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Lincoln Pair Charged in Hall County for Human Trafficking

handcuffsGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man and woman have been charged with human trafficking in Hall County.

28-year-old Marcuiece L. Johnson and 21-year-old Katie M. Brandt each face two felony counts of human trafficking.

The pair also is charged with two counts of pandering. Additionally, Johnson is charged with sexual assault.

Court documents say Johnson and Brandt engaged in labor trafficking or sexual trafficking of a woman last month.

They are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 2.

The maximum sentence for the human trafficking charges is 20 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine. The minimum sentence is one year in prison.

Man Dies After ATV Breaks Through Ice in Northeast Nebraska

ambulance-lightsNORFOLK,Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died at a hospital after his all-terrain vehicle broke through ice on a pond near Norfolk.

Norfolk firefighters were sent to the pond a little after 4 p.m. Saturday. They pulled the man from the icy water. He was treated at a Norfolk hospital and then sent to an Omaha hospital. Authorities say he died there.

The man’s name hasn’t been released.

Pentagon: Hundreds of Military Kids Sexually Abused Annually

department-of-defenseWASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Department data show hundreds of incidents each year of the children of military service members being victims of sexual assault.

The abuse of military dependents is committed most often by male enlisted troops, according to the data provided exclusively to The Associated Press.

The figures offer greater insight into the sexual abuse of children committed by service members, a problem of uncertain scale due to a lack of transparency in the military’s legal proceedings. With more than 1 million military dependents, the number of cases appears statistically small. But for a profession that prides itself on honor and discipline, any episodes of abuse cast a pall.

Grant to Homestead Monument to Help Cover Field Trip Costs

homestead-national-monumentBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A new grant will allow the Homestead National Monument of America to reimburse the travel costs for schools that bring fourth-graders to the site for field trips.

The monument is one of 186 federal sites to receive a grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks.

The grant is part of the foundation’s Open OutDoors for Kids Program.

National Park Foundation grants have made it possible for more than 400,000 students to visit national parks and other public lands and waters.

Homestead National Monument of America will distribute the grant on a first-come basis.

Police: Rapes in Lincoln Hit Highest Mark in 25 Years

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say the number of rapes and attempted rapes reported in the city last year was the highest seen in at least the last 25 years.

Police received 188 reports through November, a 23 percent increase over the 152 cases reported in all of 2014.

The number has climbed steadily since the mid-2000s, when police investigated an average of 110 sexual assault cases a year. The FBI says the number of reported rapes statewide has increased since 2000, even as the total number nationally has fallen.

Police and advocates say they don’t know what’s driving the increase. It’s possible that more victims are reporting rapes than in the past.

 

Small Fire Damages Lincoln Electric System Building

lincoln-fire-departmentLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters extinguished a small blaze outside of the Lincoln Electric System building in downtown Lincoln.

Firefighters were called to the scene around 5:45 p.m. Friday.

Acting Battalion Chief Lloyd Mueller says firefighters received reports of a package ablaze on a bench outside the building. The package was later identified as a transient man’s belongings.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but firefighters say a bag full of cigarette butts were found among the remains of the transient man’s belongings.

Fire Inspector Mike Wright says the department will review security cameras on the LES building which are believed to have captured footage of the fire before making a final determination of its cause.

Nebraska Police Officers Help Revive Infant Who Quit Breathing

la-vista-policeLA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Two police officers helped revive a 5-week-old child in La Vista who stopped breathing on New Year’s Eve.

La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten says Lt. T.J. Jacik and Officer Steve Walter were called to an apartment Thursday shortly before midnight.

Lausten says Jacik and Walter found the child bleeding from the nose and not breathing. They performed CPR until Papillion firefighters arrived.

The current condition of the child wasn’t immediately available Friday afternoon.

2 Omaha Officers to Be Disciplined in Fatal Shooting Case

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha police chief says the department will discipline two officers who had contact with a man who was later arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting two people and wounding three more at an Omaha apartment.

Chief Todd Schmaderer (SHMAHD’-ur) said Wednesday that the two officers violated a department policy while checking the welfare of 22-year-old Destacia Straughn on Dec. 6. She and her 2-year-old daughter, Kenacia Amerson-Straughn, were shot to death late that night.

Schmaderer says the officers had contact earlier that evening with the man now charged with two counts of murder and nine more felonies: 23-year-old Dontevous (dawn’-TAYE’-vuhs) Loyd. They had removed him from the apartment but didn’t think they had sufficient cause to arrest him.

Schmaderer didn’t name the officers or specify which policy the officers violated.

Omaha Board to Vote on $250K Settlement in Drowning

lawsuit-settlementOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school board is expected to vote Monday on a $250,000 settlement with the family of a 12-year-old boy who drowned in a district pool more than a year ago.

The family of Demariont’e Brown-Elliott filed a $1 million claim against the district in January, alleging negligence by district employees and administrators. The boy was found unresponsive in the Nathan Hale Middle School pool on Nov. 13, 2014. He died the next day in a hospital. An autopsy confirmed that he’d drowned.

The family says in its claim that Demariont’e and his classmates were being supervised by one teacher who was providing basic swimming instruction. The district says 10 students were in class that day.

Pot Seized, 2 Arrested in Seward County Traffic Stop

POT-BUSTPLEASANT DALE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two people have been arrested and more than 91 pounds of marijuana has been seized after a traffic stop in Seward County.

The state trooper pulled over an eastbound sport utility vehicle a little after 11 a.m. Wednesday near the Pleasant Dale exit off Interstate 80. The Nebraska State Patrol says a police dog alerted officers to the odor of drugs coming from the back of the SUV, and a subsequent search turned up the pot inside two suitcases and five boxes.

The driver and his passenger were taken into custody. Online court records don’t show that either person has been charged. The patrol says both are from Fairbanks, Alaska.

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