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Ex-Omaha youth football coach sentenced for grabbing player

gavel-and-scaleOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The former coach of an Omaha youth football team who angrily grabbed a 10-year-old player from an opposing team has been sentenced to five days in jail.

52-year-old Boyd Waldmann was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct. He had faced up to six months in jail for the misdemeanor charge.

Witnesses told police officers the teams were exchanging high-fives after a lopsided defeat of Waldmann’s team on Sept. 24 when Waldmann grabbed an opposing player by the shirt and lifted him nearly off his feet, yelling at the boy. Waldmann later said he was angry because the boy slapped his hand too hard.

Waldmann has been banned from Omaha Suburban Athletic Association events.

Gage County’s government phone system hacked

youve-been-hackedBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Officials say Gage County’s government phone system has been hacked.

Officials said Wednesday that they’d been notified by Windstream about a surge in calls.

Officials say most the calls were made to overseas numbers, apparently placed by the hacker or hackers.

County building and grounds supervisor Dave Jones says discussions about blocking such calls will be held.

Nebraska facility staffer who bore teen’s child convicted in sex case

Jamie Bishop
Jamie Bishop

YORK, Neb. (AP) — A 38-year-old woman has been convicted of having sex with a teenager at a York facility for troubled children.

Online court records say Jamie Bishop, of Seward, pleaded no contest Tuesday to felony sexual assault of a minor. Her sentencing is set for Jan. 23.

Court documents say Bishop and the 15-year-old had sex several times in his room or on the grounds at Epworth Village from January to July last year. She bore a child last December, and authorities say DNA tests prove the boy’s paternity.

An Epworth Village administrator says Bishop no longer works there.

Woman recaptured after brief escape from jail in Beatrice

jailBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an inmate is facing another charge after a brief escape from the Gage County Detention Center in Beatrice.

The Gage County Sheriff’s Office says 35-year-old Melissa Klassen was being taken to her cell by a jailer a little before 3 p.m. Tuesday when she pushed the jailer and shut a door, trapping the officer. Then Klassen ran out of the building.

The jailer used a radio to report the escape, and deputies caught Klassen in the front yard of the Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say she’ll face an escape charge in addition to the theft and drug charges that already have been filed against her. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Air show at Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha canceled

offutt-air-force-baseBELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Officials with Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha say the base’s popular annual air show and open house set for next summer has been canceled.

The base’s 55th Wing sent a news release Wednesday announcing the cancellation of the 2017 Defenders of Freedom Open House and Air Show, which had been scheduled for July 1-2. The Navy’s Blue Angels precision fighter jet team was to headline the show.

Col. Marty Reynolds, 55th Wing commander, cited increased demands for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the cancellation.

The last time the base canceled the show was in 2015 for runway repairs.

Woman accused of stealing from trust set up for ailing son

handcuffsPAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — An Alabama woman has been accused of stealing from a trust set up for her and her ailing son in Nebraska.

42-year-old Pamela Rawlinson is charged with felony theft by deception. Court records say Rawlinson lives in Wetumpka (weh-TUHMP’-kuh), Alabama.

Investigators say Rawlinson forged signatures on court documents and stole $10,000 from the trust.

Her attorney, Thomas Petersen, said Wednesday the trust was for her and her son, Joshua, as joint beneficiaries. He says the $10,000 was a loan from the trust and that the loan was repaid.

Petersen said Rawlinson is maintaining her innocence.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3 in Sarpy (SAR’-pee) County Court in Papillion (puh-PIHL’-yuhn).

Lincoln’s mayor makes public confession: He was speeding

Mayor Chris Beutler
Mayor Chris Beutler

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s mayor has made a public confession: He was speeding.

Mayor Chris Beutler (BEYTE’-lur) was given a ticket Saturday morning, while on his way to get his car serviced.

Beutler reported the news himself later in the day on his Facebook page, saying he was ticketed for going 12 mph over the limit.

He says in his post: “The Lincoln Police officer was polite, helpful and efficient. I admired his professional conduct even as I winced at the fine.”

Beutler says he’s already paid the penalty of nearly $130, using the county courts online system.

Henderson woman killed in crash on I-80 off-ramp

york_co_SherHENDERSON, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a southeastern Nebraska woman is dead following a crash on an Interstate 80 off-ramp.

The York County Sheriff’s Office said the crash happened Monday evening, killing 70-year-old Sandra Davis, of Henderson.

Investigators say Davis was driving a minivan when she left I-80 at the Henderson interchange and failed to stop at a stop sign there. Officials say the van hit the side of a semitrailer.

Investigators say Davis was not wearing a seat belt.

Appeals court delays collection of Beatrice Six judgment

lawsuit-settlementBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has halted efforts by six people wrongfully convicted of a 1985 Beatrice murder to collect the millions they won in a lawsuit against Gage County.

On Monday the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the county’s request to delay the collection efforts until an appeal filed by the county in October is decided.

In July a jury awarded $28.1 million to the six wrongly convicted of the rape and killing of 68-year-old Helen Wilson. The six spent a combined 75 years in prison until DNA evidence cleared them and instead pointed to a man who died in 1992.

Columbus man gets 2 years for injuring girlfriend’s infant daughter

Francisco Villatoro
Francisco Villatoro

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Columbus man has been given two years behind bars for injuring his girlfriend’s infant daughter.

Court records say 24-year-old Francisco Villatoro was sentenced Friday in Platte County District Court. Villatoro had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of negligent child abuse, false reporting and attempted witness tampering. Prosecutors lowered the abuse charge from a felony in exchange for Villatoro’s pleas.

Authorities say Villatoro called 911 on May 23, 2015, to report that the baby was choking. The infant was taken to Columbus Community Hospital and then transferred to an Omaha hospital. Investigators say the little girl suffered a head injury that doctors say was not consistent with Villatoro’s accounts of what happened.

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