OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 25-year-old Omaha man who had been set to stand trial next week for the shooting death of another man has been found not competent to stand trial.

A Douglas County District judge determined Tontavious Montgomery is not mentally fit to stand trial and ordered him committed to a Lincoln psychiatric center for treatment. Montgomery has been charged with first-degree murder in the May 2016 shooting death of 22-year-old Terrance Gunn.

The court has determined that if Montgomery’s competency is not restored by April 18, a hearing will be held to review the status of his case.

Another man, 22-year-old Alphonso Hall III of Omaha, is also awaiting trial for first-degree murder in Gunn’s death.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s public transit system has received a $1.45 million federal grant to purchase two electric buses expected to be in service in early 2019.

The new buses will replace a couple of StarTran’s heavy-duty diesel buses.

StarTran’s project was one of 51 in 39 states selected for $55 million in grants from the Federal Transit Administration’s low- or no-emission vehicle program.

The grant also funds electric-charging stations for the buses and will be matched by $500,000 in local funds.

The electric buses cost about $300,000 more than a compressed-natural gas bus. They’ll be able to travel 200 miles before recharging.

Since most city buses run about 300 miles a day, the two buses will be used during peak hours and charged in between.

WAHOO, Neb. (AP) — A former city clerk for several communities in eastern Nebraska already charged with theft in Cass County now faces new charges in another county.

60-year-old Ginger Neuhart, of Waverly, has been charged in Saunders County with two counts of theft and four counts of forgery stemming from her time as clerk/treasurer for the villages of Memphis and Ithaca.

The charges follow reviews by the Nebraska State Auditor’s office.

Neuhart was released Friday on $5,000 bail. She could not be reached Saturday for comment.

Investigators say Neuhart altered her monthly paychecks to add $1,000 to $2,000 to them after they’d been signed.

The auditor’s review for Memphis found $160,500 in fraudulent payments to Neuhart since 2005; $41,000 in overpayments in Ithaca since May 2013 and $105,000 from Alvo over seven years.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a 27-year-old Omaha woman accused of being an accessory in a deadly shooting earlier this month.

Police say Amari Ware was arrested Friday on a warrant charging her with being an accessory to a felony in the Oct. 21 shooting death of 35-year-old Damon Jackson, of Omaha. Police responding to a report of a shooting found Jackson’s body in a northeast Omaha neighborhood.

Online court documents show the warrant was issued Friday. The documents do not detail how police believe Ware served as an accessory.

Online records do not show that Ware had an attorney by midafternoon Saturday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials in Nebraska’s largest city are encouraging the public to get the flu vaccine.

The Douglas County Health Department says in a news release that nearly 3,660 cases of the flu were reported in the county last year.

Since Oct. 1, the start of the current flu season, Douglas County has already seen more than 20 confirmed cases, including some of the AH3 strain that caused severe illness during the just completed winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour says the presence of AH3 makes it all the more important for everyone 6-months and older to get the flu vaccine.

The 2017-2018 seasonal flu vaccine is available at health care provider offices and pharmacies throughout the county.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Beatrice man faked his own kidnapping so he could collect ransom from his parents.

The parents called Beatrice police earlier this week to report that their son was being held ransom for $5,000, which had to be wired to his bank account.

Police determined that the calls came from the 30-year-old man’s girlfriend’s phone and traced the phone to the man’s Beatrice home. Officers say they saw him through a window there, holding a silver handgun. They forced their way in and took him into custody. The gun turned out to be a CO2-powered BB gun.

He was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted extortion, obstructing government operations, and other crimes. Court records don’t show he’s been charged.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fire officials are praising a babysitter who helped three children she was watching escape their flaming home.

Authorities say the woman and children already had reached safety outside the central Lincoln house by the time firefighters arrived Thursday evening. No injuries have been reported and no names have been released.

Battalion Chief Jim Bopp says the woman’s quick action was just what parents would want from their babysitters.

Fire inspector Ken Hilger says the fire was started by a 6-year-old playing with a lighter on the home’s second floor.

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a driver whose cement truck tipped over in an Omaha suburb and crushed a car, killing two people.

La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten identified the driver Thursday as 20-year-old Austin Holloway, of Fremont. He was treated for minor injuries after the crash Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities say Holloway made a sharp right turn of his eastbound truck to go south, but the fully loaded vehicle then tipped over to its left, landing on the northbound car, which was waiting at a traffic light. Authorities identified the car’s occupants as Michael Dearden and Phillip Hertel. Both were 23.

The accident is being investigated.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor says a gender-fluid Iowa teenager was kidnapped, suffocated and executed by two cousins who believed the teen was a cute girl.

Prosecutor Christopher Perras detailed the 2016 death of 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson in opening statements Thursday at the trial of Jorge Sanders-Galvez.

Perras said Johnson “was a friendly high school student with a bright future” who sometimes dressed as a girl. Relatives say Johnson identified as both male and female.

Perras says Johnson was wearing a pink headband and hair extensions when Sanders-Galvez and his cousin saw the teen at a store.

Perras says the men followed Johnson in their car, then took the teen to a Burlington home. He says a struggle ensued during a sexual encounter, and the men suffocated Johnson, shot the teen and dumped the body in an alley.