UPDATE:

Charges against Dequan Navarrete have been dropped in this case.

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A North Platte man is facing a burglary charge after he and an unidentified male broke into a home and stole a puppy.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, on January 3 at around 1:00 a.m.,  police responded to the report of a burglary in the 700 block of East 12th Street.

The 42-year-old female resident alleged that two male subjects had broken into her home through a secure door.

She stated that she awoke to find one of the subjects attempting to steal her Shih Tzu puppy, which was in the bedroom with her and her three children, ages 11, 7 and 4.

She said the second suspect eventually did take the puppy and both men fled the residence.

Following further investigation, police were able to identify one of the suspects as 18-year-old Dequan Navarrete.

Brown said investigators believe Navarrete was stealing the puppy for a female friend who, at one time, housed the dog for the owner.

On January 28, Navarrete was arrested and charged with burglary and criminal mischief.

The second suspect has not been identified.

 

 

A North Platte woman is in jail on felony charges after she allegedly beat her boyfriend with a baseball bat.

At around 8:20 p.m. on January 28, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the 800 block of East 6th on the report of an assault which took place earlier at a residence in the 500 block of North Emory.

A 47-year-old male victim alleged that his girlfriend, 47-year-old Cherie Doerr, had pushed him to the ground, then attacked him with a baseball bat.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, the victim was struck in the face and head multiple times which caused significant swelling and lacerations.

Officers made contact with Doerr at the residence on Emory and seized two baseball bats as evidence.

Doerr was arrested and charged with felony domestic assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Doerr was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.  The victim was treated at Great Plains Regional Medical Center and released.

A 49-year-old North Platte woman is facing a felony charge after she allegedly threatened to harm a woman a knife.

According to a North Platte Police Department news release, officers responded to a reported assault in the Patriot Mobile Park, 2300 East Philip.

A 21-year-old female told officers that Lori Kostman came to her residence and insisted that she speak to the woman’s husband, who was asleep at the time.

The victim said Kostman then grabbed a knife from the deck railing and threatened to harm her with it.

Police say Kostman then allegedly attempted to force her way into the residence by pushing the victim against the wall and grabbing her by the neck with her unarmed hand.

According to the victim, her husband then awoke and heard the scuffle.  He reportedly intervened and demanded Kostman to leave, which she did.

Officers say Kostman then returned to the area and, following further investigation, police determined there was probable cause to arrest Kostman and charge her with felony terroristic threats and 2nd degree criminal trespassing.

She was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

 

(AP) — A 58-year-old rural Potter man has been given probation and some jail time for running into a school bus and injuring seven students.

Bob Hilpert was sentenced on Monday to 10 days in jail, then a day of jail on the crash anniversary date of Sept. 12 this year and next. He also was given two years of probation. Hilpert had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving and to violating a stop sign.

Hilpert was eastbound on a county road in western Nebraska’s Cheyenne County when he missed the stop sign and crashed into a Potter-Dix school bus.

Hilpert, the bus driver and all seven students on the bus were injured and taken to a hospital.

The federal government has gotten a new bill in its failed attempt to seize more than $1 million from a California woman, who says the money is her life savings earned over years as an exotic dancer.

A federal judge on Monday ordered the government to pay nearly $40,000 to cover Tara Mishra’s legal bills in the fight over the money, seized in a 2012 Nebraska traffic stop near North Platte.

An attorney for Mishra, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., says his client has already gotten a check for more than $1.07 million, plus interest. Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will pay her $39,035 to cover her legal fees.

Government lawyers had said the seized money was connected to illegal drugs, but a judge found that Mishra showed she had earned the money legally.

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 51. West southwest wind 6 to 13 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. South southwest wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
• Thursday: A slight chance of rain and snow after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 15. East northeast wind 5 to 9 mph.
• Friday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 27. South southeast wind 6 to 8 mph.
• Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 25.

(AP) — Republican Pete Ricketts has raised nearly $1.4 million in his campaign for Nebraska governor.

The Omaha businessman announced Tuesday that he ended the final quarter of 2013 with nearly $932,000 in cash on hand, and no campaign debt.

Ricketts is competing in a six-way GOP primary to replace Gov. Dave Heineman, who is ineligible to run in 2014 because of term limits.

The total raised includes more than $1.3 million in in cash and $77,000 from in-kind contributions. Ricketts did not make a cash contribution to the campaign, but made in-kind contributions of nearly $2,000 for travel expenses and meals.

(AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker is proposing a state emergency-contact registry to reunite families after an accident or natural disaster.

The bill by Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue would allow Nebraskans to list up to two contacts on the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles website. The registry would connect that information with driver’s licenses or state identification cards.

Crawford presented the proposal Tuesday to the Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. She says the idea came from a constituent, whose father died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. More than eight hours passed before his family members were contacted.

Crawford says the bill could also help people suffering from dementia who have forgotten their emergency contacts.

The second suspect in the assault of a North Platte man has been identified by North Platte Police.

North Platte police responded to an assault in the 2300 block of East 6th Street last Thursday morning.  A 51-year-old  male victim alleged that two men had attacked him after they attempted to break the windshield out of his vehicle.

He claimed that the two men attempted to slash him with a machete while they punched and kicked him.

Police arrested 46-year-old Todd Warren at the scene.  He was initially charged with attempted 1st degree murder, however, the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office later amended the charge to attempted 2nd degree assault and terroristic threats, both felonies.

The identity of the second suspect was not immediately known.

NPPD Public Information Officer, Rodney Brown, said in a news release this afternoon that police had cited 32-year-old Eli Brown after he was identified as the second assailant.

He was charged with misdemeanor 3rd degree assault.

Officer Brown said the case will be forwarded to the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office for their review.

RELATED CONTENT:

https://www.northplattepost.com/2014/01/23/updated-2-np-man-charged-with-attempted-murder-following-machete-attack/

(AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are hearing a renewed call to make seat belt and texting violations a primary offense for motorists.

The bill discussed Tuesday would let police stop motorists who are spotted texting or not wearing a seat belt. Current law treats the violations as a secondary offense, meaning officers can only ticket drivers after stopping them for some other reason. Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff says the legislation would save lives, even if it proves politically unpopular.

The proposal was backed by law enforcement and roadway-safety groups during a hearing of the Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. Nebraska is one of 17 states without a primary safety belt law.

A similar bill introduced last year didn’t make it to the full Legislature.