OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The attorney for an Omaha man accused of stealing a gay pride flag and burning it says his client’s actions don’t add up to a hate crime.

Twenty-three-year-old Cameron Mayfield is charged with arson and resisting arrest. He’s accused of taking the rainbow flag on Saturday from the porch of a lesbian couple who lived near him and setting the flag on fire.

James Martin Davis is Mayfield’s attorney, and he said if his client’s actions seemed political, it wasn’t intentional.

Davis says that what Mayfield did “is criminal mischief, it’s destruction of property, and I think he’s willing to pay for that and probably apologize to these ladies.”

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A 40-year-old Beatrice man convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy has been found incompetent.

Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund said in a court document signed Monday that Scott Taylor needs court-ordered custody or treatment because he suffers an intellectual disability or severe chronic cognitive impairment. In September Taylor pleaded no contest to sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors had lowered the charge.

His sentencing was delayed after questions were raised about the danger he poses to the public. Three evaluations were conducted on Taylor, who is unable to read, write or do math. Court documents say experts concluded that Taylor does pose a threat to others.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has been ordered to devise a plan for his treatment and custody.

MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A former zoning administrator for Madison and Pierce counties has taken a deal and pleaded guilty to a lesser theft charge.

Online court records say 55-year-old John Johnson was convicted on Tuesday of misdemeanor theft. He’d been charged with a felony. Prosecutors say Johnson charged more than $500 in gasoline to Madison County for use in his personal vehicle.

He’s scheduled for sentencing on May 21.

Johnson, of Madison, had served 12 years as zoning administrator for both counties before resigning last summer.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A University of Nebraska budget request for “economic competitiveness” projects is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers.

The request to the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday would cost the state an additional $20 million. Some lawmakers expressed skepticism, saying economic development should be left to the private sector.

If approved, the money would help pay for improvements at the Nebraska Innovation Campus, the Peter Kiewit Institute and the Rural Futures Institute, among other programs. Many of the initiatives allow private businesses to work with university officials on new inventions, businesses and technology.

Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney, the speaker of the Legislature, says the projects would help grow businesses and keep young people in Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says the state should not be forced to recognize gay marriages until the matter is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Peterson filed a motion Tuesday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay. The filing came a day after U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon struck down Nebraska’s gay marriage and civil union ban as unconstitutional.

Bataillon ordered that his ruling not to go into effect until March 9, to give the state time to appeal.

The 8th Circuit is expected to decide by next Monday whether to grant the emergency stay.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said it will decide whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry everywhere in the U.S. A decision is expected by late June.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that a Justice Department investigation has found patterns of racial bias in the Ferguson, Missouri, police department and at the municipal jail and court.

The official says the investigation found that officers disproportionately used excessive force against blacks and too often charged them with petty offenses. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak on the record before the full report was released.

The official says the report will allege direct evidence of racial bias among police officers and court workers and a system that prioritizes generating revenue from fines over public safety.

The full report could be released as soon as Wednesday.

The Justice Department began the civil rights investigation following the August shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, by a white police officer.