A 44-year-old North Platte man, who fired a gun inside the city limits last October, will spend the next several years in prison.

Michael Meyers appeared for sentencing on Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

On October 13, 2013, North Platte Police responded to the report of gunfire in the 600 block of West 9th Street.

Officers made contact with a female, who alleged that Meyers had parked his pickup in the alley behind their residence and fired a handgun before speeding off.

Police located an intoxicated Meyers driving near Buffalo Bill Avenue and 9th Street, where a traffic stop was conducted.

A search of Meyers’ vehicle produced a .38 caliber revolver.

Meyers was originally charged with discharging a firearm within city limits, felony terroristic threats, being a felon in possession of a firearm, 3rd offense driving under the influence of liquor, use of a weapon to commit a felony, refusal to submit to a breath test and driving under suspension.

After reaching a plea deal with prosecutors, numerous charges were dropped.

Prior to sentencing, Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Jennifer Clements argued that Meyers had an extensive criminal history, most of it involving alcohol.

Clements asked Judge Richard Birch to sentence Meyers to the Nebraska State Penitentiary, and said she hoped Meyers would continue treatment.

Meyers attorney, Amanda Speichert, told Judge Birch that her client understood probation wasn’t an option in this case, but wanted the court to be aware that Meyers had completed treatment, and was making a change for the good.

Judge Birch stated that he was taking Meyers’ completion of treatment into account.

He then sentenced Meyers to four and half to nine years in prison on two counts.

Meyers’ license will be suspended for 15 years.  He was given credit for 58 days.

 

 

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a Nebraska woman’s child care provider license was revoked because her husband kept methamphetamine and guns in the home where she watched over children.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said Monday an emergency revocation order was issued to Fae Beaumont, of Broken Bow.

Beaumont runs a day care business out of the home she shares with her husband, Dennis Beaumont. He was arrested in August after a substance in the home tested positive for meth. Authorities also found several guns, syringes and a glass mirror with meth residue.

Officials say Fae Beaumont refused to sign an agreement prohibiting her husband from returning to the home during business hours.

Court records do not list an attorney for Dennis Beaumont, who faces several charges in the case.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 58-year-old Nebraska man who had been sentenced to life in prison for killing his ex-wife and his divorce lawyer last November has been found dead in his cell.

Prison officials said Michael Petersen was found shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, and efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Officials said it appears Petersen committed suicide.

Petersen received his second life sentence last month for the shooting death of Grand Island attorney Todd Elsbernd last Nov. 13. Petersen had already been sentenced to life for killing Nancy Petersen a few hours earlier outside her home in Buffalo County.

Petersen’s attorney had said in court that Petersen remained bitter over money awarded to his ex-wife in their 2005 divorce. Nancy Petersen was awarded half of the couple’s $600,000 estate in the divorce.

A North Platte woman is facing charges after she allegedly stole merchandise from a local business, then ran from police.

At around 6:20 p.m., on September 21, North Platte Police responded to the report of a female shoplifter at the Barn Store, 2500 West Front Street.

A store employee alleged that 27-year-old Toni Allen came into the store to use the phone.  The employee claimed that, while inside, Allen stole around $20.00 worth of food and merchandise, then left the area in a vehicle.

While an officer was still on-scene at the Barn Store, Allen was observed driving westbound on Front Street.

The officer pursued Allen, who was driving a Ford Mustang, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

Allen fled in her vehicle, and went south on Pacific Street at a high rate of speed before entering a trailer park on West 5th Street.

Shortly thereafter, Allen was located in the backyard of a residence in the 1800 block of West 6th Street.

Following further investigation, Allen was taken into custody and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

She’s been charged with shoplifting and flight to avoid arrest, both misdemeanors.

• Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 8pm and 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. South southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. South southeast wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south southeast in the evening.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 82.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Beer and wine are booming in Nebraska, and state regulators are struggling to keep up.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission is asking lawmakers and the governor for additional staff to oversee the state’s fast-growing brewpub and winery industries, and to approve liquor licenses for special events.

Hobe Rupe, the commission’s executive director, says the employees are needed because of the increased workload due to the popularity of locally produced beer and wines.

The number of licensed brewpubs in Nebraska has grown from 21 to 37 in the last two years. The state also has 34 farm wineries this year, up from 28 in 2012.

The commission also predicts that it will approve 4,300 special licenses for weddings and events such as Lincoln’s Ribfest.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Educators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln say homeowners can take many steps to deal with yellow jacket wasps.

UNL Extension educator Jonathan Larson says the wasps are among the more common stinging insects that homeowners may encounter.

Yellow jacket colonies should be approached at dusk or dawn, when the insects are the least active. Homeowners should also wear long sleeves, a hat and pants.

Chemical control options include aerosol products with a jet trigger and insecticide dusts. Spraying inside the colony is critical to controlling the population.

Larson says the wasps appear to be more prevalent this year. He’s had more than 50 people contact him in the past two weeks.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor will lecture on climate change and lead a panel discussion on Thursday.

The title of Donald Wilhite’s Heuermann Lecture is “Understanding and Assessing Climate Change: Implications for Nebraska.” It is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center auditorium, 2021 Transformation Drive, in Lincoln.

The panel will include three more faculty members from UNL’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

The Heuermann Lecture will coincide with the release of a report on climate change compiled by the UNL faculty members. Report copies will be available at the lecture and online afterward.

Heuermann Lectures are free and open to the public.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man on death row for raping and killing a teenage Gering newspaper carrier is seeking a new trial for a separate conviction of raping a different paper carrier.

35-year-old Jeffrey Hessler has filed a motion for post-conviction relief, saying his defense attorney was ineffective and that he was too mentally ill to know what he was doing when he pleaded no contest in 2004 to raping a 15-year-old newspaper carrier in 2002.

Inmates typically file post-conviction relief motions after they have exhausted all other appeals.

Hessler was also convicted in 2004 of kidnapping, raping and killing 15-year-old newspaper carrier Heather Guerrero in 2003. He was sentenced to death.

A hearing on his latest motion has been set for Feb. 23.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Douglas County Health Department in Omaha has confirmed its first case of an unusual respiratory illness that has recently affected children across the country.

Officials say a baby in the Omaha area recently tested positive for enterovirus 68. The baby was hospitalized with coughing and breathing difficulty, but has since been released.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said Friday that 160 lab-confirmed cases were reported in the 22 states.

The virus can cause mild to severe illness, with the worst cases needing life support for breathing difficulties. Kids with asthma have been especially vulnerable. No deaths were reported.

The strain is not new but rarely seen, and only a small number of labs can test for it. A spike in cases was first identified in mid-August.