A Lincoln teenager has pleaded no contest to charges in connection with a fatal shooting.

Zachary Neuberger entered the plea Wednesday to manslaughter and a firearm charge. His trial for the death of 19-year-old Naif Al-Kazahy was set to begin April 1.

The agreement with prosecutors takes a life sentence off the table. But the teen still faces dozens of years in prison when he’s sentenced April 15.

Neuberger was initially charged with second-degree murder and two weapons counts. Prosecutors say Neuberger was 17 when he shot Al-Kazahy in the chest during a late-night brawl in July.

Two other men have been charged as accessories in the fight, which involved several people

Lincoln Public Schools has lifted a lockdown on two schools while authorities continue to look for a suspect involved in a nearby shooting.

Northeast High School and Pershing Elementary were placed on lockdown around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday as police scoured several nearby blocks. The lockdown was in place for about an hour.

Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood says officers were called to the area after a report involving two shots. No one was injured in the shooting.

Authorities have not released additional information.

 

Police in southern New Jersey say they are not filing charges against a man who says he believes an online photo of his young son with a rifle led child welfare workers and police to the family’s home.

Police in the town of Carneys Point said Wednesday that they went to the home of Shawn Moore with caseworkers last week after getting a tip that his 10-year-old son may have had access to guns and ammunition.

Moore says he believes the response was due to a photo he posted on Facebook of his son Josh holding a .22-caliber rifle that looks like a military-style assault rifle.

Moore says the gun was a gift for the boy’s upcoming 11th birthday.

Carneys Point is about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia

Authorities in Omaha say a carelessly discarded cigarette is to blame for a minor house fire.

The Omaha Fire Department says the fire began Wednesday on the house’s front porch. It extended up into the attic space.

The fire was under control within minutes. The house received little damage in the living area.

Authorities say three people in the house at the time escaped. No injuries were reported.

Damage is estimated at about $20,000.

The 61-year-old owner of an Omaha concrete and construction business has been indicted on federal charges of filing false tax returns for 2006 and 2007.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Omaha said in a news release Wednesday that John Main, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count indictment.

The first count says Main filed an income tax return for 2006 claiming Main Concrete and Construction’s gross sales were more than $765,000. Federal prosecutors say it was nearly $1.37 million.

The second county says Main’s income tax return for 2007 claimed sales of nearly $535,000. Prosecutors say sales for that year were actually more than $925,000.

If convicted, Main faces up to three years in federal prison on each count.

Main declined to comment when reached on Wednesday

A 51-year-old Lincoln woman has been given nearly 22 years in federal prison for conspiring to sell crack cocaine.

Federal prosecutors say Teresa Liggins was sentenced on Monday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.

Liggins was indicted in May last year and pleaded guilty in December. Prosecutors say Liggins was involved in selling small quantities of crack cocaine in the Lincoln area.

Liggins also is serving a state sentence of three to six years for attempted delivery of a controlled substance. Her federal sentence will be served at the same time as her state sentence.

 

A Nebraska lawmaker wants to extend the time frame in which residents can file a lawsuit to argue that a tax is unconstitutional.

Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion will present the measure Wednesday to the Legislature’s Revenue Committee.

Current law allows residents to file a constitutional challenge against a tax in the same year in which the tax was levied. Kintner’s measure would impose a 12-month window to file a lawsuit, starting when the tax was levied.

An eastern Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankruptcy fraud and faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced this summer.

U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg says 57-year-old Ross Boydston, of Creston, pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Gilg says Boydston sold livestock which had been pledged as collateral to American Mortgage Company without notifying the company of the sales and without remitting the proceeds to AMC. Gilg says Boydston also lied about the sales after filing for bankruptcy.

Boydston is set to be sentenced on June 24.

Three people aboard a private plane were unhurt when it landed in eastern Nebraska without the benefit of its front landing gear.

The incident occurred Tuesday morning at York Municipal Airport.

York Police Officer Shawn McKillip says the plane had taken off from Minneapolis and was bound for York. As the plane neared Omaha the pilot noticed that some of the plane’s electronics weren’t working, including its radio.

McKillip says the pilot continued flying to York. As the plane neared the airport, the pilot pushed the control lever for the front gear, but the gear wouldn’t come down.

McKillip says the pilot landed the plane safely, although it sustained some damage to its propeller when it stopped nose down.