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Man Charged in Death of Fremont Boy Found Outside in Frigid Weather

Dakota McDonald
Dakota McDonald

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A 21-year-old Omaha man has been arrested in connection with the death of a Fremont teenager who was found outdoors in bone-chilling cold last fall.

Fremont police said in a news release Friday that Douglas County deputies took Dakota McDonald into custody. He’s charged with procuring alcohol for a minor that resulted in a death. Online court records don’t list the name of McDonald’s attorney in the case.

The 16-year-old boy, Jaime Valdez, was spotted a little before 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 16 by a city worker. National Weather Service records say Fremont’s temperature then was 2 degrees, with a wind child of minus 16.

The boy died later that day. Lt. Kurt Bottorff (BAHT’-orf) said Friday that the cause of death was hypothermia associated with acute ethanol intoxication.

Woman Accused in Grand Island Puppy Drowning Arrested on Florida Theft Warrant

Cynthia Anderson
Cynthia Anderson

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Florida woman accused of drowning a puppy at a Nebraska airport has been arrested on a Florida theft warrant.

Cynthia Anderson was rearrested Thursday after she’d posted bond to leave the Hall County Jail. She’s been held there on a felony Nebraska charge of animal neglect. Attempts to reach her attorney on Friday were unsuccessful.

The 56-year-old Anderson, who is from Edgewater, Florida, on Jan. 23 was barred from boarding a flight at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island because the puppy was so young and not properly contained.

Authorities say Anderson then was seen entering a bathroom. Another woman soon reported finding a dead Doberman puppy in a toilet.

Gallup Migrating Away from Phones in Favor of Online Polling

gallupLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gallup has long been known for phone polling, but the company is migrating away from that technology and toward online data collection.

Spokesman Johnathan Tozer said the change is “part of Gallup’s long-term migration plan toward online data collection, in addition to our sophisticated analytics and consulting.”

The company says attrition and transfers or promotions will help Gallup cut back its call center staff in Lincoln and Omaha.

Experts say phone polling has become less reliable as more people drop land lines. A 2012 Pew Research Center study showed that the percentage of households in which polling companies were able to reach an adult by phone fell to 62 percent in 2012 from 90 percent in 1997.

Omaha Man Convicted of First-Degree Murder in Party Slaying

gavel-and-scaleOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been convicted of first-degree murder in connection to a shooting death at a party following a Miley Cyrus concert last year.

24-year-old LaRon M. Jones was found guilty Thursday in the March shooting of 21-year-old Brandon Samuels. He was also convicted on two weapons charges.

Police say a fight broke out at the house party, and when the fight escalated, Jones and others got into cars to leave. They say Jones returned to the end of the home’s driveway and began firing shots into the air and then at the house.

Jones faces a life term in prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Omaha Man Pleads No Contest in Girlfriend’s Death

 Mikael Loyd
Mikael Loyd

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder charges for strangling his girlfriend and leaving her in an empty grave.

20-year-old Mikael Loyd entered his plea deal Thursday. He was charged for choking 19-year-old Melissa Rodriguez in August 2013 and later dumping her body into a grave.

Police say the murder occurred just after Loyd had left a mental health institution. They say Loyd had an outstanding arrest warrant for making comments about wanting to kill his mother, but they didn’t take him into custody before the murder.

A message left for Loyd’s attorney was not immediately answered.

Loyd faces 20 years to life in prison. A sentencing hearing has been set for April.

No Injuries Reported in 2 Fires at High School in Lincoln

arsonLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials have canceled classes for the rest of the day after two fires were set at Lincoln High School in the capital city.

Concerns over smoke in the building led to the cancellation on Thursday morning. No injuries have been reported.

Students and school workers were evacuated twice. The first time was after someone started a fire in a trash can. The second time was after someone set fire to wrestling mats stored in a hallway near one of the gymnasiums.

District operations director Scott Wieskamp says officials hope to let people back into the building later Thursday to collect personal items.

Man Accused in 5-Year-Old Omaha Girl’s Death Takes Plea Deal

Vincent Hicks
Vincent Hicks

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The 21-year-old man accused in the shooting death of a 5-year-old Omaha girl has taken a plea deal.

Vincent Hicks pleaded no contest Thursday to second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony. He had previously been charged with first-degree murder and other weapons counts in connection to the January 2014 killing of Payton Benson.

A sentencing hearing for Hicks has been scheduled for April 3.

2nd Measles Case Confirmed in Eastern Nebraska

measles-virusFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Health officials have confirmed a second case of measles in a child residing in eastern Nebraska.

The Three Rivers Health Department, along with the Douglas County Health Department, issued a news release Thursday announcing the case. The confirmation comes after officials last week announced a woman who spent time in Omaha and Blair had been diagnosed with measles.

Officials say the child visited a childcare center and a restaurant in Blair when he or she could have infected others.

Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that spreads through the air through breathing, coughing or sneezing. Officials say any person exposed to it who has not been vaccinated is likely to contract the disease.

Officials have urged anyone who may have been in the patient’s vicinity to check vaccine records.

Omaha Police Release Names of Officers Who Shot Woman

officer-involved-shootingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha authorities have released the names of two police officers who shot a 39-year-old woman who they say threw a knife and lunged toward one of them.

The officers were identified as 23-year-old Emilio Luna and 40-year-old Matthew Digilio.

Five officers responded late Tuesday afternoon to a report of an assault at a home. Police say the woman had three knives with her when she confronted Luna on her front porch and lunged at him. She’s been identified as Tiffany Terry.

Officers and witnesses say Terry ignored the officers’ shouts to drop the knife, and then Luna and Digilio fired when Terry threw the knife at Luna. She was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with several wounds.

Police: Victim in Omaha Park Shooting Has Died at Hospital

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a 46-year-old man who was shot earlier this week in a park has died at a hospital.

Authorities say no arrests have been made yet in the death of Ray Patterson, who was shot Monday night in Norwick Park.

Patterson’s death is the ninth criminal homicide in Omaha this year. The Omaha World-Herald says that at this time last year, there had been one criminal homicide in the city.

Anyone with information is asked to call authorities. Omaha television station KETV reports a $10,000 reward is being offered if a tip leads to a conviction.

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