naliielua’ daughter.  She reported that she had been communicating with her boyfriend when her dad heard her phone alert.  When he discovered that she was communicating with the boy, she said he told her to ask him to meet her in the alley.  She said she did this and, when he texted that he had arrived, her dad exited the house.  She said when he came back inside, he was holding the brass knuckle stun gun which had blood on it.

Officers investigated further and discovered a set of plastic brass knuckles built onto a stun gun in the trash can of the home.  Deal the weapon still had blood on it when it was recovered.

Additionally, Deal says no blood was found in the home, but officers did discover blood and signs of a struggle in the alley behind the home.

In the end, Deal said it was apparent that Naliielua had made up the story about the home invasion and had lured the boy to the home so he could assault him.

Naliielua was placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.  He’s been charged with felony aggravated child abuse and use of a weapon to commit a felony.  He’s being held on ten percent of $50,000 bond.

Deal says the 13-year-old was removed from the home.

The boy’s injuries aren’t believed to be life threatening.

Many Americans like to ring in each New Year with some friends and some adult beverages.  While it’s fun in the moment, it’s not fun when your drive home ends with red and blue lights in your rearview mirror.

Janssen Auto Group wants to make sure that your night doesn’t end like that.

The car dealer will be offering free safe rides home on New Year’s Eve, and will be running a shuttle service within a five-mile radius of North Platte, Holdrege, McCook, York and Larned, Kansas.  Organizers say the shuttle will run from 8:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

To take advantage of this free service, contact Buddy Enyeart at 308-520-7784 or Clayton Mathieu at 308-539-8878.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Christmas is the season of giving, and January the month of returns.

UPS expects to deliver 1.3 million packages back to retailers on Jan. 5, celebrated by the delivery service, but no one else, as “National Returns Day.”

Surging online sales have been followed by a surge of returns by air and if UPS is right, it will be its busiest returns day ever, topping last year’s 1 million.

By the end of January’s first week, the Atlanta company said Tuesday that it will likely have returned 5.8 million packages, topping last year’s 5 million, which was also a record.

A survey by the National Retail Federation estimated that more than $260 billion worth of merchandise was returned 2015.

ODESSA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say fire has damaged a building at a dehydration plant in the Buffalo County community of Odessa.

The fire was reported around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Alphagreen Supreme plant. Firefighters say the blaze was under control within a couple hours.

No injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

STAMFORD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man was injured in a house fire about four miles southwest of Stamford in south-central Nebraska.

The Harlan County Sheriff’s Office says the fire was reported a little after 4:15 a.m. Monday. The fire started in a kitchen.

One of the two occupants was taken to Harlan County Health Center for treatment. The other occupant wasn’t injured. Their names haven’t been released.

A 39-year-old North Platte man was arrested on Christmas Eve after police say he held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat and threatened to harm her dogs.

At around 2:30 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 2100 block of West 5th Street on the report of a domestic assault that had occurred earlier.

Officers met with a 45-year-old female who alleged that she and her boyfriend, Joey Ziegler, had become involved in a verbal argument.

During the argument, the female reported that Ziegler threatened to harm her dogs.  She said that when she asked Ziegler if he really intended to harm the dogs, he produced a pocket knife, opened the blade and held it against her throat.

According to Investigator John Deal, Ziegler then told the victim that he would “cut her throat” before he would harm the dogs.  He then left the residence.

Deal says officers located the knife that was allegedly used in the incident, near where Ziegler had reportedly been sitting.

The officers then left to attempt to locate Ziegler when, a short time later, a call came in that he had returned to the residence.

Officers responded and took Ziegler into custody.  He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed on charges of felony 3rd-degree-domestic assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony and felony terroristic threats.  Deal says the domestic assault charge is a felony due to prior convictions.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The death penalty has been voted the top Nebraska story for 2016 by newspaper and broadcast members of The Associated Press and by AP staffers.

Nebraska voters reinstated the death penalty on Nov. 8 when they overturned the Legislature’s decision last year to abolish capital punishment. The Legislature’s action topped the AP list for 2015.

In order, the rest of the 2016 stories were the Wisconsin crash death of Husker punter Sam Foltz; Cabela’s sale to Bass Pro; the death of an Omaha boy at a Walt Disney park; staffing shortages at state prisons; the award of $28.1 million to six people wrongfully convicted of a 1985 murder; a state legislator’s cybersex scandal; the Legislature’s electoral shake-up; the state tourism director’s firing; and the budget woes facing the Legislature.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has seen a bumper crop of community gardens take root over the last five years, but a new report says other states have done more to help them flourish.

The report by a legislative task force identified 184 community gardens throughout the state, mostly on land owned by churches, schools, daycares and local governments.

Community gardens have become popular as a way to eat healthier, reduce grocery costs and build relationships with neighbors, but the report says some in Nebraska have faced logistical hurdles.

The Nebraska task force report calls for a rewrite of land-use laws so gardeners have more places to plant, policies that make it easier and more affordable to access water, and tax incentives that will encourage landowners to allow community gardens on their property.

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one of two inmates who went missing from the Work Ethic Camp in McCook has been caught.

The Department of Correctional Services said in a news release Sunday that 20-year-old Andrew Russell is in custody in South Dakota. No other details were provided. Russell had been convicted of two drug offenses in Dawes County.

The second inmate, 35-year-old Charles Canady, remains at large. He was convicted of crimes in four counties.

The two men were discovered missing when a head count was conducted at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday. Security video shows the two walking away from the camp around 5:30 p.m.

The department describes the camp as a minimum-security facility for inmates evaluated as being able to work in the community with intermittent supervision.