LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Old film of the Nebraska football team found in an abandoned safe-deposit box has been claimed by its owners.

A relative of the owners contacted the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office on Friday after learning that the film reel, thought to be from the 1930s or 1940s, was set to be sold in a government auction next week.

The treasurer’s office said Friday in a news release that Clarence Swanson, the grandfather of one of the owners, played for Nebraska in the 1920s.

The film was among the contents of abandoned safe-deposit boxes that were turned over to the state from 2005 to 2011.

Swanson, who died in 1970, was president of the former Hovland-Swanson department store in Lincoln and served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors say Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing falsified bills of sale to help customers evade taxes on the cars he sold.

53-year-old Stebbing made his first court appearance Friday to face five felony charges.

In one case, state investigators say, a buyer gave Stebbing $1,800 and a handgun in exchange for a pickup, but Stebbing signed a bill of sale listing the purchase price at $300. He allegedly told the buyer the false bill of sale was “so they don’t hose you when you plate it.”

Stebbing, a Republican and former sheriff’s deputy, has served as county treasurer since 2011. He declined to comment Friday on the case, but said he will not resign and plans to seek re-election next year.

His next court date is Oct. 30. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A 30-year-old Grand Island man has been sentenced to prison for first-degree sexual assault.

Cesar Rafael was sentenced Thursday to 18 months to six years in prison for having sex with a woman in April 2016 while the woman was too intoxicated to consent.

Rafael had maintained the sex was consensual, but a judge said Thursday that the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was passed out or intoxicated to a point “where a reasonable person would find her to be obviously incapable of rational conversation.”

Rafael had been found guilty of the crime in June.

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — The driver in a crash that killed a 15-year-old Nebraska girl is set to be sentenced Nov. 8 after pleading no contest to manslaughter.

23-year-old Angel Lopez entered his plea Wednesday in Colfax County District Court as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Other charges were dropped.

Authorities say Lopez was driving a 2005 Honda Accord that slammed into a tree around 11 p.m. on June 15, 2016. A passenger, Isabella Brandt, was killed in the crash. A 15-year-old boy in the car was injured.

Authorities say the car crashed while fleeing from a Schuyler police officer. Lopez allegedly told an emergency room nurse he had consumed roughly 10 beers that night, and an officer found a half-empty tequila bottle in the vehicle.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha bank manager has been ticketed after police say he lied about his bank being robbed.

Police say the manager of the Bank of the West branch at 85th and Dodge streets called police around 10:15 a.m. Sept. 12 and reported that a man with a gun had handed a note to a clerk demanding money.

The manager said that after getting the money, the man ran away.

Officials say the FBI Greater Omaha Bank Robbery Task Force investigated the incident and discovered that the bank had not been robbed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln officials are planning to exempt Uber and Lyft drivers from local taxi rules to resolve any questions over the legality of ride-hailing services in the city.

Mayor Chris Beutler announced the proposal Thursday to exempt ride-hailing companies from the city’s taxi ordinance.

The city attorney’s office determined ride-hailing drivers are considered taxi drivers under city code. This makes them subject to regulatory requirements that include a written exam and a periodic medical exam.

Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird says Uber and Lyft provide flexible job opportunities, help reduce traffic congestion and free up parking spaces downtown. She says they also enhance safety by serving as designated drivers for people drinking.

City Council is expected to have a public hearing on the proposal Oct. 2.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison system officials say a kitchen worker at the state prison in Omaha has been arrested, accused of bringing contraband into the prison.

A news release from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services says 23-year-old Tre King was arrested Friday on suspicion of obstructing governmental operations, unauthorized communications and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Officials say King was found with a cellphone in his possession inside the Omaha Correctional Center on Friday. Cellphones aren’t allowed inside the prison. Officials say prison staff had information suggesting King was involved in bringing contraband into the prison, and he was arrested after being interviewed.

The release says King was hired in June.

King remained jailed Friday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered a special prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury in the case of Omaha police officers’ actions in the stun gun-related death of a mentally ill man.

The judge issued the ruling Tuesday, citing the county prosecutor’s announcement in July of charges against former officers Scotty Payne and Ryan McClarty — separate from the grand jury process — in the June 5 death of 29-year-old Zachary Bearheels. The judge also noted prosecutors showed at a news conference portions of police cruiser video of Bearheels’ arrest and death.

The video shows Payne using a stun gun repeatedly on Bearheels, and McClarty is seen punching Bearheels. Some of the blows came after Bearheels was on the ground and not resisting.

Payne has been charged with felony assault. McClarty is charged with misdemeanor assault.

Nebraska law requires a grand jury probe when someone dies in police custody.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County’s top prosecutor says the shooting death earlier this week of a store robbery suspect was justified and no charges are expected against the store owner who fired the gun.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says a preliminary investigation appears to show that the Bizarre Tobacco and Accessories owner shot at two people trying to rob the store Monday night. One of them, 18-year-old Jose Mario Valezquez, was killed.

Officials say the investigation into the robbery and shooting continues.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 (LINCOLN, NEB.)  — Authorities with the Nebraska State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies are urging the public to be on the lookout for an inmate who escaped from a prisoner transport earlier today in Saunders County.

The inmate is:                                             Eric G. Scott

                   

  Height: 5’10’’                       Weight: 190 pounds               Age: 37

Eric G. Scott, 37, escaped on Highway 77, near Ithaca, at approximately 2:30 p.m. while being transferred by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office from the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln to Dodge County Jail. The transfer was in preparation for a court appearance Thursday. He was last seen wearing a white t-
shirt and khaki prison pants. During the escape, Scott stole the deputy’s car. He later left that vehicle at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha.

Scott is considered to be armed and dangerous. If you see him, call 911 immediately. Do not approach him yourself. If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Eric Scott, please call 911.

NSP has utilized the Aviation Support Division and Troopers on the ground in cooperation with the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies.