LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Lincoln police are looking for a thief who’s stealing charity donation jars from businesses. Police believe three burglaries early Wednesday are related because the culprit took the jars and not the usual burglar’s fare of the cash register. The businesses – Skorohod Service station, a McDonald’s restaurant and a LensCrafters – were hit within three hours of each other. Police say the thief broke glass doors to get inside. In two of the thefts, only the charity jars were taken. Cigarettes were stolen along with the charity jar from the other business.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha pastor and his wife have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says 50-year-old Gerald Williams was given three years in prison and three years of supervised release. His wife, Judith Williams, was given a year and a day in prison, plus supervised release after she leaves prison. Both had pleaded guilty. They must make restitution of more than $1.3 million for their mortgage fraud scheme. Williams was pastor of Crossroads Christian Center. Prosecutors say the Williamses had fraudulently obtained mortgages during 2005 and 2006 to buy 10 homes in the Deer Creek subdivision of Omaha. The homes eventually went into foreclosure.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – One of the three teenagers who robbed and fatally beat a 49-year-old Lincoln man in a park has been given 20 years in prison. Eighteen-year-old David Centamore originally was charged with murder for the slaying in May. He made a deal with prosecutors and in September pleaded guilty to robbery and manslaughter. Court records say he was sentenced on Monday to 20 years for the robbery and 10 years for manslaughter, to be served at the same time. Centamore’s two accomplices, Johnnie Showalter and Jonathan Gollin, also were prosecuted as adults. Both were given 10-to-20 years in prison. Authorities say all three were 17 at the time of the crime.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A California woman has received a 10-year prison sentence on a federal drug charge after she was stopped in Nebraska. U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Erica Garcia of Visilia, Calif., was sentenced on Tuesday. The 31-year-old must also serve five years of supervised release after her release from prison.  Authorities say Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess methamphetamine, with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more. Officials say she was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for speeding on Interstate 80 near Lincoln. A Nebraska State Patrol trooper searched the vehicle and found nearly 10 kilos of methamphetamine in two hidden compartments. This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Former state Sen. DiAnna Schimek has taken her seat on the Lincoln City Council. Schimek took the oath of office on Monday, the same day a funeral was held for her predecessor.
Schimek is serving the rest of Jayne Snyder’s four-year term. Snyder died of cancer last Wednesday. She had resigned her council seat, citing health reasons. Snyder was elected to the at-large seat in May 2009. Snyder had told several council members that she wanted Schimek to replace her. The 71-year-old Schimek represented Lincoln in the Legislature for 16 years. At Snyder’s funeral, Mayor Chris Beutler said Snyder had boundless enthusiasm, energy and dedication to her work.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has accused of the University of Nebraska at Kearney of violating the Fair Housing Act. HUD claims the university and five employees violated the law by refusing the grant a student permission to have a therapy dog live in her university-owned apartment. The newspaper says the student, who required the dog in order to cope with depression and anxiety, was seeking an exception to the university’s no-pet policy under the Fair Housing Act. The university denied the request, asserting the act didn’t apply to the university-owned apartment complex. The student moved out and dropped out of school. University spokesman Curt Carlson says the university denies the allegation and will pursue the charges in federal court.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A legislative panel is set to examine Nebraska’s drunken driving recidivism rate. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will meet Tuesday in an effort to learn about how Nebraska’s rate compares to other states, the financial impact of recidivism, and other issues. Lawmakers also hope to find the success rates of rehabilitation programs the United States, and narrow the list to the three most successful. The committee also is scheduled to study Nebraska’s sex offender registration law and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) – Kearney voters are deciding whether to levy a 2 percent tax on bar and restaurant sales. The measure being voted on Tuesday says the proceeds would be used for community betterment projects, such as parks. In 2010, Kearney bars and restaurants had more than $71 million in sales. Had the tax been in place, the city would have collected more than $1.4 million. The measure would go into effect Dec. 1. Some restaurant owners say the tax would force them to either raise prices to cover the tax or pay the tax from themselves.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A woman in her 80s who was suspected but never charged in the 1975 killing of a fellow American Indian Movement activist has died at a nursing home in western Nebraska. Michael Selzler of Sioux Funeral Home in Pine Ridge says Theda Clarke died Saturday and arrangements were being made. Clarke, according to court records, had been suffering from the effects of a stroke, dementia, diabetes and other ailments. Her exact age could not be confirmed. In December, she was ruled competent to testify in the murder trial of John Graham but exercised her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. Clarke graduated from St. Francis Indian School and began a nursing career at St. Mary’s School for Nursing in Kansas City, later working on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) – An autopsy has been ordered on the body of a 36-year-old man who was found slain at a Columbus motel. A news release from Columbus police says officers were sent to the Sundown Motel a little after 3:30 a.m. They found the body of Jerry Garcia in the motel parking lot. Garcia had been stabbed several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been reported, but police say the investigation is continuing.