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Californian gets 2 years for pot possession in Nebraska

marijuana-jailLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man who had 135 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle he was driving has been given two years in a Nebraska prison.

Online court records say 44-year-old Yakuba Brown, of Moreno Valley, California, pleaded guilty to possessing more than a pound of marijuana after prosecutors lowered the charge from possession for sale. He was sentenced Tuesday in Lancaster County Court in Lincoln.

Nebraska state troopers say they found the pot during a search of the SUV on Feb. 26 at a gas station in north Lincoln.

Jury convicts man of killing 4 tied to Omaha medical school

Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former doctor has been found guilty of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school, including the 11-year-old son of a faculty member there.

A Douglas County jury convicted 42-year-old Anthony Garcia Wednesday of four counts of first-degree murder. He faces either life in prison or the death penalty.

Garcia, of Terre Haute, Indiana, was found guilty of fatally stabbing 11-year-old Thomas Hunter, son of Creighton University School of Medicine faculty member Dr. William Hunter; and the family’s housekeeper, 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman, in 2008.

He was also found guilty of the 2013 Mother’s Day deaths of another Creighton pathology doctor, Roger Brumback, and his wife, Mary.

Prosecutors say Garcia’s long-simmering rage over being fired from the medical school’s residency program in 2001 led him to seek revenge.

2 soldiers being held in disappearance of fellow soldier

army-criminal-investigation-commandLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Army says two Fort Campbell soldiers are being held as “persons of interest” in another soldier’s disappearance nearly two months ago.

Fort Campbell didn’t identify these soldiers, and says law enforcement at the Army post straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee line are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Pfc. Shadow McClaine.

The Army says McClaine failed to report back for duty as an air traffic control tower operator after the Labor Day weekend.

McClaine’s mother, London Wegrzyn of Yuba City, California, said Wednesday she last heard from her 25-year-old daughter in an exchange of texts on Sept. 2. She says her daughter was dog sitting for a friend and gave no indication anything was wrong.

Wegrzyn says she’s praying detainees will tell authorities what they know.

Man accused of breaking 1 of baby’s legs pleads not guilty

child-abuseHASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A January trial has been scheduled for a Hastings man accused of burning a 9-week-old and breaking one of the baby’s legs.

Online court records say 23-year-old Braxton Blackburn pleaded not guilty Friday in Adams County District Court in Hastings to a charge of intentional child abuse resulting in serious injury. His trial is set to begin Jan. 9.

An arrest affidavit says the injuries occurred in March, while Blackburn was watching the baby and an older sibling for his fiancee’s sister. The children’s mother took the baby to an emergency room after she noticed several injuries. Doctors found burns, bruises, a bite mark and the broken leg.

Changes to Omaha library security video policy considered

security-cameraOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Library Board is considering loosening its policy regarding turning over security video to police.

The current library policy requires officers to obtain a court order before receiving security video.

Director Laura Marlane has proposed making the policy less restrictive so library staff could release a video if police needed to take immediate action to save a life. Board member Kathleen McCallister says police should have access to footage any time there’s a reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred.

Other board members have citied privacy concerns about changing the policy.

The board has not taken any action on the proposals and will continue to discuss them.

Jurors resume deliberations in medical school killings case

Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Jurors have resumed deliberations in the murder trial of a former doctor charged with killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school.

Anthony Garcia is charged with fatally stabbing the 11-year-old son of Creighton University medical school faculty member Dr. William Hunter, as well as the family’s housekeeper in 2008. Garcia is also charged with killing another Creighton doctor and his wife in 2013.

Prosecutors say Garcia, of Terre Haute, Indiana, was motivated by revenge against the two doctors, who were instrumental in his being fired from the medical school’s pathology residency program in 2001

The jury deliberated only about two hours Tuesday after a full day of closing arguments. Jurors reconvened at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Jury awards couple $11.5M in lawsuit over son’s brain damage

jury-boxOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A jury has awarded an Omaha couple $11.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed over brain damage they say their son received during birth at Methodist Women’s Hospital.

The lawsuit by the parents of Jackson Cuenca says among the allegations that improper use of forceps caused permanent brain injury during his 2010 birth.

Thomas Shomaker (SHOH’-may-kur), an attorney for the defendants, Nebraska Methodist Hospital and Physicians Clinic, said Tuesday that there was no wrongdoing or failure by medical staffers to meet the standard of care.

On Wednesday he told The Associated Press his clients are considering an appeal. He also says the judge is expected to reduce the award to $1.75 million — the 2010 state cap on medical malpractice damages.

Columbus man accused of injuring girlfriend’s baby takes plea deal

child-abuseCOLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Columbus man accused of injuring his girlfriend’s infant daughter has taken a deal from prosecutors.

24-year-old Francisco Villatoro 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. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.

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.

Fan dies after falling while leaving Broncos football game

Sports Authority Field at Mile High Denver BroncosDENVER (AP) — Authorities say a fan has died after falling 60 feet at the Denver Broncos’ stadium after a game on Monday night.

Stadium Management Co., which operates Sports Authority Field at Mile High, said the fan fell over a railing.

The medical examiner’s office said Tuesday the man was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead. He was identified as 36-year-old Jason Coy.

Denver police say he was sitting on a railing when he fell. Witnesses and emergency responders immediately tried to help.

The incident occurred near the north end of the stadium following the Broncos’ game against the Houston Texans.

Jury begins deliberating in medical school killings case

jury-boxOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A jury has begun deliberating the case of a former medical resident accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school, including a young boy.

Anthony Garcia’s attorneys sought to poke holes in prosecutors’ case during nearly four hours of closing arguments Tuesday. Prosecutors pointed to credit card and cellphone records that put Garcia in and around Omaha on the day of two of the killings as part of their case.

Garcia is charged with stabbing to death the 11-year-old son of two doctors and the family’s housekeeper in 2008 and then killing another Omaha doctor and his wife in 2013. Prosecutors say Garcia was motivated by revenge against two of the doctors, who had him fired from the Creighton University medical school’s residency program in 2001.

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