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Deputy Slightly Injured in Northeast Nebraska Collision

stanton-county-sheriffNORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a sheriff’s deputy and another driver were slightly injured in a collision near Norfolk.

The accident was reported a little before 9 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 275 and Nebraska Highway 24 on the southeast corner of Norfolk. Police say the Stanton County sheriff’s deputy was driving a marked cruiser and heading south on Nebraska 24 when it was struck by a northbound vehicle that turning left, across the cruiser’s path.

The deputy was identified as 25-year-old Tyler Evans, of Stanton. The other driver was identified as 18-year-old McKenna Warner, of Norfolk. Warner was cited for failure to yield.

Man Sent to Prison for 7th Time After Columbus Police Chase

jailCOLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to prison after leading officers on a multicounty chase that began in Columbus, Nebraska, and reached speeds of 110 miles per hour.

According to court records, 41-year-old Carlos Bejarano-Rodriguez was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest-willful reckless driving.

Court documents say Bejarano-Rodriguez has been previously sentenced to prison six times in California. He was being sought on an outstanding warrant from San Bernardino, California, at the time of the chase.

Authorities say that Bejarano-Rodriguez also traveled northbound in the southbound lanes during part of the Nov. 1 chase. Police in-car video shows that the trooper intentionally nudged the vehicle’s bumper, causing the suspect’s vehicle to spin.

Firefighters Contain Lincoln Motel Fire to Laundry Room

lincoln-fire-departmentLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Several people who evacuated have returned to their rooms after a motel fire in Lincoln.

Firefighters responded to reports around 7 p.m. Sunday at Americas Best Value Inn on Northwest 12th Street. Fire officials say the blaze started in the motel laundry room and was contained there.

There were no reports of injuries. The fire cause is being investigated.

Shooting at Omaha Apartment Injures 2 Saturday

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police are investigating a shooting at an apartment building that injured two people.

The shooting was reported at an apartment building in eastern Omaha around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Police said two people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but they are expected to survive.

Authorities say witnesses gave police conflicting information about what led to the shooting.

Omaha Woman Ordered to Pay in Medicaid Fraud Case

medicaidOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — State prosecutors say an Omaha mental health counselor has been ordered to pay more than $300,000 for filing fraudulent Medicaid claims.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office says 42-year-old Lawanda Cook was ordered Friday to pay $312,759.

Prosecutors say an investigation found that Cook submitted 1,599 Medicaid claims with no supporting clinical records, as required by law, and was paid a total of $208,506. Cook says she failed to maintain progress notes or clinical records to support the claims.

Last year, Cook was sentenced to nine months in jail for causing the motor vehicle death of 55-year-old Joanne Smith. Police say Cook was distracted when she ran into the back of Smith’s car as Smith was unloading items from the trunk on an Omaha street.

Western Iowa Authorities Investigate Dog Poisonings

Pottawattamie-County-SherifCOUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating the latest of what residents in one western Iowa neighborhood believe is a series of dog poisonings dating back years.

Several dogs have died mysteriously along Rosebud Lane just outside Council Bluffs in the last six years.

The latest being investigated by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office is that of a golden retriever puppy belonging to the father of Tara Campbell of Council Bluffs. A trip to Campbell’s eastern Nebraska veterinarian after it became six Tuesday showed the dog had anti-freeze crystals in its urine. The dog later died.

Sheriff’s investigators are testing refried beans found in the yard where the puppy had been tethered.

Campbell says she has had two other dogs die suddenly in the last six years.

Lawsuit Claiming Unlawful Detention of Nebraska Man Dismissed

dept.-of-justiceOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Three years after it was filed, a lawsuit filed by a Papillion man who says he was unlawfully detained and wrongly treated as an illegal immigrant has been dismissed against Sarpy County.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon dismissed the lawsuit against the Sarpy County sheriff, jail staff and a federal immigration agent on Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska had sued on behalf of Ramon Mendoza in 2013.

Bataillon said the lawsuit failed to show Mendoza’s constitutional rights were violated.

Mendoza was jailed in March 2010 after he was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy for a traffic infraction.

Mendoza is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico, but was held for days on suspicion of being in the country illegally.

Mistrial Ruled in Omaha Case That Sparked Melee

judgeshipOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in an Omaha slaying case that sparked a courthouse brawl.

A judge made the ruling on Friday morning in the trial of Charles Trotter, who’s charged with murder in the shooting deaths of Dexter Joseph and Marcel Lovejoy in an apartment on Jan. 3, 2015. A new trial is scheduled to begin June 13.

The fight Wednesday involved family and friends of Trotter, Joseph and Lovejoy. The judge subsequently sequestered the jury, and security was increased.

On Thursday a witness who’d been in the apartment when Joseph and Lovejoy were shot replied “I don’t remember” to several questions about what happened. He gave the same reply when a prosecutor asked whether he’d been threatened not to testify completely.

Teen Died in Rollover Crash, Cedar County Authorities Say

fatal-accidentRANDOLPH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old girl has died after a rollover crash in northeast Nebraska.

The accident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Friday about a half-mile southeast of Randolph. The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office says Emily Bloomquist, who lived in Randolph, was ejected when her car went out of control. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was a junior and an athlete at Randolph High School.

Man Imprisoned for Trying to Rob Rural Martell Resident

Bryan Reiber
Bryan Reiber
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 30-year-old man who tried to rob a rural Martell resident at gunpoint on Christmas Day has been given 14 to 24 years in prison.

Bryan Reiber, of Lincoln, was sentenced Thursday. He’d pleaded no contest to attempted robbery, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person for three separate incidents.

At the time of the attempted robbery on Christmas Day, he was out of jail on bond on gun charges from December 2014 and January 2015.

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