Guy Eagle Elk was sentenced Monday in the February 2014 death of Amanda Baker. Eagle Elk was convicted in March of aiding and abetting assault.
Prosecutors say Eagle Elk showed then-15-year-old Dylan Cardeilhac how to strangle Baker as part of an escape plan. Baker was attacked on Feb. 14, 2014, and she died three days later.
Cardeilhac was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving 60 years to life in prison.
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A 25-year-old North Platte woman is facing a felony theft charge after she allegedly deceived a local bank.
On June 25, the North Platte Police Department opened a theft investigation after a complaint was filed on behalf of First National Bank-North Platte.
A bank employee told police that Cassandra Valentine opened an account on June 16 and, over the next three days, deposited checks totaling $2,880.
The employee alleged that Valentine then accessed those funds and withdrew them from the account.
The bank soon discovered that the checks appeared to be fraudulent.
After further investigation, police determined that there was probable cause to charge Valentine with felony theft by deception.
On August 16, Valentine was arrested for shoplifting from Wal-Mart in North Platte. She was jailed on the shoplifting charge, as well as the theft charge from the June incident.
Valentine is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center on a bond of ten percent of $10,000.
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Scottsbluff woman whose boyfriend was convicted of beating her daughter has been given two years of probation.
25-year-old Cassandra Miller was sentenced in Scotts Bluff County District Court on Friday.
Court records say Miller had pleaded no contest and was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse by neglect. Prosecutors had lowered the charge from a felony in exchange for Miller’s plea.
Prosecutors say the 3-year-old girl was taken to a hospital in September by her grandmother. Doctors determined the girl had several injuries, including a lacerated liver and brain bleeding. Police say there was little food in the home, and the girl’s clothes and bedding were stained with urine.
Miller’s boyfriend, Cody Olbricht, has been sentenced to 18 to 30 years in prison.
North Platte Police were in the right place at the right time, depending on who you ask, and busted two shoplifters at a local store.
At around 3:00 p.m., on August 16, an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of a shoplifter at Wal-Mart, 1401 South Dewey Street.
The officer spoke with store staff who alleged that 21-year-old Payton Zambito had concealed around $35.00 in store merchandise on his person, then attempted to leave without paying for it.
Following further investigation, Zambito was taken into custody and charged with shoplifting, a felony due to prior convictions.
While still at the store, the officer learned that store staff was watching another active shoplifter.
Staff reported that they observed 26-year-old Candice Valentine conceal about $40.00 worth of cosmetics in her purse, then attempt to leave without paying for them.
The officer also took Valentine into custody and placed her under arrest for shoplifting. Valentine also has prior shoplifting convictions, which enhanced the charge to a felony.
Zambito and Valentine were both transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed.
A 25-year-old North Platte man is facing a felony assault charge after he allegedly assaulted another man.
At around 8:20 p.m., on August 15, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of a physical disturbance at the Cody Park Campground, 1601 North Jeffers.
Upon arrival, officers found a 50-year-old may lying on the ground and “severely beaten about the face.”
The man told officers that he had gotten into an argument with Jacob Hughes.
He alleged that following the argument, Hughes punched him in the face and knocked him down, then began kicking him.
Officers located Hughes and placed him under arrest. He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed on a charge of felony 1st-degree assault.
Police say the victim was transported to Great Plains Health where he was treated for serious injuries.
It is not believed that the man’s injuries are life-threatening.
As of Monday morning, Hughes was being held without bond.
GRANT, Neb. (AP) — Western Nebraska authorities say a 57-year-old man has died after a collision between his all-terrain vehicle and a pickup.
The accident occurred a little before 9 a.m. Saturday on a county road near Grant. The Perkins County Sheriff’s Office says Michael Kosmicki, of Grant, was driving west when his ATV collided with the eastbound pickup driven by a 16-year-old from nearby Madrid.
Deputies say Kosmicki was pronounced dead later at a hospital in Grant. The boy wasn’t injured.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Researchers from Kansas, Michigan and Nebraska hope to begin testing in the next year on a potential diesel replacement.
Their work is focused on modifying a plant called Camelina sativa to lower its viscosity — essentially, its resistance to flowing. Plant oils typically have a high enough viscosity that they build up in engines, limiting their use as petroleum product replacement.
Assistant biochemistry and molecular biophysics professor Tim Durrett, of Kansas State University, is working on the project with experts from Michigan State University and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Durrett says that before testing can begin, enough of the modified seeds must be harvested. He says the researchers are “excited about giving farmers more options.”
