PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — A grand jury has cleared a Cass County deputy sheriff in the shooting death last year of an unarmed motorist in eastern Nebraska.

The grand jury on Thursday found that Deputy Tyler Reiff had reason to believe his live was in danger when he shot 23-year-old Austin Baier five times on Sept. 21. Reiff says he fired after Baier ignored his commands to stop.

The deputy had stopped Baier’s vehicle in Louisville shortly after 7 p.m., because it matched the description of a vehicle being driven recklessly. A Nebraska State Patrol investigation says Baier got out of his car and ran at Reiff.

Cox says Baier wasn’t holding a weapon, but that a hunting knife was found on the dashboard of his car.

BENNINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A school bus driver and a student walked away from a crash that saw the bus turn over onto its side.

Officials say the crash happened around 3 p.m. Thursday near Highway 36 and 156th Street in Bennington, just northwest of Omaha.

Officials say the bus overturned after colliding with a pickup truck. The bus driver and a student on the bus suffered only minor injuries in the crash. No one else was on the bus.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln authorities say a 21-year-old man who was found unresponsive in a hot tub has died.

Police say Samson Goitom died at a hospital around 6 p.m. Wednesday after his family decided to discontinue life support. He was found around 6:45 p.m. Monday in the hot tub at the Fallbrook YMCA on north side of the capital city.

It’s unclear how long Goitom was under the water. An autopsy has been ordered.

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been injured in an accident on a Stanton County farm.

Medics and deputies were sent just after noon Wednesday to the farm about 10 miles southeast of Stanton. The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office says 60-year-old Richard Prokopec was working alone in a trailer when he became pinned under heavy metal farm gates. He used his cellphone to call for help.

The Sheriff’s Office says Prokopec was flown to an Omaha hospital for treatment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Four people who used credit and debit card data stolen from some Lancaster County gas pumps have been sentenced in Lincoln.

The four were accused of making dozens of purchases, using the information obtained from the skimmer devices placed on the pumps.

Court records say 30-year-old Carlos Alvarez, of Miami, pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this month to six years in prison. Thirty-seven-year-old Elvis Tavieso, of Hialeah, Florida, pleaded no contest and was given two years in prison.

The records also say 34-year-old Lisandro Almaguer, who lives in DeWitt in southeast Nebraska, was given 18 months in prison after pleading no contest and that 25-year-old Yunior Roldan, a transient, was sentenced to 500 days after pleading no contest.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha elementary teacher has been arrested on suspicion of selling methamphetamine.

37-year-old Jesse Stull was arrested Friday on suspicion of delivery of a controlled substance. Stull was the focus of a meth trafficking investigation that began in January.

Sarpy County investigators arrested Stull at his home and say a couple of grams of meth was in the front seat of his vehicle.

Stull is a physical education teacher and boys’ basketball coach at Highland Elementary.

Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Farmer says Stull has been placed on administrative leave.

Stull is currently being held in Cass County Jail on a $100,000 bond. An after-hours call Wednesday to the Sarpy County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing him, was not immediately returned.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man shot outside an Omaha convenience store has died.

The Omaha Police Department said in a news release Wednesday that 25-year-old Laron Rogers died of injuries suffered March 6 and that the case is being investigated as a homicide. No arrests have been reported.

The shooting occurred in the parking of Ames Avenue Convenience Store.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A volunteer program is providing free eye examinations and glasses to students at eight Omaha Public Schools.

The operation by Child Vision Collaborative is expected to serve about 650 students from the schools this week. The collaborative, led by Building Healthy Futures, is made up of 18 local community organizations, nonprofits and others.

Building Healthy Futures is an independent nonprofit that aims to improve the health of underserved children in the community. It already oversees eight schools’ health centers and facilitates oral health services in 32 schools.

Volunteers in the program conduct initial screenings at the schools, and students who are identified as having vision difficulties are referred for exams.

Central Park Elementary Principal Scott Sturgeon says vision problems are more difficult to spot than academic and social needs for students.