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Oklahoma Man Dies of Heart Attack After Botched Execution

Clayton Lockett
Clayton Lockett

(AP) — Oklahoma prison officials halted an inmate’s execution after a new drug combination left him writhing and clenching his teeth on the gurney. He later died of a heart attack.

Thirty-eight-year-old Clayton Lockett was declared unconscious 10 minutes after the first of the three-drug combination was administered Tuesday. Three minutes later he began breathing heavily, writhing, clenching his teeth and straining to lift his head off the pillow.

The blinds were lowered to prevent those in the viewing gallery from watching. The state’s top prison official eventually halted the proceedings.

Lockett died of a heart attack a short time later.

Gov. Mary Fallin ordered a 14-day stay of execution for death row inmate Charles Warner, who was scheduled to die two hours after Lockett.

War Veteran Hopes to Avoid Prison on 90th Birthday

odd-news(AP) — An 89-year-old Indiana man who transported more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine across the country says he has dementia and should be kept out of prison.

Leo Sharp is returning to Detroit federal court on May 7 for his sentence — his 90th birthday.

Sharp pleaded guilty last fall. The Michigan State Police caught him in 2011 with more than 200 pounds of cocaine on Interstate 94, although it wasn’t the first haul for the Michigan City, Ind., man.

Secretly recorded conversations show drug dealers liked to call him the “old man.”

In a court filing Tuesday, Sharp’s attorney says putting him in prison would be an expensive burden for the government.

Darryl Goldberg says Sharp was a World War II hero who was awarded the Bronze Star.

Woman in Colorado Jail After Demanding Arrest

jail(AP) — A woman who tried to break into a Colorado jail after demanding that she be arrested instead of her brother got her wish.

Twenty-year-old Monique Deshawn Armstrong was being held at the Mesa County jail Tuesday, a day after authorities say she called 911 to demand she be booked and her brother released. Her brother was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Sheriff’s officials say that soon after the call, Armstrong got past the chain-link and razor wire fence that surrounds the jail yard. They say she was found there throwing landscaping rocks at a jail window

Armstrong asked to be arrested, and the deputies obliged.

A few hours later, her brother posted bond and was released.

Omaha Woman Gets Jail Time in Child’s Death

Elizabeth Harding
Elizabeth Harding

(AP) — A former Omaha child care provider has been given jail time in connection with the death of a 1-year-old boy under her care.

Elizabeth Harding was sentenced Tuesday to 120 days in jail and five years of probation.

A Douglas County District judge found Harding guilty of child neglect resulting in death.

Investigators say Harding was watching Chase Hunter in February 2013 when she put the child to sleep in an unbuckled car seat. Investigators say the seat belt harness wrapped around the boy’s neck. He died later at a hospital.

Nebraska Same-Sex Couples Win Round in Lawsuit

gay-rights(AP) — A Lancaster County judge won’t block a lawsuit filed for three same-sex couples challenging a Nebraska policy that bars them and all unmarried couples from serving as foster parents.

The state had sought dismissal of the case, saying the plaintiffs had no standing and had failed to state a claim.

But Judge John Colborn said in a ruling issued last week that there was no evidence presented as to whether the policy could survive judicial scrutiny, so he allowed the case to go forward.

The lawsuit filed for the couples last August by the Nebraska and national American Civil Liberties Union argues that the policy discriminates against would-be foster parents based on their sexual orientation.

Suspect in Omaha Rapes Makes Last-Minute Plea Deal

anthony vaughn
Anthony Vaughn

(AP) — A 42-year-old Omaha man has made a last-minute deal with prosecutors and been convicted of two rapes and other crimes.

Jury selection was to begin Monday for the trial of Anthony Vaughn, who originally was charged with seven counts of forcible sexual assault that occurred from 1999 through 2009. Instead he pleaded no contest and was convicted of two rapes, one attempted sexual assault and one weapons charge. Prosecutors dropped the other charges in exchange for his pleas.

Five women were prepared to testify against Vaughn.

He’ll face up to 140 years in prison when he’s sentenced in July. A DNA sample taken in 2011 after a burglary conviction linked Vaughn to the assaults.

Deputy Confirms Mountain Lion Sighting Near Wahoo

Mountain-Lion(AP) — A Saunders County sheriff’s deputy has confirmed a motorist’s sighting of a mountain lion near Wahoo.

Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz says the motorist saw the mountain lion about 4:25 a.m. Monday as it fed on a deer carcass on U.S. Highway 77 about a mile and a half south of Wahoo. The deputy sent to check the report shined his spotlight in some nearby trees and saw the mountain lion jump down from one and run off.

The sighting occurred about a half mile from Saunders Medical Center. Stukenholtz says the hospital was notified.

Mountain lions, which also are called cougars or pumas, have turned up as far east in Nebraska as Omaha.

Adult Siblings in Lincoln Accused of Attacking Man

(AP) — Adult siblings in Lincoln have been accused of brutally attacking a relative.

Lincoln police say 18-year-old Henrionce Cope and 20-year-old Sade Cope attacked 50-year-old Charles Riley Jr. on Sunday.

Officer Katie Flood said the siblings stabbed Riley 13 times in his head, arms and legs. They’re also accused of using a broken bottle and an iron in the attack.

Authorities say Riley is Henrionce Cope’s stepfather. It’s unclear what his relationship is to Sade Cope.

Riley was treated at a hospital. The siblings were arrested Monday without incident on suspicion of second-degree assault and using a weapon to commit a felony. Court records do not list attorneys.

Name of Eastern Nebraska Crash Victim Released

dodge-county-sheriff(AP) — Authorities have released the name of a car driver killed in a collision with a truck in eastern Nebraska.

The driver was identified as 51-year-old Kevin Janning, of Bellevue.

The accident occurred a little before 6:10 a.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 275 about a half mile east of Scribner.

Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen says the westbound car crossed the center line and rammed the oncoming truck.

Janning was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver wasn’t injured. He’s been identified as 72-year-old Ronnie Billheimer, of Randolph.

Sheriff: Abducted California Girl Appears Unharmed

fresno-county-california-sh(AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a 3-year-old Central California girl who was abducted from a car outside her home and found in a field about 12 hours later does not appear to have been harmed.

The girl was medically evaluated Monday after a detective spotted her running through a field less than a half-mile from her home in Huron.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Lt. Rick Ko says the girl appears to have been taken by a stranger, but there is no indication she was hurt.

The girl’s mother told police she left her daughter inside her car as she went into her home to get her wallet around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. When she returned a few minutes later, her daughter was gone.

Witnesses say they saw a male suspect leave the area on a bicycle with the child.

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