LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has grant the request of the city of Lincoln, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission and their leaders to be dismissed from a lawsuit brought by the owner of an adult website after his application for a liquor license was denied.

The judge has allowed the lawsuit to go forward against former Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady, current Chief Jim Peschong and police investigator Russell Fosler.

Shane Harrington’s lawsuit says he was wrongfully denied a license that would have allowed him to open Club Smooth, a nightclub planned for downtown Lincoln.

Harrington says he was harassed by local officials in Lincoln, and his license application was unrelated to his website.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Lawyers for a former Indiana doctor accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school say evidence gathered during his arrest should be excluded from his trial.

Anthony Garcia’s attorneys argued Friday in a Douglas County District Court that police did not have probable cause to arrest Garcia in Illinois in July 2013 and that search warrants filed in the case were unconstitutionally overbroad in scope.

Garcia is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 deaths of the 11-year-old son of Creighton University pathologist William Hunter and the family’s housekeeper, as well as the May 2013 deaths of Creighton pathologist Roger Brumback and his wife.

Judge Duane Dougherty gave both sides several weeks to file briefs outlining their objections to and support of the search warrants.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing an 8-year-old Topeka girl before stuffing her body in a clothes dryer has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

A Shawnee County District judge handed down the sentence Friday for 31-year-old Bill Frank Davis Jr.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty after Davis was convicted in December of 10 counts, including capital murder in the 2012 killing of 8-year-old Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin. But defense witnesses testified that Davis suffered from severe mental illness, and jurors couldn’t unanimously decide to recommend execution.

Along with his life sentence, Davis also received more than 60 years in prison for other convictions.

Ahliyah’s family has said they’re pleased Davis will spend the rest of his in prison.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A concrete monument to a teenager’s rite of passage has been demolished at the school district’s Seacrest Field in Lincoln.

The old tower for driver’s education instructors has made way for new bleachers and an expanded press box.

The tower hasn’t been used in more than three decades. In its heyday, the tower held instructors who could — in elevated safety — watch a dozen cars and use one-way radios to train the fledgling drivers. Former instructor Bob Eyth recalled that there was one word the teenagers needed “to understand right off the bat, and that’s stop.”

In the mid-1980s the state stopped reimbursing schools for teaching driver’s education, so most districts stopped the courses.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Catholic Health Initiatives officials say they’re confident that Creighton University Medical Center’s trauma center soon will be certified for Level 1 patients.

The CHI Health officials say a state review team examined the trauma program on Wednesday and found no deficiencies.

The state’s chief medical officer told Creighton early last month that a review team found in October that the trauma center failed to meet four out of the more than 160 standards that must be satisfied for the Level 1 designation. Trauma centers treat people who require immediate and intensive attention, and Level 1 patients may need resuscitation or establishment of an airway.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has set bail for a 21-year-old man charged in connection with a triple homicide at a house party in Omaha last month.

Trenelle Miller is charged with possession of a gun by a prohibited person. On Thursday, he made his first court appearance, and Judge Susan Bazis set his bail at $100,000.

Prosecutors say Miller had a gun at the Jan. 24 party and allegedly told witnesses he was “pretty sure” he shot someone before being shot himself.

His mother said after the hearing her son didn’t have a gun at the party and didn’t shoot anyone.

Nineteen-year-old Jakela Foster, 24-year-old Latecia Fox and 26-year-old Cameron R. Harris died in the shooting. Miller was one of five other people wounded by gunfire at the party.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — United Airlines has decided to outsource about 80 jobs at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield.

Airline spokesman Luke Punzenberger said Thursday that the decision was a difficult one for United executives, who have been discussing the possibility of layoffs with the International Association of Machinists Aerospace Workers. Punzenberger told Omaha television station KETV that, “when it makes financial sense, we prefer to have United employees.”

The Eppley baggage handlers and customer service workers were notified Thursday. The cuts are expected to be effective by mid-May. United says the Omaha cutbacks are among the 1,150 planned nationwide.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have begun an internal investigation to determine the reason it took a year to arrest three teenagers accused of sexual assault.

Officer Michael Pecha (PEH’-kuh) confirmed Thursday that police plan to look into the situation. No further details have been released.

An 18-year-old student says she was sexually assaulted at a party in an Omaha apartment and filed a police report Feb. 16, 2014. The three teens accused of being involved weren’t arrested until this year.

Javohn Templeman and Nicholas Bregg, both 19 years old, are charged with first-degree sexual assault. And 18-year-old Jalyia Templeman is charged with felony invasion of privacy.

Preliminary hearings for Javohn and Jalyia Templeman are scheduled for Friday. Bregg will appear in court Feb. 23.