DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a marijuana-related firing case that could have big implications for the state’s pot smokers.

The case involves 35-year-old Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who was fired from his job at the Dish Network after failing a drug test in 2010. Coats says he needs the drug to help with violent spasms he has suffered since he was paralyzed in a car accident.

Dish says that because pot is still illegal federally, medical marijuana is not a lawful activity covered by a state law intended to protect cigarette smokers from being fired for legal behavior off the clock.

The case is being watched closely around the country. Twenty-three states allow medical marijuana, but courts have ruled against patients who have been fired for using it.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say no one was injured when a privately-owned parking garage in midtown Omaha collapsed overnight.

Omaha news outlets say the garage had been declared unsafe and condemned only hours before it collapsed around 3 a.m. Tuesday.

While no one was injured, some vehicles near the collapse, a boat and items stored in the garage were damaged.

Some people in the area also reported losing power after the collapse. Investigators say part of a garage wall fell on nearby power lines.

Police say a city inspector will inspect the site Tuesday to evaluate the damage.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The sister of a man convicted of killing four Omaha residents in August 2013 has been found guilty of helping rob two of the men.

A jury convicted 24-year-old Erica Jenkins of two counts of robbery Monday but failed to agree whether she was guilty of conspiring to commit the robberies.

The charges are connected to the Aug. 11, 2013, killings of Juan Uribe-Pena and Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz in a south Omaha park.

Prosecutors say Erica Jenkins and her cousin lured the men to the park with a promise of sex, but Nikko Jenkins met them in the part and robbed and killed both men.

Nikko Jenkins has also been convicted of killing Curtis Bradford and Andrea Kruger during a 10-day period last year shortly after he was released from prison.

 

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Three Nebraska school districts will receive federal grants worth more than $1.3 million to help promote safety.

The federal Department of Education said the Fremont, Lincoln and Papillion-La Vista school districts will all receive grants.

The money is supposed to be used to help schools districts make their schools safer and reduce gun violence.

Fremont will receive $750,000. Papillion-La Vista will receive $325,411, and Lincoln will get $260,117.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police say the number of homeless people and panhandlers has increased in downtown Lincoln.

Police issued 547 citations from January through the end of August for crimes related to panhandling. One man has been cited 62 times this year, with tickets for trespassing, consuming alcohol in public and urinating in public.

Some downtown residents complain that the panhandlers have become more aggressive.

Terry Uland, president of the Downtown Lincoln Association, says people are panhandling in the area because passers-by are giving them money.

Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong says people who want to help the homeless should donate instead to charities and service providers that help them.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a teenager has been critically injured in a shooting.

Seventeen-year-old Shawn Johnson was shot Sunday in northern Omaha. He was transported to the CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center. Police say they believe the injuries aren’t life-threatening.

It’s unclear what caused the shooting and police haven’t released information about a suspect. No arrests have been reported.

Police are investigating.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (AP) — In a recent Ohio case and others, cameras meant to catch bad guys are capturing attention for footage of police using force. Those images might increase transparency, but they come with a risk that viewers might rush to judgment.

Ohio State University criminal law professor Ric Simmons says viewers may think they know what happened once they see actual footage, but video often doesn’t tell the whole story.

The family of a man fatally shot by police in an Ohio Wal-Mart says soundless surveillance video shows officers’ actions were unreasonable. But a prosecutor cited the same video to explain the shooting was justified.

In South Carolina, a trooper’s dashboard video, with audio, showed an unarmed driver being shot. The trooper has been fired and charged with assault.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Council Bluffs community has come together to remember a western Iowa 17-year-old who died from a head injury suffered during a fight at school.

Friends of Dakota Escritt released balloons at a memorial Sunday night. He died Saturday at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, two days after he hit his head on the tile floor at Abraham Lincoln High School.

Authorities have filed an assault charge against a 16-year-old boy, who was suspended from school. The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles accused of crimes.

Superintendent Martha Bruckner tells KETV-TV the fight appeared to be a random, isolated incident that no policy could have prevented.