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Omaha police plant to use UNMC for crime lab testing

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Police Department says it will have a new partner in fighting crime: the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Omaha officials announced Thursday an agreement that will see the police department break from Douglas County for forensic crime lab services and instead rely on UNMC for crime lab needs.

Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Mayor Jean Stothert have long advocated for independent crime labs. UNMC will provide drug testing and DNA testing.

The agreement will take effect Oct. 1 if approved by the Omaha City Council. That vote is expected on Sept. 26.

Schmaderer says the new system will allow for faster crime test results. He says his department will still sometimes use the Nebraska State Patrol lab, but most of its work will move to UNMC.

Woman shot in Nebraska police department parking lot

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SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman died after being shot in a police station parking lot in northeast Nebraska.

The shooting occurred around 8:10 a.m. Wednesday in the east lot at the Law Enforcement Center in South Sioux City. Police Chief Ed Mahon (MAYE’-hahn) says the woman died at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital after 11.

A man found in the area was taken into custody and is being questioned.

Police say no officers have been injured and say the shooting may have stemmed from a domestic situation. The two arrived in separate vehicles.

Police did not immediately release the names of the man and woman.

Dispatchers and some Nebraska State Patrol employees work in the police department’s building.

Sleepy Omaha student awakens at bus contractor’s yard

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 7-year-old Omaha student says he fell asleep before his bus arrived at school and awoke later — and alone — at the bus contractor’s depot.

Tamara Bailey said her grandson Quintan Wells-Harris boarded the bus around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday but didn’t get off at Standing Bear Elementary, ending up at the depot. He says “it was scary, because no one was in the bus.”

The district had the contractor check its yard after learning the second-grader wasn’t at school. Quintan was found unharmed around 10:30 a.m.

District spokeswoman Monique Farmer says drivers are supposed to check their buses at least twice, including upon returning to the depot. She says the driver of Quintan’s bus won’t be permitted to drive for the district any longer.

Omaha man accused of running cockfighting operation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been accused of running a cockfighting operation.

Police and the Nebraska Humane Society confiscated 20 roosters from the man’s home Sunday afternoon and arrested him. Online court records don’t yet show that he’s been formally charged.

Mark Langan with the Humane Society says the birds had injuries consistent with cockfighting.

1 person hospitalized after Bellevue apartment fire

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — At least one person has been hospitalized after a fire at a Bellevue apartment complex.

Authorities say the fire was reported around 4 a.m. Tuesday at the Brent Village Apartments. The blaze forced around two dozen residents to flee to safety.

Authorities say one person was taken to Nebraska Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation. Another person was treated at the complex.

The fire cause is being investigated.

Nebraska man accused of helping suspect flee to Kansas

FALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) — A 33-year-old Falls City resident has been accused of helping a friend flee to Kansas after the friend killed another man more than two years ago.

Michael Seager is charged with being an accessory to a felony. Court records say Seager drove Desiderio Hernandez to Horton, Kansas, after Hernandez fatally shot Joseph Debella Jr. on Aug. 5, 2015. Hernandez has since been sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.

Richardson County records say Seager remained in custody Monday. Court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for Seager.

The records say Hernandez went to Seager’s home after the shooting and told Seager that some “bad stuff happened” and that he needed to leave town. Seager later drove Hernandez to a relative’s home in Horton.

Authorities investigate death of man at Burning Man festival

Authorities are investigating the death of a man who died of his injuries a few hours after he rushed past layers of security officers into a massive fire at the Burning Man festival’s signature ceremony.

Late Saturday night, Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, broke through a two-layer security perimeter during the Man Burn event in which a giant, wooden effigy is set ablaze.

Nevada’s Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen estimated that there was a crowd of about 50,000 people who were present when the festival’s crew of firefighters pulled Mitchell out of the blaze.

He was airlifted to the UC Davis hospital burn center in California, where he died Sunday morning. The sheriff said doctors confirmed Mitchell wasn’t under the influence of alcohol, but a toxicology report is pending.

New recall effort against Bellevue city councilman OK’d

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A recall effort against a Bellevue city councilman will proceed after a judge found language in a refiled recall affidavit acceptable.

A new order from a Sarpy County District Court judge gives Councilman Pat Shannon 20 days from Aug. 28 to submit a defense statement to be included on recall petitions or appeal the judge’s decision to a higher court.

Last month, the judge halted the first recall effort because the affidavit was handwritten, not typed as required by state law.

The recall effort comes after Shannon was found not guilty of violating electrical license requirements for a building he owns. Also this summer, the City Council voted to condemn and tear down an eyesore carwash owned by Shannon.

Sheriff’s deputies shoot 1 person to end Omaha confrontation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies shot and wounded one person after the suspect fired at them.

The deputies were responding to a possible hostage situation on the southwest edge of Omaha before 5 a.m. Sunday when the shooting happened.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Glandt says when deputies arrived, the suspect was outside a home with a shotgun.

Glandt says the suspect fired at deputies. One of their vehicles and a sheriff’s deputy were struck by shotgun pellets.

The deputies returned fire and wounded the suspect, who is in stable condition at an Omaha hospital. The injured sheriff’s deputy received only minor injuries.

The suspect wasn’t immediately identified Sunday.

Officials identify man killed in Nebraska farm accident

HOWELLS, Neb. (AP) — Officials in northeastern Nebraska have released the name of a 76-year-old Stanton County man killed in a farm accident.

The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office tells the Norfolk Daily News that John “Henry” Balzer, of rural Howells, died Thursday. Officials say Howells was working with a tractor and a piece of farm machinery when the machinery collapsed on him, causing fatal injuries.

The accident occurred in a farm field about six miles southeast of Pilger. Pilger Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.

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