A North Platte couple has been charged with felony child abuse after children under their care tested positive for methamphetamine.

On February 27, officers with the North Platte Police Department, with assistance from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant on the residence of Todd and Heather Wickware in the 2400 block of East 2nd Street.  Authorities were looking for stolen property.

During the course of the search, items of drug paraphernalia were located, including glass pipes with methamphetamine residue.

Investigator John Deal said there were three children in the home during the warrant service, including an infant.

Deal said the children were within arm’s reach of some of the paraphernalia.

The children were taken to the Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center, where hair follicle samples were collected for testing.

On March 6, the results of the tests were returned and showed the children had tested positive for methamphetamine.

The Wickwares were both placed under arrest and charged with felony child abuse.

The couple was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed.

 

A North Platte man is behind bars after he allegedly assaulted his roommate and got mouthy with Lincoln County deputies over smoking on county property.

At around 9:32 a.m. on Thursday, a North Platte Police officer responded to the report of an assault in the 100 block of South Jeffers Street.  The assault had allegedly occurred at another location.

The officer met with the victim who indicated that he lives in the 300 block of West D Street.  He advised that Brandon Fowler had been staying with him for the past month.

The victim stated that the previous evening, Fowler had been at the home intoxicated and was playing the stereo extremely loud.  The victim was awoken by the music and noticed his cell phone was missing.

He then allegedly went to the living room, turned down the stereo and asked Fowler where his phone was.

The victim reported that Fowler immediately got up from the couch, made a verbal threat and began punching him in the face repeatedly.

Investigator John Deal said the victim had visible cuts and swelling on his face, and it was later discovered at the hospital that a bone in his face was broken.

While the officer was meeting with the victim, Fowler showed up in the parking lot at the jail and was contacted by a deputy for illegally smoking a cigarette on county property.

According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, when the deputy asked Fowler to put out the cigarette, he became rather verbal and walked off the property.

A short time later, Fowler returned, smoking again.

Another deputy made contact with him and told him to stop smoking and to leave the property immediately.

Fowler chose not to leave the property and called the deputy a “punk.”

He was arrested and charged with 2nd degree trespassing and loitering about a penal institution.

Later, Fowler was contacted by North Platte Police and charged with aggravated assault for the assault on his roommate.

He remains in custody at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A North Platte woman is in jail on felony charges after she allegedly assaulted another woman, threatened her with a knife and shocked her with a stun gun.

According to Investigator John Deal, North Platte Police responded to the report of an assault in the 1300 block of West 9th Street at around 11:32 a.m. on Thursday.

The victim told officer that she and 30-year-old Julie Bowman had gotten into an argument on the phone over a theft.

The victim alleged that Bowman threatened her over the phone and stated that she was going to come over and cause her harm.

Deal said Bowman did show up at the victim’s residence and an altercation occurred near the front door.  The victim reported that Bowman punched her in the face, bit her and pulled some of her hair out.

The victim reportedly retreated inside the residence and shut the door.

Bowman then allegedly entered the residence, pulled out a knife and brandished it towards the victim.

Then, the victim said Bowman dropped the knife, pulled out a stun gun and shocked her.

Both women then fell to the ground, at which point the victim was able to get the stun gun away from Bowman.

Bowman then left the residence, but not before she took some DVD movies from the victim.

Deal said the victim sustained injuries to her face and arm, and the officer also noted loose hair falling from her head.

Bowman was contacted a short time later in the 1100 block of South Tabor and taken into custody.

She was lodged at the Lincoln County Detention Center on charges of use of a weapon to commit a felony, burglary and aggravated assault.

The stun gun and knife were both recovered at the scene of the assault.

A 55-year-old Farnam man is facing felony charges in Lincoln County after authorities say he duped an elderly North Platte couple out of thousands of dollars.

On October 18, 2013, an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 900 block of East 16th Street on the report of a possible scam.

The officer met with the residents, an elderly couple, who alleged that male subjects came to their home and were hired as employees of “Total Property Maintenance” to seal portions of their roof.

The couple paid the men $4,500 for services rendered.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, the couple contacted a local contractor to inspect the work.

Following an inspection, the contractor advised the couple that there had only been “cosmetic” work done to the roof and gutters.  The contractor estimated that the work performed should have cost around $400.

Investigators were able to identify Robert Truesdale as one of the suspects.

On March 5, an officer met with Truesdale and, following further investigation, determined there was probable cause to arrest him for felony theft by deception.

Truesdale was processed and released from the Lincoln County Detention Center.

• Today: A slight chance of rain and snow before 10am, then a chance of rain between 10am and 5pm, then a chance of rain and snow after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Tonight: A slight chance of rain and snow before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. North wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
• Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph after midnight.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 70. West wind 7 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 70.

(AP) — The state treasurer’s office is seeking to return $135 million in unclaimed property to more than 350,000 Nebraskans and former Nebraskans.

The office will publish the names of more than 37,500 people owed money or property in state newspapers this month and in April. A list of those owed unclaimed property may be found on the office’s website at www.treasurer.org.

Under state law, the state treasurer is responsible for handling unclaimed property. Examples include health claim payments, dividends, utility deposits, life insurance proceeds, wages, stocks, outstanding checks, safety deposit boxes and unused gift certificates.

See if you’re on the list: https://www.treasurer.org/up/.

(AP) — A judge has dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a woman against the city of Scottsbluff and its now former police chief.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said in a ruling issued Tuesday that Tamara Villanueva had failed to prove the elements of her various claims.

Villanueva had sued the city and then-Police Chief Alex Moreno in October 2011, alleging that her rights to equal protection and due process were violated because of her affair with Moreno. He acknowledged the affair and eventually resigned on Oct. 1, 2012.

The lawsuit says Villanueva told Moreno in August 2009 that she’d been a victim of domestic assault and later reported the same to another department officer. The lawsuit says neither Moreno nor the other officer made written reports.

(AP) — A proposed expansion of Nebraska’s homestead exemption program has won first-round approval from lawmakers.

Senators voted 34-0 on Thursday to advance the measure, which would allow more property owners to qualify for the tax-relief program. The exemption is given to seniors, disabled veterans and their spouses, and people with certain disabilities, depending on their home values.

Current state law allows married couples to receive at least a partial exemption until their household income reaches $28,501. The bill would increase that threshold to $46,901.

Sen. Galen Hadley, chairman of the Revenue Committee, says the bill attempts to make it easier for retirees to stay in Nebraska.

Some lawmakers voiced concerns that the bill would shift residential property tax burdens onto younger homeowners as baby boomers retire.

(AP) — A Texas-based mortgage company has announced it will be eliminating 105 jobs at its Scottsbluff office in western Nebraska.

Nationstar Mortgage spokesman John Hoffmann says the cuts will begin on March 28 and will leave 215 Nationstar workers at the loan servicing office, plus 50 contractor positions not held by Nationstar employees.

Hoffmann says the demand for mortgages has slowed so there’s simple less work to be done by workers in loan origination and servicing.

In November the company announced it was eliminating 900 jobs companywide, including 300 employees who were working for a division that was sold to another mortgage company.

Hoffmann says the company announced last month it would eliminate loan origination jobs of 230 people based in St. Louis, Denver and the home office in Lewisville, Texas.

(AP) — A majority of Nebraska’s state lawmakers have signed a letter in support of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was signed this week by 29 of Nebraska’s 49 state senators. It urges federal approval of the pipeline, which would carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Nebraska has been a stronghold for pipeline opponents, including environmentalists and some landowners. A district court judge last month invalidated a state law that was used to approve the project, but the state is appealing.

Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, who supports the project, gathered signatures for the letter. It was signed by 22 Republicans and seven Democrats in the officially nonpartisan, one-house Legislature.