LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 49-year-old Texas woman is scheduled to be sentenced next month for cashing her father-in-law’s Nebraska retirement checks after he died.

Court records say a jury convicted Sarah Kelley of theft by deception on Friday. Kelley, who lives in Moody, Texas, is set to be sentenced April 19.

Prosecutors say that between July 2012 and May 2014, Kelley cashed and deposited into her account 23 checks issued to Thomas P. White from his Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System annuity. He had died May 21, 2012, however.

The jury determined that Kelley gained nearly $40,000 from her scheme.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 59-year-old Plattsmouth man has pleaded guilty to fraud that cost two banks nearly $800,000.

Prosecutors say Mark Tincher entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He’s scheduled to be sentenced June 12.

Prosecutors say that between April 2010 and June 2010, Tincher manipulated checks between four banks at which he maintained accounts. His action, called check kiting, artificially inflated the balances.

At one time Tincher ran Tincher Chevrolet Oldsmobile in Plattsmouth. It closed in July 2011. In May 2014 the U.S. Labor Department sued him, saying neither Tincher nor his company appointed anyone else to administer and manage a 401(k) retirement plan he’d set up. The lawsuit was settled later.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Bellevue City Council has voted to seek money for a 90-foot observation tower as part of a $1.7 million Missouri River research station the University of Nebraska at Omaha wants to build.

Matt Knutson, an architect working with the university’s Nebraska Watershed Network, told the council last month that the tower would be a major local landmark and an integral component to the research station.

The proposed tower would go on the north end of American Heroes Park. Estimated to cost over $1 million, it would be the project’s most expensive component. Council members expect private grants to fund the tower.

The overall project also includes a research station to monitor water quality, an interpretive center to attract students, an observation deck over the river and a landscaped garden.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered tests to determine whether a former doctor convicted of killing four people connected to an Omaha medical school is competent to face a death penalty hearing.

Anthony Garcia sat silent in court Monday at a hearing to determine his competency. Judge Gary Randall warned Garcia that if he didn’t answer questions, he’d be sent to the state psychiatric hospital for testing. Garcia remained mum, so Randall ordered him to the hospital.

In October, Garcia was convicted of killing the 11-year-old son and a housekeeper of Creighton University faculty member William Hunter in 2008 and killing pathology doctor Roger Brumback and his wife in 2013.

Prosecutors say Garcia blamed Hunter and Brumback for his firing 15 years ago from Creighton’s pathology residency program.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Salvation Army says it wants to raise $250,000 to keep its men’s shelter open in Grand Island.

The shelter regularly helps several hundred men each year by offering 24 beds and an assortment of programs.

Maj. Chuck Yockey says the program needs a significant long-term investment to continue.

Shelter Director Deny Cacy says the facility works with the men staying there to help them get any identification they might need to get re-established.

The organization also helps men find work and get clothing they might need for job interviews and daily life.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former President Barack Obama is visiting Omaha for the first time since leaving office.

Obama landed in Omaha Sunday afternoon and was driven to an event at Happy Hollow Country Club.

Democratic Party officials told WOWT that Obama was in Omaha to attend a charity event on Sunday. But details of the event and the charity involved were not immediately clear. No public events were planned.

The last time Obama visited Omaha was in January 2016 as part of a series of speeches he gave after his final State of the Union address.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln officials are looking at installing playground equipment for adults, prompted by a resident who brought home the idea from a trip to China.

Dorene Casey and her sister, Jan Savoie, of Omaha, noticed the equipment and used some while visiting China two years ago.

Casey said much of the exercise equipment designed for older people is geared toward improving balance and flexibility. Equipment often is arranged to promote conversation between people working out.

She took the idea to Lincoln Parks and Recreation officials, who liked it and have been looking for ways to pay for it.

Lincoln may see its first piece of adult playground equipment next summer at Phil E. Mendoza Park, thanks to funding from the neighborhood association.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man is spending his time altering electronic toys for children across the state with special needs.

Aaron Miller was inspired by his 8-year-old son Evan, who has cerebral palsy, to use his garage to adapt electronic toys. The toys then fill the shelves at United Cerebral Palsy’s seven tech toy lending libraries.

Organization finance and service director in Nebraska, Anne Brodin, says the program began more than 20 years ago. Before Miller, most of the lending libraries’ toys would come from expensive toy-adapting companies.

Miller hopes that his adaptions can give those children back some of the independence they can lose due to their disabilities. He also sometimes hosts workshops for parents to learn how to adapt toys for their own children.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A standout Nebraska high school football player has been charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child and human trafficking.

Eighteen-year-old DeArch Stubblefield, a senior defensive back on the Bellevue West state championship team, was charged Friday in Sarpy County Court. He is being held without bail.

Court documents say Stubblefield sexually assaulted a teen between 12 and 16 years old and forced the teen to engage in sex trafficking between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31.

Stubblefield’s next court hearing is set for March 28.

A Bellevue Public Schools spokeswoman says officials have not yet made a decision on Stubblefield’s student status.

A voice message left with the Sarpy County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Stubblefield, was not immediately returned Saturday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 50-year-old resident of an Omaha assisted living facility has been charged with child sexual assault after police say he molested a 7-year-old boy in a Westroads Mall bathroom.

Bruce Perry is charged with third-degree sexual assault of a child and intentional child abuse in connection with the Wednesday incident. He is being held on $250,000 bail.

Prosecutors say Perry pulled down the boy’s pants and touched his genitals after the boy and his 11-year-old brother went into the bathroom. Police say the older brother fought off the man until the boys could escape.

Police say Perry told investigators he has exposed himself to boys many other times, but assistant public defender Cathy Saathoof disputes that. She says Perry has impaired intellectual capacity and mental health issues.