A traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Giltner in Hamilton County led to the seizure of 100 pounds of marijuana.

Just before 3:30 p.m., Monday, February 10, a trooper stopped an eastbound Chevy Suburban on I-80 near Giltner for failure to signal. The trooper was given consent to search the vehicle. The search led to the seizure of 100 lbs. of marijuana. The marijuana was concealed in seven duffel bags in the cargo area of the SUV.

The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, Jean-Patrick Ounanian, 29, of St. Louis, MO., was lodged in the Hamilton County Jail on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.

(AP) — Relatives of an Omaha man charged with four killings have entered not guilty pleas to charges related to an alleged 10-day

crime spree.

Those who appeared in court Monday included Erica Jenkins. She pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder, two counts of criminal conspiracy and use of a weapon.

Jenkins is the sister of 27-year-old Nikko Jenkins, who is charged with killing Curtis Bradford, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Juan Uribe-Pena and Andrea Kruger over 10 days last August.

Two other relatives and another person also pleaded not guilty to related charges.

Nikko Jenkins’ mother, Lori Jenkins, will appear in court Feb. 21 on charges she bought ammunition for her son and was an accessory in three killings.

Nikko Jenkins will appear for a competency hearing Wednesday.

(AP) — A proposal that give voters another chance to legalize casino gambling in Nebraska was opposed at a hearing before a legislative committee.

The General Affairs Committee heard testimony Monday on the proposed constitutional amendment by Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber.

Karpisek says the tax revenues could help with issues such as property tax relief and education.

Pat Loontjer of Gambling with the Good Life says the social costs of expanding gambling outweigh the benefits.

The amendment would appear on the general election ballot this November if approved. The amendment would require local voter approval before any city or county could allow casino gambling.

Lawmakers have rejected similar measures in recent years. The committee took no immediate action on the bill.

(AP) — A series of meetings throughout Nebraska will give farmers and ranchers an outlook on the state’s agricultural economy.

The Cornhusker Economics Outlook meetings will take place in nine locations. The meetings will include presentations by University of Nebraska-Lincoln economists and policy specialists. They’re scheduled to last 2 ½ hours each at various locations throughout the state from March 3-7.

The meetings will take place in Hastings, Gothenburg, Sidney, Chadron, Valentine, O’Neill, West Point, Lincoln and Nebraska City.

The series of offered by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, the Department of Agricultural Economics, the Nebraska Corn Board and Great Western Bank.

(AP) — Residents have fled from a fire in a Lincoln house that had been checked earlier in the day for smoke.

The fire was reported a little before 9 p.m. Sunday. The fire started in a back room of the house and spread into the attic.

Officials say firefighters had been sent to the home earlier Sunday to check on a smoky smell, but neither smoke nor its source was found.

The fire cause is being investigated.

(AP) — Almost four years after a small Nebraska city tried to crack down on illegal immigration, the town is having second thoughts about requiring all renters to swear that they have legal permission to be in the United States.

Voters in Fremont northwest of Omaha will have a chance Tuesday to repeal the housing restrictions, which critics say are less effective and more costly than anyone expected and damaging to the city’s image.

The conservative agricultural community of about 26,000 people was one of a handful of U.S. cities that acted alone to curb illegal immigration. Most of those efforts have become mired in court battles.

The key to Tuesday’s outcome will be turnout and how many people have changed their minds since 2010.

Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), in conjunction with the Kearney Police Department and the Buffalo County Attorney, arrested a 52-year old Lincoln man on a charge of Attempted Sexual Assault of a Child.

On Saturday, February 8, Glen Ogden, 52, was taken into custody in Kearney. Ogden’s arrest follows a two-week long investigation in which he shared child pornography with an NSP investigator posing as an adult female. During the two-week period, Ogden also arranged a meeting for the purpose of having sex with the female’s minor child.

Ogden was taken into custody in the parking lot of a Kearney fast food restaurant on Saturday, February 8, after meeting with an undercover investigator who he believed to be the female he had been corresponding with online.

As a part of the investigation, a search warrant was served on Saturday, February 8, at Ogden’s residence at 2288 Dudley Street in Lincoln where investigators seized computers and other electronic devices.

The investigation continues.  Ogden could face additional charges.

(AP) — Police say the 16-year-old student who set himself on fire at a suburban Denver high school nearly two weeks ago has died.

Westminster Police Department police investigator Cheri Spottke says that Vincent Nett succumbed to his injuries around 5 p.m. Sunday. The boy was burned over 80 percent of his body and had been in critical condition at a local hospital.

According to police and fire reports, the boy doused himself with an accelerant before lighting himself on fire in an apparent suicide attempt in Standley Lake High School’s cafeteria on Jan. 27.

Spottke says the official cause of death will come from the coroner’s office.

She says counselors will be available Monday at the Westminster school.

(AP) — A northeast Nebraska man has admitted kidnapping his ex-wife as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid a possible life sentence.

Kevin Heldt could face up to 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced on April 21.

The 50-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to attempted kidnapping in exchange for prosecutors dropping several other charges.

Madison County Attorney Joe Smith says Heldt took his ex-wife from her home in May 2013 and took her to an abandoned farm.

During the incident, Smith says Heldt hit his ex-wife and terrorized her while demanding money. The woman later escaped when Heldt was distracted.