A North Platte man has been charged with multiple felonies following an alleged assault on Thursday evening.
At around 5:32 p.m., officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of an assault in the 1800 block of West 13th Street.
Officers arrived and met with a 15-year-old male and several other witnesses.
It was alleged that 19-year-old Briano Parra-Munoz had arrived at the residence and wanted to fight the teen. Police say Parra-Munoz was apparently upset with the boy over a female.
According to the victim and witnesses, Parra-Munoz assaulted the boy with a knife, then fled the scene in a vehicle with a female juvenile passenger.
Police obtained a description of the vehicle Parra-Munoz was driving and, a short time later, located it in the 700 block of West 10th Street.
Officers say, based on witness statements and evidence collected at the scene, probable cause existed to place Parra-Munoz under arrest.
He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed on charges of felony 2nd-degree assault, felony terroristic threats, use of a weapon to commit a felony and child abuse.
The female passenger in Parra-Munoz’ car was interviewed by police and the victim was transported to Great Plains Health by his mother, where he received treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
Police say the car Parra-Munoz was driving was towed, and a warrant will be requested to search it.
The knife used in the alleged attack has not yet been recovered.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature will debate Gov. Pete Ricketts’ choices to revamp the leadership in the struggling Department of Health and Human Services.
The Health and Human Services Committee advanced four appointments for consideration on Friday. Members voted 7-0 on the new appointments of Courtney Phillips as CEO and Calder Lynch as Nebraska’s Medicaid director.
The committee also unanimously recommended John Hilgert as director of Nebraska’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs and voted 5-0 on Joseph Acierno as the state’s chief medical officer.
Sens. Sue Crawford of Bellevue and Sara Howard of Omaha did not vote on Acierno’s appointment, saying Nebraska has fallen short on measures to improve residents’ health.
Other committee members say they expect Phillips and Ricketts will improve the department.
GERING, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska woman is accused of stealing and spending the tax refund of her slain sister no longer faces theft charges.
Prosecutor Scott Blaha sought the dismissal on April 16, determining that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict 27-year-old Cassandra Baker, of Scottsbluff.
Baker’s sister, 24-year-old Amanda Baker, was fatally attacked by an inmate on Feb. 14, 2014, at the Scotts Bluff County Jail.
Court documents show Amanda Baker filed her 2013 returns before her death and that her federal refund of nearly $4,300 was deposited onto a prepaid credit card.
Court documents in a probate case say that Cassandra Baker said she’d used the money to care for Baker’s son for a time after his mother’s death.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska senators will vote on the appointment of a new State Patrol superintendent who was ensnared in a gender-discrimination lawsuit more than a decade ago.
A legislative committee voted 8-0 Friday to recommend the appointment of former State Patrol commander Bradley Rice. His appointment now goes to the full Legislature.
Rice was part of a panel that denied Sgt. Carla Schreiber promotions in the agency between 2004 and 2005. Schreiber says the rejections were based on gender rather than her qualifications. She was awarded damages and the rank of lieutenant in 2007.
At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Rice said he does not see gender as a factor in promotions within the agency.
Committee members say current reports of Rice’s leadership as commander outweigh the decades-old allegations.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A new flight simulator purchased by the University of Nebraska at Kearney will give students a chance to train in the fundamentals of aviation in a safer and more affordable manner.
The $130,000 simulator will allow the aviation program’s 60 students to attempt more maneuvers in a shorter amount of time than in a real aircraft. Flight instructor Holly Michael says students will be able to attempt 8-10 maneuvers per hour in a simulator, rather than 4-5 in a real plane.
Students also will be able to practice emergence maneuvers otherwise dangerous to attempt in the real world, Michael says.
Training in the new flight simulator is expected to cost $60 an hour. By contrast, Michael says training in a real aircraft costs more than $145 an hour.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey report says April results suggest that slow economic growth remains ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states.
The survey report issued Friday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 52.7 last month from 51.4 in March.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says rising economic expectations from nonenergy firms, resulting from lower energy prices, “more than offset economic pessimism stemming from weakness in firms directly tied to energy.”
The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. North northeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 5 to 14 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon. Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 67.
Brianna Marie Hampton: Felony Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, Felony Possession of a Scheduled 1, 2 or 3 Drug with Intent to Deliver
Jacob Barrickman
A traffic stop for speeding on Interstate 80 in Lincoln County led to a pursuit and two arrests after the driver took off in the Trooper’s patrol unit.
At approximately 3:23 p.m., Thursday, April 30, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2015 Toyota Camry for speeding 112mph in a 75 mph zone two miles west of the North Platte exit on I-80. As the trooper was conducting a probable cause search of the Toyota, the driver who had been handcuffed and placed in the front seat of the patrol unit, took control of the patrol vehicle and drove off. A female passenger, who was also handcuffed, was in the backseat of the patrol unit.
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy and another Trooper who were called to assist on the initial traffic stop began a pursuit of the stolen patrol unit. The pursuit which reached speeds of 130 mph ended just east of the Cozad exit after stop sticks were used to flatten three of the vehicles tires.
The male driver, Jacob J. Barrickman, 24, of Henderson, Nevada, and the female passenger, Brianna M. Hampton, 23, of Bullhead City, Arizona, were both taken into custody without incident.
A subsequent search of the Toyota involved in the initial traffic stop led to the seizure of 1.1 lbs. of methamphetamine. The methamphetamine was located in a duffle bag on the rear seat of the vehicle.
Barrickman was lodged in the Lincoln County Jail, on charges to include Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver, Vehicle Theft, Escape, Flight to Avoid Arrest, Willful Reckless Driving and Speeding.
Hampton was lodged in the Lincoln County Jail, on charges to include Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver.
The Nebraska State Patrol was assisted by the Lincoln and Dawson County Sheriff’s Offices.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers will have another $9.7 million at their disposal for legislation in this year’s session.
The revenue estimates approved Thursday came despite predictions that the state would collect less money than expected for its two-year budget. If the new estimates hold, lawmakers will have a total of $58.7 million available.
The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board projected that state revenue will grow 5 percent during the fiscal year that starts on July 1, and 4.3 percent in the following year. Board members said Nebraska’s unemployment remains low and the state economy appears to be holding strong.
The state is expected to collect an additional $12 million in the current fiscal year, which will go to the cash reserve.
