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Man found guilty of murder, manslaughter in Omaha shooting

Michael A. Nolt
Michael A. Nolt

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 54-year-old man has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the shooting deaths of two people in Omaha.

A Douglas County District Court jury found Michael Nolt guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the Oct. 10, 2015, slaying of Malquan King and of manslaughter in the slaying of Arelius Hassell. He was convicted of several other charges but acquitted of attempted murder. Nolt is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 17.

Police say Nolt told his mother he’d killed some people in a botched robbery.

Omaha middle school dealing with student behavior problems

omaha-psOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — School officials are trying to quell student behavior problems at an Omaha middle school, where enrollment has nearly doubled with the addition of sixth-graders this year.

Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Mark Evans and two school board members visited Nathan Hale Middle School on Tuesday in response to complaints from parents and staff about the behavior.

Snow says he has talked to teachers about students throwing things, running in the halls and interrupting class. School board member Justin Wayne says teachers are also overwhelmed.

School district spokeswoman Monique Farmer says the problem stems from a small number of students who disrupt the school day.

Omaha Education Association president Bridget Donovan says officials are struggling to keep teachers from leaving the school.

The school district says it’s adding more security guards and two student deans to the middle school’s staff.

Group chalks ‘Go Vote’ messages on Omaha sidewalks

voteOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Residents walking around Omaha might notice a few messages chalked on the sidewalks urging people to vote.

The League of Women Voters has been busy painting sidewalks across town.

Two chalk messages — “Go Vote, Omaha!” and “Be a Voter!” — were stenciled at high traffic areas across the city. Organizers say the messages are intended to remind people of how important their votes on Nov. 8 are.

Metropolitan Community College art students designed the stencils used in the project.

Firefighters find body inside Lincoln house, official says

fatal-fireLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say firefighters sent to quell flames at a Lincoln house found a body inside.

Firetrucks were dispatched just after 1 a.m. Thursday to the home a few blocks south of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus. Firefighters say flames were coming from the house roof as they arrived.

Battalion Chief Jim Bopp confirmed the person’s death but couldn’t provide any other information.

The fire cause and the person’s death are being investigated.

4 treated at hospital after chemical exposure, officials say

Hazardous-ChemicalsWAKEFIELD, Neb. (AP) — Four people have been treated for chemical exposure at a Michael Foods plant in northeast Nebraska.

The Dixon County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that hazardous-materials teams and medics were sent to the Wakefield plant after a 911 call around 11:05 a.m. Wednesday. The four were taken to Providence Medical Center in Wayne. A hospital spokesman says they were treated and released.

The sheriff’s office says the chemical was contained inside the plant and says no evacuation was necessary outside the immediate area.

A Michael Foods spokesman didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press. The company’s based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Californian gets 2 years for pot possession in Nebraska

marijuana-jailLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man who had 135 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle he was driving has been given two years in a Nebraska prison.

Online court records say 44-year-old Yakuba Brown, of Moreno Valley, California, pleaded guilty to possessing more than a pound of marijuana after prosecutors lowered the charge from possession for sale. He was sentenced Tuesday in Lancaster County Court in Lincoln.

Nebraska state troopers say they found the pot during a search of the SUV on Feb. 26 at a gas station in north Lincoln.

Jury convicts man of killing 4 tied to Omaha medical school

Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former doctor has been found guilty of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school, including the 11-year-old son of a faculty member there.

A Douglas County jury convicted 42-year-old Anthony Garcia Wednesday of four counts of first-degree murder. He faces either life in prison or the death penalty.

Garcia, of Terre Haute, Indiana, was found guilty of fatally stabbing 11-year-old Thomas Hunter, son of Creighton University School of Medicine faculty member Dr. William Hunter; and the family’s housekeeper, 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman, in 2008.

He was also found guilty of the 2013 Mother’s Day deaths of another Creighton pathology doctor, Roger Brumback, and his wife, Mary.

Prosecutors say Garcia’s long-simmering rage over being fired from the medical school’s residency program in 2001 led him to seek revenge.

2 soldiers being held in disappearance of fellow soldier

army-criminal-investigation-commandLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Army says two Fort Campbell soldiers are being held as “persons of interest” in another soldier’s disappearance nearly two months ago.

Fort Campbell didn’t identify these soldiers, and says law enforcement at the Army post straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee line are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Pfc. Shadow McClaine.

The Army says McClaine failed to report back for duty as an air traffic control tower operator after the Labor Day weekend.

McClaine’s mother, London Wegrzyn of Yuba City, California, said Wednesday she last heard from her 25-year-old daughter in an exchange of texts on Sept. 2. She says her daughter was dog sitting for a friend and gave no indication anything was wrong.

Wegrzyn says she’s praying detainees will tell authorities what they know.

Man accused of breaking 1 of baby’s legs pleads not guilty

child-abuseHASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A January trial has been scheduled for a Hastings man accused of burning a 9-week-old and breaking one of the baby’s legs.

Online court records say 23-year-old Braxton Blackburn pleaded not guilty Friday in Adams County District Court in Hastings to a charge of intentional child abuse resulting in serious injury. His trial is set to begin Jan. 9.

An arrest affidavit says the injuries occurred in March, while Blackburn was watching the baby and an older sibling for his fiancee’s sister. The children’s mother took the baby to an emergency room after she noticed several injuries. Doctors found burns, bruises, a bite mark and the broken leg.

Changes to Omaha library security video policy considered

security-cameraOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Library Board is considering loosening its policy regarding turning over security video to police.

The current library policy requires officers to obtain a court order before receiving security video.

Director Laura Marlane has proposed making the policy less restrictive so library staff could release a video if police needed to take immediate action to save a life. Board member Kathleen McCallister says police should have access to footage any time there’s a reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred.

Other board members have citied privacy concerns about changing the policy.

The board has not taken any action on the proposals and will continue to discuss them.

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