OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been sentenced to 70 to 72 years in prison for the shooting death last year of another man over fake drugs.

30-year-old Adrian Ixta was sentenced Friday in Douglas County District Court for the July 7 death of 40-year-old Billy Walker.

Police say Ixta pistol-whipped and shot Walker twice after Walker discovered that $11,000 of methamphetamine he intended to buy was fake.

Ixta pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder and a weapons count. In exchange, a separate jury-tampering charge against him was dropped. In that case, prosecutors say Ixta, his jail cellmate and a friend attempted to contact a juror in Ixta’s cellmate’s murder case.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court routinely weighs in on custody cases — but not very often on battles over who gets the dog.

On Friday, the state’s high court upheld a decision to grant custody of a French bulldog named “Princess Pot Roast” to an Omaha man locked out of a home he had shared with his boyfriend for five years.

A judge last year ruled the dog, nicknamed “Pavlov,” was a gift from Jason Pratte to Peter Zelenka before the couple broke up in 2015. Pratte said he never intended the dog as a gift, but the judge based his finding in part on testimony from the breeder who sold the dog. Pratte appealed.

The high court said Zelenka had met his burden of proving Pavlov was a gift from Pratte.

Zelenka said Friday he’s ready to have the 7-year-old dog back after not seeing her for three years.

“It’s unfortunate that it had to be pushed this far,” Zelenka said. “But he just refused anything and everything. He wouldn’t compromise at all. I finally had to get a lawyer involved.”

Zelenka said he hopes to have custody of Pavlov by next week.

Pratte did not immediately return a phone message left Friday seeking comment.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — At least two people were injured in an explosion Tuesday that blew a gaping hole in a northeast Nebraska grain elevator and forced authorities to evacuate nearby homes.

The explosion was reported just before 1 p.m. at Anderson Farms in South Sioux City. Three people were in the plant, and one person with burns was taken to an area hospital. Another was injured but did not go to the hospital.

South Sioux City Police Chief Ed Mahon said authorities evacuated nearby homes out of concern the elevator might collapse. Mahon said authorities have accounted for all employees at the site.

A dispatcher for the department said police plan to share more information in a press release.

Neighbor Brayden Logan said he heard a loud boom from inside his home about four blocks away.

“We heard a huge crash and it shook our whole house, and then a couple of minutes after that we heard all the sirens,” he told the Sioux City Journal .
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion.

Judd Jager, the owner of Industrial Diversified Inc., was standing outside his business two blocks south of the elevator and witnessed two large blasts and a fireball.

“The first explosion came out of the top piece” of the elevator, Jager said. “The second came about a couple seconds later. That was big. That’s what took the walls out.”

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a Nebraska teenager who died in a western Iowa lake.

The Iowa Natural Resources Department identified the boy in a news release Tuesday night as 16-year-old Edgar Gregorio Loarca Garcia, who lived in Omaha.

Witnesses saw the boy disappear around 1:15 p.m. Monday beneath the water at Lake Manawa beach in Council Bluffs. He was last seen on an inner tube near the ropes that mark the end of the swimming area. His body was found about two hours later.

The apparent drowning is being investigated.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man shot by Douglas County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested after leaving a hospital.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says the man drove a stolen car early Sunday morning toward the deputy, who had approached the car at Lake Cunningham Park.

The deputy drew his handgun and fired, striking the driver and injuring a juvenile female and another 18-year-old man.

The driver was booked into jail Tuesday on suspicion of assault on an officer and other crimes. Court records don’t show the 18-year-old has been formally charged.

The other man, 18-year-old Shane Hunt, of Omaha, is charged with theft. The records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.
The girl was treated and then released to her parents. She isn’t being charged.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) – A woman accused of beating a 2-year-old child in Grand Island has been given a year of probation.

Court records say 22-year-old Michaela Hill pleaded no contest to misdemeanor negligent child abuse after prosecutors lowered the charge from felony intentional child abuse. Police say the child suffered a detached retina among several other injuries.

The child’s father has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor negligent child abuse and false reporting. The trial of 26-year-old Justin Molt is scheduled to begin July 18 in Hall County Court.

DAVID CITY, Neb. (AP) — A three-vehicle crash near David City in eastern Nebraska has killed a teenage girl.

The crash happened Thursday on Highway 15 south of David City.

Officials say a back-seat passenger in one of the vehicles, 15-year-old Mariah Cummings of Octavia, was pronounced dead at the scene. All other victims were treated for minor injuries and released.

Investigators say all involved were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

The crash is being investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Police have identified two people who were killed in a place crash at a western Omaha airport.

Authorities say 63-year-old David Steier and 61-year-old Arlene Steier both died from injuries sustained in the crash before 9 a.m. Sunday at the Millard Airport.

Police say David Steier died at the scene. Arlene Steier was found in critical condition at the crash site and died at a local hospital.

Witnesses told the Omaha World-Herald that smoke and flames were visible from the crash on a runway at the airport. Stanley Jenkins says he saw the plane crash into the ground nose-first and burst into flames.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident and plans to announce more details Tuesday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A $10 million school specifically designed to meet the complex needs of Omaha students with cognitive and physical disabilities has opened.

The new J.P. Lord School welcomed teachers and about 60 students, ranging in age from 5 to 21, earlier this month. Most of the school’s students aren’t verbal, some have feeding tubes and many have limited mobility.

“It’s just a friendly, friendly space,” said Laura Mac-Holmes, the school’s principal. “It’s all about the sensory curriculum — what we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we taste, what we feel.”

The school is equipped with a therapy pool that allows students to stretch and work their muscles. Rooms are designed to stimulate senses with different-colored lights, projections and music. Nursing stations are also tucked into hallways for quick access.

The school was formerly housed inside a smaller building on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

Architects sought input from parents, staff and special education experts to design the new facility to meet the specific needs of J.P. Lord students.

Lifts were built into the ceilings to help faculty move or maneuver students. Closets are large enough to store medical equipment and hallways are outfitted with color-changing lights to keep students engaged while they move between classes.

The school also commissioned artwork from Jeffrey Owen Hanson, a visually impaired artist from Kansas, to display on the hallways. Hanson’s artwork includes texture so students can touch and peel the paintings.

“It’s so nice that there was a space designed for the students,” said teacher Mary Becker. “Not for our ease, not for economic reasons, designed just because it’s the best place for the kids.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha attorney who voluntarily surrendered his Nebraska law license has been disbarred.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday disbarred Rodney Halstead after accepting the surrender of his license.

In November, the high court had suspended Halstead’s law license for a year after he lied repeatedly about checking on the welfare of an incapacitated adult. Halstead had been appointed in 2009 to serve as guardian to the ward, who was confined to a nursing home. Halstead was required to file annual reports on the ward’s condition, but he falsely reported for at least six years that he had checked on the client’s welfare.

Three months after his suspension, Halstead surrendered his license.