OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been sent to prison after a toddler found the man’s loaded weapon and shot his 18-month-old daughter in the face.

22-year-old Marquell Buie was sentenced to 18 months on Thursday.

Prosecutors say Buie was smoking marijuana and watching a movie at his apartment in April while the toddlers played nearby. He placed his loaded gun on a counter. The boy grabbed the weapon and shot Buie’s daughter, who lost an eye.

Buie pleaded no contest to negligent child abuse resulting in serious bodily harm.

The girl spent several weeks at a hospital. Her mother told the judge that it could be years before they discover if she has developmental problems as a result.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man once imprisoned for a Minnesota homicide has been sentenced to life for a Nebraska killing.

Court records say the sentence was handed down Friday to 32-year-old Tyeric Lessley, of Omaha. Early last month a Douglas County jury in Omaha found him guilty of first-degree murder and four other crimes. Prosecutors say he killed Suzanne Pope and injured her fiance, Curtis Goodwin, on Oct. 29, 2016. He’d used a gun to gain access to their house, apparently to rob them.

Authorities say Lessley was sent to a Minnesota prison after pleading guilty in 2010 to unintentional felony murder in Minneapolis. He was paroled in April 2015.

MILFORD, Neb. (AP) — Deputies have arrested a 37-year-old southeastern Nebraska man accused of setting a 42-year-old woman on fire.

Investigators believe Jeremy Koch, of Milford, sprayed the woman with aerosol brake fluid and lit her on fire Wednesday night following an argument between the two at a rural Milford home.

The Seward County Sheriff’s Office says the woman was able to remove some clothing but still suffered severe burns. She was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Koch was arrested on suspicion of domestic assault, arson, and a felony weapons count. He remained in Seward County jail Friday on $500,000 bond. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man’s body has been found inside a house that burned down in northeastern Nebraska’s Dakota City.

The fire was reported late Thursday night. The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office says firefighters who arrived to battle the blaze found the body inside. The body was taken to Sioux City, Iowa, for an autopsy. Officials say the victim was Native American, but do not yet know his identity.

Authorities called the homeowner, who was in Arizona at the time of the fire. The homeowner told officials no one was supposed to be in the house.

The home was destroyed in the fire. Officials, including the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, Nebraska State Fire Marshal and Omaha Nation Law Enforcement Services, continue to investigate.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Premium Poultry hopes to find 125 producers to provide poultry for a Costco processing plant in eastern Nebraska.

The Fremont plant is scheduled to open in about a year. Lincoln Premium Poultry is managing the facilities operations, which includes recruiting farmers to raise poultry, overseeing construction and recruiting employees.

The company was in negotiations with about 80 local farmers last month. It expects to continue recruiting operators into early summer.

Many of the farmers will be new to raising poultry. Doug Oertwich, who has a farm near Pilger, said the poultry project gives him the change to diversify his 700-acre corn and soybean farm. While he’s never raised poultry before, Oertwich said he’s not concerned about the new endeavor.

“I’ve worked with guys that raise hogs and cattle, and like any other animal, everything is in the details,” Oertwich said.

The company plans to help farmers new to the poultry industry by building a facility where producers and prospective producers can see how the computers and equipment in poultry houses are operated. The company will also send field technicians to help farmers implement and follow the best practices.

The contracts will last about 15 years. Farmers will be investing $2 million to $2.5 million to construct four poultry houses. The longer contract length lessens the risk by guaranteeing farmers 15 years of revenue.

“Nebraska farmers are making a sizable investment, and they are trusting in us to do the right thing by them,” said project manager Walt Shafer. “So we are working with Costco to put out a very, very fair contract that gives them every benefit of the doubt.”

Costco added a square-footage incentive for the poultry houses, which would give a farmer $120,000 for completing four houses.

“That’s one way for the company to invest in these farmers up front,” said Jessica Kolterman of Lincoln Premium Poultry. “And it really helps offset costs on the front side.”

The operation is expected to process up to 2 million birds a week. The plant is projected to have a $1.2 billion economic impact on the state, said Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested two men and seized 526 pounds of high-grade marijuana following a traffic stop on Interstate 80.

The stop occurred just after 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 10, when a trooper observed an eastbound truck failing to signal and having improper lighting near mile marker 370, near the Beaver Crossing exit. During the stop, an NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance coming from the rear of the truck.

Troopers then conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered 17 boxes of high-grade marijuana with a total weight of 526.2 pounds. The drugs carried an estimated street value of $1.5 million.

NSP arrested Robert P. Rahon, 27, of Sacramento, California, and Felice M. Giorgetti, 38, of Huntington Beach, California, for Possession With Intent to Deliver and No Drug Tax Stamp. Rahon and Giorgetti were lodged in Seward County Jail.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say an officer has been assaulted by someone he suspected of having marijuana.

The incident happened Tuesday night while the officer was monitoring a hotel in Lincoln for narcotics activity.

Police say the officer made contact with a person inside a vehicle after he detected a strong odor of marijuana. The officer had the suspect step out of the car, and a struggle between the two ensued. Police say the suspect tried to pull away from the officer, causing them both to fall on ice.

Police say the struggle continued on the ground, injuring the officer’s shoulder. The suspect was able to run away and was not immediately caught, but police say they know who he is.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A California couple arrested in Nebraska last month for carrying 60 pounds of marijuana they described as family Christmas gifts have again been arrested in Nebraska, this time on suspicion of carrying drug money.

Patrick Jiron, 80, and his 70-year-old wife, Barbara, both of Clear Lake Oaks, California, were arrested Tuesday along Interstate 80 in southeastern Nebraska, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. They were arrested last month along the same roadway — in the same vehicle — just two counties west.

Lancaster County sheriff’s officials said the couple were passengers in a pickup truck that was stopped Tuesday on suspicion of following another vehicle too closely. A deputy said a search of the truck turned up a duffel bag carrying $18,000 in cash, an oversized garbage bag with raw marijuana residue inside it and notes consistent with marijuana sales.

A 42-year-old woman driving the truck was not arrested, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Instead, she was given a warning for the traffic violation and released, he said. Wagner did not know her relationship to the Jirons.

“The Jirons bonded out of jail,” Wagner said. He did not know whether they were required to put up any money to bond out. Online court documents don’t list an attorney for the Jirons.

Wagner said his department plans to turn the cash over to the federal Department of Homeland Security. If federal officials are successful in legally seizing the money, Lancaster County would get to keep about 60 percent of it, Wagner said.

Authorities have said that when the Jirons were arrested in York County on Dec. 19, they said they didn’t know it was illegal to transport marijuana through Nebraska and that they were planning to give the drug as Christmas presents to relatives in Vermont and Massachusetts.

The Jirons are the parents of a Vermont prosecutor in Chittenden County, Justin Jiron. State’s Attorney Sarah George has said Justin Jiron is not connected to his parents’ alleged crime other than by relation.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A former Hastings police officer has pleaded not guilty to hitting and kicking his wife and slapping and kicking his mother.

Court records say Cody Bland entered written pleas Monday to misdemeanor domestic assault, assault, and interfering with a public service device. The records don’t show that a trial date has been set.

The records say Bland’s wife told officers that Bland kicked, shoved and tackled her at their home Oct. 30. She managed to summon some of her husband’s relatives for help after he took her cellphone. His mother says he slapped and kicked her after she arrived.

Bland had been on the Hastings force for four years. He resigned in November