A 52-year-old North Platte man is facing charges after he allegedly burglarized an unoccupied home.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, an alert citizen contacted police at around 9:50 a.m., on December 28, after they observed a neighbor removing a large object from an unoccupied home nearby.

Brown said, after speaking to the homeowner, it was determined that someone had removed a refrigerator from the residence.

Officers investigated and suspected that the refrigerator was inside a home located at 2310 East 6th Street.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers searched the home and found the fridge along with a two-wheel moving cart.

Following the discovery, officers arrested Jose Martinez, and charged him with felony burglary and possession of stolen property.

He was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

An Arizona man is jailed for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) after a trooper stopped his vehicle for speeding 127-mph in a 75-mph zone on Interstate 80 in Keith County.

Just before 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 24, Troop D- North Platte received a report of a white BMW sedan traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound on I-80 in Keith County. A trooper observed a vehicle matching the description east of Paxton on I-80. The trooper clocked the vehicle at 127-mph in a 75-mph zone and initiated a traffic stop.  Upon approaching the vehicle, the trooper smelled the odor of alcohol. He initiated a DWI investigation that resulted in the arrest of the driver, Brandon P. Vasquez, 43, of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Vasquez was lodged in the Keith County Jail in Ogallala, on charges of DWI and Speeding.

“This was clearly a dangerous situation,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol.  “Thankfully we were able to get this driver stopped and off the road before he injured himself or someone else.”

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol will be working overtime hours through New Year’s Day as part of the national “You Drink & You Drive, You Lose,” campaign.

Motorists are encouraged to help keep our roadways safe through voluntary compliance with all traffic safety laws. Report impaired or reckless drivers to the Nebraska State Patrol Highway Helpline when safe to do so by dialing *55 from a cellular phone, or 1-800-525-5555from any landline. Emergencies should be reported to 911.

A North Platte man is facing felony charges after he allegedly assaulted his wife.

At around 10:25 p.m., on December 27, officers with the North Platte Police Department received a report of a woman yelling for help in the 800 block of East 6th Street.

Upon arrival, officers met with several people who informed them that a man beat up a woman and took off running.

Officers then met with the alleged victim, who advised that her husband, 23-year-old Jordan Lane, had assaulted her after an argument over a cell phone.

According to the victim, Lane allegedly struck her several times before pinning her on the floor and choking her.

Brown said physical evidence and broken furniture corroborated the victim’s account.

Officers were able to locate Lane hiding in a dumpster on East 7th Street and place him under arrest.

He was charged with 3rd degree domestic assault and felony strangulation.

Officer Rodney Brown said Lane was also cited for marijuana possession after officers found a small amount of pot in his pocket.

Lane was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A Christmas Day assault landed a North Platte woman in jail.

At around 7:31 p.m., on December 25, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a disturbance in the 200 block of Reid Avenue.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, officers arrived and met with the male victim who claimed he had been assaulted by his wife, 33-year-old Rabecca Johns, at another location.

The victim alleged that Johns had slapped, choked and scratched him in front of their children, before leaving the scene.

Brown said there was physical evidence to support the victim’s claims.

Officers made contact with Johns, and informed her that she was being charged with 3rd degree domestic assault, strangulation and child abuse.

At this time, Brown said Johns became combative and told officers that she wasn’t going to jail.

Officers were eventually able to take Johns into custody, and added a charge of resisting arrest.

Johns was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed.

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This information is not criminal history. Criminal charges are often dropped or reduced. All individuals included in this post are presumed innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. The North Platte Post assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness, of this information. Any person who believes information provided is not accurate may submit a complaint to admin@northplattepost.com.

• Today: Snow likely, mainly before 5 pm. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to near 14 by 11am, then falling to around 7 during the remainder of the day. Wind chill values as low as -11. North northeast wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
• Tonight: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -8. Wind chill values as low as -24. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 3. Wind chill values as low as -26. North wind 7 to 10 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -15. Wind chill values as low as -29. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west after midnight.
• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 13. West southwest wind 8 to 13 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -1.
• New Year’s Day: Sunny, with a high near 25.

SHELTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a vehicle on fire temporarily closed portions of Interstate 80 in Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Patrol says the vehicle was traveling west Saturday night when the driver noticed the car was on fire. The driver pulled over close to a mile marker near Shelton.

The patrol says the fire in the car started in the rear. Officials temporarily closed portions of the westbound lanes and diverted traffic.

Authorities say no one was hurt. The fire remains under investigation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The second annual Three-State Beef Conference is scheduled next month in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

Topics titles include “Financial Impacts of Fertility and Infertility in the Current Cattle Market.”

The first conference session is in Creston, Iowa, at Southwestern Community College on Jan. 13. The Missouri session will be held Jan. 14 in Albany at the University of Missouri Hundley-Whaley Learning Discovery Center.

On Jan. 15 there will be two sessions in Nebraska. The first will be at the Gage County UNL Extension Center in Beatrice. An evening session will be held at the UNL Ag Research and Development Center near Mead.

The registration fee is $25 per person. For more information or to register, contact Paul Hay, phay1@unl.edu, 402-223-1384 or Lindsay Chichester, lchichester2@unl.edu, 402-624-8030 or go online at https://extension.iastate.edu/feci/3StBeef/.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Some western Nebraska law enforcement officials are cheering a new state lawsuit that seeks to thwart Colorado’s legalization of marijuana, even as Colorado vows to fight it in court.

The petition filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma asks the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate Colorado’s Amendment 64, the legalization measure approved by voters in 2012.

Sidney police chief B.J. Wilkinson says he hopes the lawsuit draws attention to the frustrations of sheriff and police departments in Colorado’s border states, where marijuana remains illegal. Wilkinson says the amounts of marijuana found on people in Sidney are generally small, but the number of users has increased the workload for his department.

Law enforcement officials in Cheyenne, Deuel, Keith and Scotts Bluff counties have all said legalization in Colorado has affected their work.

Janssen Auto Group of McCook, North Platte and Holdrege have announced they will be offering free rides home again this New Year’s Eve to any one needing a safe ride home.

“This is our sixth  year of offering this service and are pleased to be able to offer it again this year” said Dave Janssen of Janssen Auto group.  “While we don’t want to encourage any one to over indulge this New Years Eve we do want to make sure that everyone makes it home safely.”

Janssen Auto Group will be running their shuttle service within a five mile radius of McCook, North Platte and Holdrege, and will be running from 8:00 PM to 1:30 AM on New Year’s Eve.

Anyone seeking to take advantage of this service can call Joe Slaby at 308-520-1774 in McCook or Rod Waldrip at 308-991-1685 in Holdrege or Joe Pembleton at 308-650-0873 in North Platte.