The trial of Bellevue’s former police chief on a gun charge is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

John Stacey is facing a misdemeanor gun charge for loaning a handgun to Gretna’s former City Administrator Colleen Lawry, who did not have the proper handgun certificate.

Stacey’s lawyer James Martin Davis has said Lawry was capable of owning a gun, but she neglected to apply for the $5 county permit.

Lawry was sentenced to six months in jail in December on theft charges, and prosecutors dropped the gun charge against her. She is scheduled to testify at Stacey’s trial.

Stacey was placed on leave last May for an unrelated case and retired later that month.

Cadaver dogs are searching the smoldering remains of a Kansas City restaurant that burned to the ground following a gas explosion and massive blaze, a fire official says.

Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi said late Tuesday that the search for possible victims could take hours and that he expected his crews to be at the scene through the night.

While officials have said they have no reports of fatalities, Berardi noted, “I would always fear there are fatalities in a scene like this.”

The gas explosion occurred just after 6 p.m. and the resulting fire completely destroyed JJ’s restaurant. Officials say more than a dozen people were injured, with at least two reported in critical condition.

The cause of the blast remains under investigation; however, a city official earlier said it was believed to have been caused accidentally by a utility contractor.

Two traffic stops on Interstate 80 led to the seizure of nearly 20 lbs. of marijuana.

Around 2:30 a.m., Sunday, February 17, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2012 Ford Fusion for following too close near the Lincoln Airport Exit on Interstate 80 in Lancaster County. An NSP canine indicated the odor of drugs coming from the rear of the vehicle.  A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 14 packages of marijuana weighing 8.0 lbs. The marijuana was contained in a locked tote in the trunk of the vehicle.

The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, Nicholas L. VanGorden, 40, Denver, Colo., was lodged in the Lancaster County Jail on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

A second traffic stop for speeding on Interstate 80 near Aurora in Hamilton County led to the seizure of just over 10 lbs. of marijuana.  Around 3: 48 p.m., Sunday, February 17, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2012 Hyundai Genesis for speeding. An NSP canine indicated the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 10.6 lbs. of marijuana. The marijuana was located in two padlocked foot lockers in the trunk of the vehicle.

The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, Michael B. Fenili, 40, Fresno, Calif., was lodged in the Hamilton County on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver

Officers who searched the University of Nebraska at Kearney did not find an armed man, so a campus alert has been canceled.

University spokeswoman Kelly Bartling said Monday morning that a man picked up a campus emergency phone about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and reported that he was on campus with a firearm and intended to harm himself.

Bartling says an alert was immediately issued, informing students and workers what had occurred and asking them to remain in secure locations.

University and local officers searched public areas of the campus and didn’t find any armed man. Bartling says the alert was canceled about 2:30 a.m.

Bartling declined to characterize the call as merely a hoax.

The university schedules classes on Presidents Day, and Bartling says classes will be held.

Ammunition for certain guns is hard to find in Nebraska and Iowa because people worried about the possibility of tougher gun control are buying it up.

Demand for ammunition and guns took off after the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn., that took the lives of 20 schoolchildren and six adults.

The shortages are apparent at gun shows and many stores. Dealers say .223-caliber ammunition used in semiautomatic rifles, 9mm bullets and even .22-caliber bullets seem to be in short supply.

Terry Edwards of Palmyra, Neb. says ammunition supplies were already tight before demand surged.

At a gun show in Altoona, Iowa, dealer Kevin King says many customers are afraid they won’t be able to buy the amount they want in the future, so they’re stocking up now.

GOP Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska will not seek re-election next year, telling his supporters in an e-mail that the time is right after decades in public service.

“With everything in life there is a time and season,” said Johanns, a former U.S. Agriculture secretary and governor.

Johanns was first elected to the Senate in 2008. He recently bucked his party by saying he will vote to confirm fellow Nebraskan Chuck Hagel for Defense secretary — only the second GOP senator to support the embattled Obama nominee.

Democrats are likely to take a run at Nebraska next year, in part because of the need to expand the playing field. Democrats will defend 21 Senate seats in 2014, compared with 14 for Republicans.

The state is not friendly for Democrats. In November, former senator and governor Bob Kerrey lost by 16 percentage points to Republican Deb Fischer for a Senate seat. There are no Democrats serving in Nebraska’s congressional delegation or any statewide office.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, has already been mentioned as a potential Senate candidate. The state has a rich tradition of ex-governors coming to Washington with several former governors including Johanns in recent years going on to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, praised Johanns for his “principled leadership” while in public office. “The Cornhusker state will look to continue its strong conservative tradition by electing an equally dedicated Republican leader in 2014,” Moran said in a statement.

Johanns joins Republicans Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Democrats Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Tom Harkin of Iowa and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey in announcing his retirement. Early announcements give the parties time to recruit candidates.

In his statement, Johanns noted that both he and his wife, Stephanie, have been on the ballot 16 times and served in eight different offices. Stephanie Johanns is a former Lancaster County commissioner and Nebraska state senator.

“It is time to close this chapter of our lives,” Johanns said.

Johanns is not the only senator to opt out of the Senate after one term. Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia decided not to seek another term in 2012 and retired when his term ended in January.

Lincoln police have identified the Blair man found dead in the stairwell of a downtown parking garage.

Police say 24-year-old Matthew J. Dutton died early Sunday morning.

Captain Jason Stille says Dutton’s body was found in the Que Place Garage around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Initially, Dutton was believed to be unconscious, but paramedics say he died in the garage stairs.

Stille says it appears that Dutton fell down the stairs, but there weren’t any witnesses. Investigators are reviewing video from the garage to help determine what happened.

Western Nebraska authorities believe alcohol may have been a factor in a one-vehicle crash that killed a 46-year-old man.

The Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s office says Jose Louis Garcia of Mitchell died in the crash about a mile and a half east of Mitchell Saturday afternoon around 4:30.

Authorities say Garcia was driving east on Spring Creek Road when he lost control of his Chevy Tahoe. Garcia over-corrected, veered off the road and struck a utility pole.

Garcia died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

 

A 53-year-old Omaha woman is charged with neglecting her 80-year-old mother after paramedics found the elderly woman in a filthy home with no heat and covered in bedsores and feces.

Roslyn Leitz is charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult in the case. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison.

Prosecutors say Ruth Leitz had a body temperature of 86 degrees when paramedics arrived at the home two weeks ago. Her kidneys were shutting down, and she had been sitting in the same recliner for weeks.

Roslyn Leitz told authorities her mother was stubborn and wouldn’t go to the doctor.

Prosecutors also said the condition of the house showed that Roslyn Leitz wasn’t providing good care.