(AP) — A 40-year-old Alliance woman has been given probation and ordered to pay back the money she stole from the Alliance Cattle Capital Rodeo Committee.
Alliance radio station KCOW and its Panhandle Post website say Tera Gasseling was sentenced on Wednesday in Box Butte County District Court. She must serve 18 months of probation and make restitution of nearly $3,000.
Gasseling had pleaded guilty to attempted theft after Box Butte County prosecutors lowered the original theft charge and dropped another. The theft occurred between Jan. 1, 2011, and March 14, 2012.
(AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska Panhandle woman is taking a deal and will plead to new charges in her extortion case.
The 30-year-old woman had pleaded not guilty to trying to extort money from a man who has acknowledged groping her 7-year-old daughter last August. Cheyenne County prosecutors say a plea will be entered in court records within a few weeks. Details haven’t been released.
The Associated Press isn’t identifying her in order to protect her daughter’s privacy. The woman’s trial was set to begin May 27.
The man involved is 56-year-old Jason Frei, of Potter, who has pleaded no contest to negligent child abuse and attempted witness tampering. He told an investigator that the girl’s mother was trying to get $20,000 from him in exchange for helping him evade prosecution.
(AP) — The addition of online access for background checks has proved popular with Nebraskans who want to see whether a prospective employee or baby sitter or even a future spouse has a criminal record.
More than a year ago the Nebraska State Patrol put its background check system online. It lets people check a name through the patrol database for $18.
Lt. John Shelton said if the numbers keep climbing, the patrol system will have run 40,000 checks by the end of the year — 40 percent online.
The patrol says that without the online service, a name check can take seven to 10 days. But the online system will provide a result immediately if the person checked has no criminal record.
A 23-year-old North Platte man has been charged with theft, after he was caught trying to steal items from a local business.
An officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of a shoplifter at Menards, 4571 South Parkway Drive, at around 7:40 p.m., on May 14.
Store staff alleged that Shawn Reese was observed cutting open packaging in an attempt to steal a butane torch, fluid and an electric engraver.
According to Officer Rodney Brown, Reese saw the officer arrive, and attempted to flee out the back of the store.
The officer was able to stop Reese and locate the stolen merchandise in the lumber department.
Following further investigation, the officer determined that there was probable cause to arrest Reese for attempted theft by shoplifting.
Additionally, Reese had two active felony warrants in Lincoln County.
Reese was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center
A North Platte man is in jail on felony charges after he was busted driving a stolen vehicle while he was drunk.
At around 7:20 p.m., on May 14, an officer with the North Platte Police Department observed a white Dodge Dakota with “18” county plates.
The officer had prior information that this vehicle was stolen.
The officer was able to follow the vehicle, and observed the pickup swerve across the center line several times.
The officer conducted a traffic stop in the 1900 block of West A Street. As the officer prepared to make contact, the driver, Richard Smith, exited the vehicle and began to walk away.
According to Officer Rodney Brown, the officer was able to stop Smith, whom he believed to be under the influence of alcohol.
The officer conducted a DUI investigation, however, Smith refused to comply with any of the officer’s requests.
Following further investigation, Smith was arrested and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
He’s been charged with felony possession of stolen property, felony driving under the influence of liquor (5th offense), driving under suspension and refusal to submit to a breath/chemical test.
Additionally, Smith was cited for having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.
(AP) — Supporters of a higher minimum wage in Nebraska are planning to gather signatures for a November ballot measure that would raise it to $9 an hour by 2016.
The group Nebraskans for Better Wages announced the petition drive on Wednesday. State Sens. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha are leading the effort, with help from the Holland Children’s Movement and the Nebraska State AFL-CIO.
Nordquist says the response to the idea has been overwhelmingly positive. Supporters point to a January poll of Nebraskans, in which 60 percent of respondents said they favored raising the wage. A proposed increase was defeated in the Legislature this year.
Conrad says the wage increase will help rebuild the middle class and lessen reliance on public assistance.
Today: A slight chance of sprinkles before 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Light north northeast wind becoming north northwest 9 to 14 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. North northwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.
Friday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Southeast wind 7 to 11 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. North northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming southeast after midnight.
Saturday: A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Light south wind increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
(AP) — Everyone knows about bloodmobiles for humans. But a bloodmobile for dogs?
The University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school operates a mobile lab to make it easier for canines to make life-saving donations.
Dogs might need blood transfusions for the same reasons as people. They could get cancer or suffer trauma, like being hit by a car.
Penn Vet’s bloodmobile travels around the Philadelphia area. School officials say they don’t know of any other such vehicle operating in the U.S.
Dogs must have a certain blood type, weigh more than 55 pounds and be under 8 years old. The short procedure doesn’t require sedation and is similar what people do when they give blood.
And, just like human donors, the animals are rewarded with a snack and a sticker.
(AP) — Federal prosecutors in Oklahoma say two men have been indicted for hacking into computer systems at more than 30 public and private organizations, including that of the U.S. Navy and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tulsa says 27-year-old Nicholas Knight, of Chantilly, Virginia, and 20-year-old Daniel Krueger, of Salem, Illinois, conspired with others in a group called Team Digi7al to breach computer security in an effort to steal identities and damage computers. Court records don’t list attorneys for either man.
Court records say that on June 25, 2012, a Digi7al member hacked into the UNL system and stole more than 100 email addresses and encrypted passwords.
UNL spokesman Steve Smith told the Lincoln Journal Star that the people were notified and told to change their passwords.
(AP) — A 40-year-old Alliance woman has been given probation and ordered to pay back the money she stole from the Alliance Cattle Capital Rodeo Committee.
