A Colorado man is dead following a Saturday afternoon crash near North Platte.

According to the Nebraska State Patrol, troopers were called to a crash involving several vehicles at Mile Marker 175 on Interstate 80, about two miles west of North Platte.

It was determined that a Ford Explorer was traveling eastbound when the vehicle crossed the median and collided with a westbound Infiniti sedan.

Troopers say the Explorer then went airborne and collided with a semi pulling a fuel tanker.

The collision caused the tanker to rupture and spill fuel on the roadway.

The male driver of the Infiniti, identified as a man from Colorado, was pronounced dead at the scene.  At least two other people were transported to Great Plains Health.

The crash remains under investigation and the names of those involved were not released.

Interstate 80 was closed between North Platte and Hershey until just after 6:00 p.m.

We’ll provide more information when it’s available.

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Angel F. Garcia, 37, formerly of North Platte, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 70 months in prison by United States Senior District Judge Richard G. Kopf, for receipt and distribution of child pornography.  Following his release from prison, Garcia will serve 5 years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.

In March of 2015, while conducting an investigation, law enforcement officers of the North Platte Police Department observed an IP address making known child pornography files available for sharing.  Further investigation determined that Garcia was the subscriber to that IP address.  In April 2015, a search warrant was executed at Garcia’s residence in North Platte.  Officers performed an on-scene preview of a computer located in Garcia’s bedroom and found thousands of child pornography images and videos.  Garcia admitted to officers that he had in fact downloaded and viewed child pornography from the internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the North Platte Police Department.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The warden at a Nebraska prison where two inmates escaped is retiring.

The Department of Correctional Services announced Friday that Mario Peart is stepping down from the helm of the Lincoln Correctional Center, effective July 1.

Peart was reassigned to the department’s central office after convicted sex offenders Armon Dixon and Timothy Clausen escaped from the Lincoln prison earlier this month. Both have been recaptured. Director Scott Frakes has said the inmates escaped because staff members failed to follow security procedures.

Peart worked in the department for 39 years in a variety of roles at the Lincoln Correctional Center and the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

Frakes says Peart requested to retire. He extended his appreciation to Peart for his years of service.

• Cody Jon Fletcher, 29, Maxwell and Marci Jeanne Cooper, 27, Maxwell

• Robert Daniel Deardoff, 28, North Platte and Bethany Lynn Haines, 33, North Platte

• William Charles Lewis, 20, Syracuse NE and Rebekah Lynne Sutphin 20, Curtis

• Gregory Dean Young, 27, Albion NE and Mason Jan Burris, 20, North Platte

• Seth Steven Green, 35, North Platte and Spencer Marie Armstrong. 25, North Platte

• Nkeng Elvis Awa, 33, North Platte and Solange Achange Ateh, 33, North Platte

• Noel Delbert Carter Jr, 36, Peoria AZ and Leah Michelle Sughroue, 29, Peoria AZ

A North Platte man is facing felony charges following a disturbance on Thursday.

At around 8:57 a.m., officers responded to a disturbance in the 100 block of East F Street.  Officers made contact with several people and determined that 20-year-old Dequan Navarette and his wife lived at the residence with their two children, both under the age of five.

Officers spoke to witnesses, who reported that Navarette was acting like he was under the influence of drugs and began trashing the house by smashing the walls with a metal pipe and throwing objects around.

Investigator John Deal says this all occurred in the presence of the two children.

Deal says officers investigated and found damage to the home consistent with what was reported to them.  They also located drug paraphernalia, a small amount of marijuana and Xanax pills.

Navarette was placed under arrest and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, child abuse and possession of narcotic equipment.  He was cited for possession of marijuana.

Navarette was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A North Platte man who is on parole is back behind bars after he committed numerous crimes.

At around 11:11, on June 22, a North Platte police officer responded to the report of a theft at Staples, 1000 South Dewey Street.

It was reported that a male subject entered the store and browsed around before leaving without purchasing any items.

After the man left, an employee noticed that a Microsoft Touch tablet display and its keyboard were both missing.

Another employee recognized the man as 33-year-old Aaron Kirts, and observed him leaving the parking lot in a black Chevy Trailblazer.

Following further investigation, the officer learned that Kirts had recently registered a black Chevy Trailblazer in his name.

On June 23, an investigator attempted to locate Kirts and question him regarding the alleged theft.

Kirts was spotted, in the Trailblazer, pulling into his residence in the 1900 block of West First Street.  Officers made contact with Kirts, who denied stealing the tablet and denied the officers’ request to search his residence.

Because Kirts is on parole, his parole officer was contacted and indicated that they wanted to do a walkthrough of his residence, one of the conditions of his parole.

As officers waited for the parole officer to arrive, Kirts entered the residence.  A citizen soon advised officers that Kirts had run out the back door.

Following a foot pursuit, officers were able to apprehend Kirts near Fourth Street and Mills Avenue.

Officers and the parole officer searched Kirts’ residence and found suspected methamphetamine and marijuana.  They also found a large knife in Kirts’ bedroom.  Because he’s a convicted felon, he is not lawfully able to possess a deadly weapon.

In the end, Kirts was charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, resisting arrest, felony possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

The stolen tablet was found in the backyard of the residence.

Kirts is on parole for meth and theft charges.

HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) — A Lexington man accused in a fatal hit-and-run last fall has taken a plea deal.

Online court records say sentencing for 36-year-old Emilton Flores-Chavez is scheduled for Aug. 15. He pleaded no contest after prosecutors lowered charges that included manslaughter. It was changed to leaving the scene of a personal injury accident — a lesser felony.

Investigators say Flores-Chavez was driving a northbound truck Oct. 1 when he failed to yield at an intersection eight miles northeast of Bertrand. His truck struck a vehicle driven by Jesus Legarreta-Germez, of Sterling, Colorado. Legarreta-Germez died later at a Kearney hospital.

The Nebraska State Patrol says Flores-Chavez fled the accident but was found walking along U.S. Highway 183 the next day.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is praising a U.S. Supreme Court decision that blocked President Barack Obama’s plan to shield millions of people in the United States illegally from deportation.

Ricketts said in a statement Thursday that the plan undermined the rule of law and separation of powers by unilaterally changing immigration rules. He says he supports an immigration system that welcomes “freedom-loving people” who enter the country legally.

The Supreme Court deadlocked on the plan with a 4-4 vote, effectively killing it for the rest of Obama’s presidency.

Nebraska was one of 26 Republican-dominated states to challenge the program Obama announced in November 2014. Congressional Republicans also backed the states’ lawsuit.

ORD, Neb. (AP) — A North Loup woman charged in the death of her 4-week-old baby has pleaded not guilty.

24-year-old Jocelyn Nordin entered the plea Tuesday at a hearing in Valley County District Court. She is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death.

Prosecutors say Nordin called 911 on May 2 and reported that her baby wasn’t breathing. The baby eventually was flown to an Omaha hospital, where she died on May 9.

Doctors say the infant had suffered a broken skull and other injuries. Authorities say the baby had been dropped on her head twice and violently shaken.