NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A preliminary hearing has been set for four North Platte residents charged with child abuse and false imprisonment after police found two young boys locked in a dog kennel in their home.
Court records show that 22-year-old Ashly Clark, 25-year-old Bryson Eyten, 24-year-old Samantha Eyten and 20-year-old Lacy Beyer declined to waive their preliminary hearings during a Lincoln County Court appearance on Thursday. Contested preliminary hearings for the four have been set for Nov. 10.
The four were arrested late Monday after police found the boys, ages 3 and 5, in a 30-by-42-inch wire kennel inside a filthy trailer home. Police say the boys’ mother, Clark, told officers she put the boys in the kennel at night to keep them from climbing out of a window.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Lincoln man has received a 6-year prison sentence for receiving and distributing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Robert M. Fast was sentenced Oct. 20 in U.S. District Court in Lincoln for receipt and distribution of child pornography. After his release, Fast will have to serve 5 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender. He also was ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in restitution to one of the child pornography victims.
Lincoln police found Fast through child pornography images on a file-sharing network. They tracked the images to a computer at his home, and searched the residence in November 2010. When investigators examined his computer, they found 26 digital images and 23 videos of child pornography.
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors have called their star witness in the first-degree murder trial of a woman who claims she killed an Iowa neighbor in self-defense: a former friend who supported her but came forward a decade later to provide key evidence.
Farmer Mary Higgins testified Friday at the trial of Tracey Richter in the 2001 death of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde at her home in Early, a small town in northwest Iowa. Richter claims she shot Wehde after he broke into her home.
Higgins says Richter showed no emotion when she recounted the events “like she was telling me her grocery list.” She also says Richter told her about a pink spiral notebook claiming her ex-husband was behind the attack.
Investigators say they kept the notebook’s existence a secret.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Three environmental groups have expanded a lawsuit that seeks to halt the development of a transnational oil pipeline through Nebraska.
The groups announced Tuesday that their lawsuit will challenge claims that a spill from the Keystone XL pipeline would not likely affect whooping cranes or other endangered species.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Omaha aims to stop early work to make way for the pipeline, such as mowing native prairie grasses. Pipeline operator TransCanada, which was not named in the lawsuit, has said it mowed the grass to protect an endangered beetle species. Company officials say they also received permission from the landowners.
The lawsuit names the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other federal agencies and officials as
defendants.
BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) – A parole hearing is scheduled for a western Nebraska rancher convicted of letting more than 200 wild horses and burros starve.
Jason Meduna was convicted in January 2010 of 145 counts of animal cruelty. He was sentenced to 40 months to 10 years in prison. As part of his sentence, Meduna can’t own, possess or live with livestock for 30 years.
A parole hearing is set for Wednesday at the Lincoln Community Corrections Center.
Meduna owned the 3-Strikes mustang ranch south of Alliance, where many of the horses and burros were found emaciated and suffering from a variety of ailments in 2009. Dozens were found dead at the ranch. The surviving horses and burros were given new homes.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A Colorado man is in custody, caught with marijuana and a handgun.
On Sunday, Deputy Jeff Gaasch with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office stopped 48-year-old Darrell Eugene Decker of Colorado Springs for speeding just east of Hershey. Deputy Gaasch soon became suspicious of Decker and his passenger and asked for permission to search the vehicle. Decker consented and Deputy Gaasch dispatched his K-9 Zeigo who discovered contraband found to be marijuana amounting to less than a pound but more than an ounce. A concealed 9 mm Glock handgun was also found in the vehicle.
Decker was arrested and incarcerated for Possession of Marijuana more than an ounce less than a pound and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – Hastings police have identified a man whose body was found in a home. The body of 58-year-old Danny Weyers was found by an acquaintance at his home on Thursday. Police have said evidence found at the scene led officers to believe Weyers did not die of natural causes, but authorities have not said what caused his death. An autopsy was performed Friday. The results have not been released.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A child welfare check conducted by the North Platte Police Department late Monday night resulted in the arrest of 4 local residents.
Lt. Hoaglund reports that officers responded to the call at 2421 East E Street where they found an extremely unsanitary living environment as the home was littered with dirty clothes, trash and animal feces. Officers also found two young boys, ages 5 and 3, being housed inside a 42 X 30 inch animal kennel secured by a wire tie.
Arrested and charged with Felony Child Abuse, First Degree False Imprisonment and Misdemeanor Child Abuse were: 25-year-old Bryson Eyten, 24-year-old Samantha Eyten, 22-year-old Ashly Clark and 20-year-old Lacy Beyer.
Two other children, a 7-year-old and an 8-month-old girl were also in the home at the time of the arrests, but were not being confined. All of the adults and children were living in the house. The two girls are the children of Bryson and Samantha Eyten; the two boys are Clark’s children. All were taken into juvenile protective custody by HHS.
The adults were aware of the unsanitary living conditions and claim the boys were locked up to prevent them from sneaking away from the home.
(Update) A court appearance has been scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Thursday October 27th for all four adults listed in this story. Bond has been set at $50,000 for each. Lt. Hoaglund reports that authorities are relocating a number of animals left in the home including cats, dogs, rabbits and snakes. According to police, the four were the only adults residing in the home at the time of the arrest. The North Platte Post will provide updates following the court appearance Thursday.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) – A 20-year-old man accused of stabbing to death another Columbus man in a motel parking lot has been charged with first-degree murder.
Ozzy Tilden was ordered held without bail following his court appearance on Tuesday. Authorities say Tilden fatally stabbed 36-year-old Jerry Garcia on Oct. 8.
Investigators say in court documents that Tilden had gotten into a fistfight at the Sundown Motel lot after he returned from having some drinks at a bar in Duncan early in the morning on Oct. 8. Garcia got involved only briefly in the scuffle.
According to the documents, a witness told police that Tilden left but soon returned and confronted Garcia, stabbing him several times.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A 24-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of another North Platte man. Nathaniel Polanco also was charged with use of a weapon in the slaying of 24-year-old Michael Fernau. Polanco appeared in court on Monday and is due back on Thursday. Officers sent to a North Platte home early Saturday morning found the injured Fernau. He died later at Great Plains Regional Medical Center. Police say it appears Fernau and Polanco were arguing just before the stabbing. Authorities believe alcohol was a factor. Polanco remains jailed, pending $500,000 bail. Court records don’t yet list the name of his attorney.
