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Omaha Couple Convicted of Savagely Assaulting Woman

gavel-more

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha people are scheduled to be sentenced in November for kidnapping and savagely attacking a woman over her boyfriend’s debt.

Ronald Ford Jr. and Shavontae Green were convicted for the January attack on a 38-year-old woman. Their sentencing is set for Nov. 3.

Ford was upset because the woman’s boyfriend owed Ford money for a laptop computer. The 33-year-old Ford and 26-year-old Green went to the boyfriend’s house in January but found only the woman there. They beat her, kidnapped her and took her to their home.

Prosecutors say the woman was beaten again, sexually assaulted, burned with a cigarette, whipped with a chain, doused with boiling water on a shoulder and on her chest and also was splashed with bleach.

Trial Rescheduled for Nebraskan Accused of Injuring Infant

child-abuseCOLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A trial has been delayed for a 23-year-old Columbus man accused of seriously injuring the 4-month-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend.

Francisco Villatoro has pleaded not guilty to intentional child abuse resulting in injury. His trial was to begin Monday in Platte County District Court.

The trial has been rescheduled to begin Nov. 30. Villatoro’s attorney had sought more time to consult with medical experts about whether shaking had caused the infant’s injury.

Authorities say Villatoro called 911 on May 23 to report that the baby was choking. The infant was taken to Columbus Community Hospital and then transferred to an Omaha hospital. Doctors say the little girl suffered a head injury.

Woman Convicted of Vehicular Homicide in Lincoln

fatal-accidentLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman has been convicted in the crash death of an 81-year-old man in south Lincoln.

Online court records say sentencing is scheduled Dec. 4 for 51-year-old Laurie Clemans, who pleaded no contest on Tuesday and was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

The accident occurred around 3 p.m. on March 30 at the intersection of Old Cheney Road and Nebraska Highway 2. Police say a car driven by Monty McMahon, of Lincoln, was struck by Clemans’ vehicle as Clemans tried to turn left. McMahon was pronounced dead at a Lincoln hospital.

Man Imprisoned for Unrelated Crime Faces Omaha Murder Charge

Kevin Mariscal
Kevin Mariscal

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man imprisoned for an unrelated kidnapping conviction faces a murder charge in Omaha.

Omaha police say an arrest warrant for first-degree murder and a weapons count has been issued for 24-year-old Kevin Mariscal. He’s in Tecumseh prison, serving 15 years for a 2010 kidnapping in Sarpy County. Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could be contacted to comment on behalf of Mariscal.

Mariscal is suspected of killing 50-year-old Barbara Gonzales, of Omaha. Her body was spotted in a south Omaha residential alley by teenagers walking a dog on July 6, 2010. She’d been shot with a handgun.

 

Northeast Nebraska Man Pleads Guilty to Cattle Thefts

Timothy Ketelsen
Timothy Ketelsen

CENTER, Neb. (AP) — A 44-year-old man is scheduled to be sentenced in November for stealing cattle from a feedlot in northeast Nebraska.

Timothy Ketelsen, of Bloomfield, pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges of tax evasion, theft and illegal sale of livestock. Prosecutors dropped five other charges in return for Ketelsen’s pleas. His sentencing is set for Nov. 24.

Court documents say Ketelsen’s former boss reported that 13 head of cattle had been stolen from the feedlot. Investigators traced the cattle to a livestock market in Yankton, South Dakota, which paid Ketelsen for them.

Investigators also say they found four other instances in which it appears Ketelsen stole cattle.

Man Pleads Guilty to Bilking $14M from Nebraska Medicaid

gavel-and-scaleLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln pharmacist accused of defrauding Nebraska’s Medicaid program out of $14 million has pleaded guilty to health care fraud.

44-year-old Scott Tran pleaded guilty Tuesday. Prosecutors say the owner of Tran Pharmacy submitted hundreds of false claims for a solution used in inhalers for cystic fibrosis patients in the names of his customers’ children.

According to court documents, Tran submitted 399 claims for reimbursement between May 2009 and February 2015, stating they had been ordered by six Lincoln-area doctors identified only by their initials.

Tran also agreed to pay just over $14 million in restitution as part of the plea agreement. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January.

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Nebraska Man Pleads No Contest to Making Woman Sign ‘Slave Contract’

Nicholas Talbot
Nicholas Talbot

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of forcing a woman into a “slave contract” has pleaded no contest to second-degree assault after a judge found him competent to stand trial.

A judge stopped an August hearing at which 36-year-old Nicholas Talbot was to enter a plea and ordered that he undergo a competency evaluation.

Authorities say Talbot forced his 32-year-old girlfriend to sign the contract Jan. 15, and subjected her to sexual acts and abuse that included forcing her to drink his urine.

Police say the woman told her pastor and another woman that she had been hurt by Talbot four days after signing the contract.

Talbot is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 3.

5 Nebraska Schools Hailed for Excellency by National Program

us-department-of-educationOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five Nebraska schools have been recognized as National Blue Ribbons Schools for 2015.

The honors announced Tuesday are based on overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

The U.S. Education Department will honor 285 public and 50 private schools at recognition ceremonies on Nov. 9-10 in Washington.

The five schools are:

Arapahoe Elementary School in Arapahoe; Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary School in Bancroft; Douglas County West Elementary School in Valley; St. Robert Bellarmine School in Omaha; and Washington Elementary School in Norfolk.

Making Coke at Home? Keurig Introduces ‘Kold’ Machine

keurigNEW YORK (AP) — Making a glass of Coke at home will soon be possible, if you don’t mind paying more than $300 for a machine that sits on your kitchen countertop. Plus an extra dollar or so per drink.

Keurig says it will start selling a machine Tuesday that makes single servings of cold drinks including Coke, Sprite and flavored seltzer. The machine is similar to Keurig’s brewers, which let people make cups of coffee and tea by inserting a pod into the machine and pressing a button.

Coca-Cola is betting big on Keurig Kold, too; the company owns a minority stake in Keurig Green Mountain.

Keurig CEO Brian Kelley says the machine is a way for people to have a variety of drinks at their disposal, without the cans and bottles.

5 California Teens Suspected of Nebraska ATM Fraud

atm_problemLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Five California teenagers have been arrested in Nebraska, suspected of operating an ATM fraud scheme.

The five remained at the Lancaster County youth detention center Monday after their arrests Friday. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

Court documents say Pinnacle Bank staffers found on three of its ATMs electronic devices that surreptitiously record bank card numbers and PIN information. Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong says forgers use the information to create new cards for looting the accounts.

Police staked out the ATMs and soon arrested two boys who’d returned to remove the devices. Cellphone information led police to the three other teens.

Investigators suspect the five might be tied to a national criminal enterprise composed mainly of Romanians citizens.

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