(AP) — An Omaha woman has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for taking money from her employer.

U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg announced Tuesday that 54-year-old Toni Walker was sentenced her conviction for bank fraud and was also ordered to pay more than $765,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say Walker was the business manager for Royal Forwarding Inc. when she forged and deposited into her own bank account a total of 169 company checks from 2005 to 2012. Prosecutors say the checks ranged in amounts from about $2,000 to about $9,000.

The Nebraska State Patrol, with the assistance from the Grand Island Police Department, conducted surprise commercial vehicle inspections today in Grand Island.  The surprise inspections target commercial vehicles that might not travel outside the city or pass through weigh stations as part of their regular routes.

During the special enforcement effort, the Metropolitan Aggressive and Prevention Selective (MAPS) Teams conducted 91 inspections, discovered 326 violations, and took 36 vehicles out of service (not allowed to continue on the road).  Vehicles are placed out of service for a variety of reasons relating to bad brakes or tires, or other problems that pose immediate safety risks. In addition, three drivers were taken out of service (not allowed to continue driving) for No Logbook (1), No Commercial Driver’s License (1), and Unable to Communicate in English (1). Officers issued a total of $4,275 in fines.

“The MAPS Team ensures truck operators who rarely leave the city limits are maintaining their vehicles and abiding by safety regulations,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “While most truck owners and operators share our concern for safety, we know some think they can ignore safety standards as long as they avoid the weigh stations. The MAPS Team extends our reach into cities and towns across the state.”

This was the 2^nd MAPS Team event of 2013. Inspections have also been conducted in Sarpy County, this year.  More surprise inspections are planned throughout the spring and summer in cities and towns across Nebraska.

The MAPS Team is funded largely by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Troopers check for compliance with federal safety regulations and enforce laws pertaining to weight, size, registration, dyed fuels, and permits associated with commercial vehicles. The MAPS Team was implemented in 1998 and consists of 36 troopers from the Nebraska State Patrol Carrier Enforcement Division. On average, 20-24 troopers work each MAPS event.

(AP) — Authorities have determined an improperly discarded cigarette caused an extensive apartment fire last week in southwest Omaha.

Assistant Fire Chief Dan Stolinski says a cigarette stubbed out in potting soil on a second-floor balcony deck reignited Friday at the Applewood Point apartment complex. The fire forced about 80 people to evacuate and took more than three hours to be extinguished.

The blaze caused the roof and portions of third- and second-floor ceilings to cave in. Batallion Chief Robb Gottsch says he doubts the structure can be saved.

(AP) — Omaha police have identified the woman whose gun discharged inside an ambulance on Monday.

Police said Tuesday that 24-year-old Justine Dubois was the patient when she apparently pulled a handgun and fired it.

Both Dubois and a paramedic were injured when the gun went off Monday afternoon. The paramedic was treated and released.

Dubois was being treated for a seizure before the shooting, but police said her injuries were not considered life threatening and they believe she may have been faking the seizure.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the shooting, and the paramedic’s name has not been released.

(AP) — Groups that represent retirees and union workers are planning to encircle the Federal Building in Lincoln to protest possible Social Security benefit cuts.

Group members will form a “human chain” around the Robert Denney Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The gathering is organized by the Nebraska Alliance for Retired Americans and the Nebraska State AFL-CIO.

The coalition is protesting a change that would result in smaller annual increases for Social Security recipients. The increases are designed to protect against inflation.

Supporters say the current formula is outdated and doesn’t reflect actual cost-of-living increases. Group members argue that a new proposed measure, the chained Consumer Price Index, fails to account for large health care costs for seniors and people with disabilities.

 

(AP) — Nebraska’s largest school district now officially has a new leader.

Mark Evans became superintendent of the Omaha school district on Monday.

Evans was picked last year after a nationwide search to replace former Des Moines Superintendent Nancy Sebring, who resigned before her start date following an email scandal. John Mackiel held the post for 15 years before retiring last August.

Evans had been superintendent of Andover Public Schools in Kansas, but he also worked as an administrator in the Wichita school district.

Since Evans was hired, the size of the Omaha school board has been reduced from 12 members to nine, and several new board members have been elected.

Evans plans to meet with administration, community and employee groups over the next few weeks.

(AP) — The doctor of a 14-year-old Ohio girl who had cerebral palsy and weighed just 28 pounds when she died has agreed to plead no contest and give up her medical license.

Fifty-one-year-old Margaret Edwards of Trotwood originally pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect of a functionally impaired person. But in May, she decided to withdraw her plea and got a new attorney.

Edwards on Monday changed her mind again and decided to re-enter the plea. She faces up to 18 months in prison at sentencing scheduled for Aug. 6.

Edwards was Makayla Norman’s doctor from July 2010 until the girl’s March 2011 death from nutritional and medical neglect complicated by her chronic condition.

(AP) — A storm that caused flash flooding in the area burned by Colorado’s Waldo Canyon Fire last year damaged about 20 homes, roughly a half dozen of them significantly.

More than a half inch of rain fell in less than 20 minutes Monday, causing mud to flow into the houses in Manitou Springs and western Colorado Springs.

A witness said the slide pushed her car about five feet and left the engine compartment filled with sticks, twigs and mud.

While the rainfall was intense, the storm moved quickly through the area. A meteorologist says the damage would have been much worse if the storm had settled over the area.

Colorado Springs officials say more than 160 people were relocated from a low-lying trailer park as a precaution.

(AP) — Omaha police say a paramedic and a patient have been injured after a gun discharged inside an ambulance.

Lt. Darci Tierney says the shooting happened Monday afternoon as a female patient was transported to a hospital.

Tierney says a gun discharged inside the ambulance at some point during the ride. The paramedic and the patient, who was being treated for a seizure, were injured. Tierney says additional information about the circumstances of the shooting is unclear.

The paramedic was taken to Nebraska Medical Center in serious condition. The patient was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in critical condition. Tierney says both have non-life-threatening injuries.

The names of the paramedic and the woman have not been released.

(AP) — A Nebraska woman accused of stealing more than $150,000 from an elderly Iowa woman has reached a plea deal.

Terry Lockie pleaded guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of dependent adult abuse. A first-degree theft charge has been dismissed.

The plea agreement means a five-year prison sentence has been suspended and the 65-year-old Lockie will be on probation for two years. Her attorney says Lockie may also lose her certified public accountant license.

Lockie, of Homer, Neb., owns an accounting firm in nearby Sioux City. Court records say Lockie had power of attorney for an elderly woman who was suffering from dementia. The records say that between 2008 and 2010, Lockie took money from the woman’s accounts and put it in her own account.