DILLON, Colo. (AP) — A runaway reindeer broke free from Santa Claus at a Colorado mall Thursday while the Big Man was inside visiting with children.

The reindeer escape happened outside the La Riva Mall in Dillon.

While Santa was inside listening to children’s Christmas wish lists, the reindeer jumped over its enclosure, leading police officers on a healthy jog through town.

The reindeer was located on the other side of a nearby reservoir. The Summit County sheriff’s office brought in another reindeer to lure the runaway and get it back into a trailer.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A U.S. district judge has sentenced a Lincoln man to five years of probation for tax evasion

Dung Le also was ordered Friday to perform 150 hours of community service and pay $33,332 in restitution, plus a $100 special assessment fee

Le pleaded guilty in September to evading about $33,000 in income taxes.

Federal prosecutors indicted Le in April, alleging he had provided false information in documents and statements to the Internal Revenue Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Mickle said Le reported owing $515, instead of the actual amount of $33,332 for calendar years 2004 through 2006.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors will charge a teenage girl in Sarpy County juvenile court for an October crash that killed a 15-year-old Omaha boy.

The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 when an eastbound pickup on Highway 370 hit a Jeep traveling south on 180th Street collided at the intersection of the roads, killing 15-year-old Nate LaFave. The crash also seriously injured two teenage girls in the Jeep.

Investigators say the driver of the Jeep, 16-year-old Madeline Shely, of Omaha, failed to yield to oncoming traffic at the intersection.

The three were on their way to a local pumpkin patch when the crash occurred.

Sarpy Attorney Lee Polikov says Shely will be charged in juvenile court with misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide, failure to yield and violation of her driver’s permit.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Central Community College officials expect to begin their Hastings campus renovation project in February.

The $8.2 million project includes work on the Campus Center and connecting Hall Building. The dining hall will be turned into a modern cafeteria.

The Hall Building houses the dining hall. It was built in the 1940s when the U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot occupied the space. The adjoining Campus Center was built in 1983. Neither building has received major updates since being built.

The plan is to start by remodeling the Campus Center with the goal of creating more natural gathering spaces for students. The Veterans Service Office will be enlarged and the snack bar will be upgraded.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man has been given 15 to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl at his home in southeast Nebraska.

Online court records say 66-year-old Dennis Holman, of Denton, was sentenced on Thursday. He’d pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor after prosecutors lowered the charged and dropped another. He was credited for 32 days already served.

His wife had reported his crimes to Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies in December last year.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge and agreed to testify against two other people charged with stabbing to death a Columbus man.

Quentin Critser, of Lincoln, made his plea on Thursday morning in Platte County District Court. Prosecutors lowered the charge from first-degree murder in return for Critser’s plea.

Critser is expected to testify in January against 31-year-old Eric Henry and 32-year-old Kimberly Henderson, who are charged with first-degree murder and use of a weapon. The three are accused of killing Steven Jorgensen at Jorgensen’s Columbus home on May 18.

Authorities say the three intended to rob the 51-year-old Jorgensen, but the robbery turned violent when Jorgensen resisted.

Critser’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 13.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Starting next year, Nebraska lawyers will not be forced to pay for lobbying and other programs run by the state bar association.

The change comes with a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling issued Friday on a petition by a state lawmaker who wanted to make paying annual dues to the Nebraska Bar Association voluntary. Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh objected to mandatory dues being used for political, ideological and other non-germane activities.

The state’s high court rejected the petition for a voluntary bar association, but did limit mandatory dues to only activities necessary to regulate the legal profession — like maintaining records and mandating continuing education for lawyers. But it made voluntary those dues that would go for other activities, such as lobbying and programs that provide free legal help to the poor.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An appointee to the Nebraska Legislature has withdrawn his name, saying his father in Oklahoma just suffered a heart attack and he needs to care for his mother.

The announcement on Friday also followed news that Patrick M. Shannon owes the state $16,000 for campaign-disclosure violations during an unsuccessful bid for the Legislature in 2004.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced Friday morning that he had chosen Shannon, of Bellevue, to finish the term of former state Sen. Scott Price. Price resigned in November.

Less than five hours later, Shannon sent a letter to the governor’s office asking that his name be withdrawn.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission ruled in 2006 that Shannon failed to report expenditures and contributions related to an anonymous mailing that accused his opponent of domestic abuse.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the owner of a west Omaha skate shop faces charges in connection with the discovery of 18 pounds of marijuana at his business.

A raid Wednesday night at Wake N Skate Boardhouse resulted in the discovery. Additional information about the search has not been released.

The owner of the store, 31-year-old Hans Schroeder, was arrested Wednesday night. He faces three charges of possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver. Court records do not list an attorney.

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge says a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony must serve gay couples despite his religious beliefs.

Friday’s order from administrative law judge Robert N. Spencer says Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Denver will face fines if it continues to turn away gay couples who want to buy cakes for their wedding celebrations.

An attorney for Masterpiece Cakeshop did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Shop owner Jack Phillips had argued that making cakes for gay wedding ceremonies violates his Christian beliefs.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against Phillips with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission last year on behalf of Charlie Craig and David Mullins. The couple was married in Massachusetts and wanted a wedding cake to celebrate in Colorado.