OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say they’ve made a third arrest in an Omaha shooting last month that left one man dead and a woman injured.
Omaha police say in a news release that 38-year-old Christina Stover was arrested Friday and booked into Douglas County jail on suspicion of two counts of being an accessory. Her arrest followed those of 26-year-old James Sawyer and 27-year-old Adonus Moses on suspicion of first-degree murder, assault and several weapons counts.
All three are suspected in the Feb. 5 shooting that killed 18-year-old Elijah Foster and injured a 20-year-old woman. Officers who responded to the shooting found Foster’s body near a vehicle in northeast Omaha. The woman was found injured a few blocks away.
ATLANTA (AP) — The deaths of two homeschooled children who were found buried in their father’s backyard in Guyton, Georgia, have inspired a bill to increase the scrutiny of public school withdrawal requests.
The Savannah Morning News reports a House bill introduced Thursday would bar parents from removing children from public schools to avoid complying with attendance and discipline laws.
If a withdrawal request seeks to circumvent legal requirements, the school system must notify investigative authorities.
Sponsor Rep. Bill Hitchens says the bill seeks to prevent another case similar to that of Mary and Elwyn “JR” Crocker Jr. Elwyn was last seen alive in 2016, and his sister was last seen in October. Their bodies were discovered in December.
Reps. Jon Burns, Wes Cantrell and Ron Stephens are also sponsoring the bill.
TEKAMAH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been arrested after officials believe he fired a shot at a Burt County sheriff’s deputy in northeastern Nebraska.
Omaha television station KETV reports that family members of a 23-year-old man called the sheriff’s office Wednesday night concerned about his well-being. A deputy sent to a rural farm to check on him says the man fired a shot at him when he was asked to get out of his vehicle. The deputy was not injured.
Officials say the deputy requested backup, and the 23-year-old man fled. He was later found in an outbuilding and arrested around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
He was taken to a mental health treatment facility and is expected to face charges.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would add another judge to Nebraska’s largest county to help with a growing caseload has won first-round approval in the Legislature.
But the measure advanced on Wednesday but won’t pass until lawmakers figure out a way to pay for it while balancing the state budget.
The measure by state Sen. Steve Lathrop, of Omaha, would bring the total number of district court judges to 17 in the fourth judicial district, which encompasses Douglas County. Supporters say adding a judge is necessary to adjust to the large number of court cases that are handled in Omaha each year.
Lawmakers advanced the bill on a 35-0 vote. Two additional votes are required before it goes to the governor.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed and a man wounded in a shooting at a northwest Omaha home.
Deputies were dispatched to the house a little before 5 p.m. Tuesday after a man called 911, reported a shooting and hung up. Capt. Wayne Hudson of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy got to the home within three minutes and found the woman’s body and the wounded man. The man was taken to a hospital.
Hudson didn’t provide the two people’s names or other details about the shooting’s circumstances. He did say, however, that the shooting presents no danger to the public.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha trial has begun for a man accused in the road-rage killing of an Iraq War veteran.
Michael Benson, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of James Womack, 32, The Omaha World-Herald reported. The shooting occurred at a busy Omaha intersection in 2017.
Dashcam video from another vehicle shows that the altercation began after Womack got out of his semitrailer and yelled at Benson, pounded on the passenger-side window of Benson’s truck and started to walk back to his semitrailer.
Witnesses testified in a Douglas County courtroom Tuesday that they heard gunshots and then saw Womack fall to the ground. Womack was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
Benson’s attorney, Beau Finley, said there’s no proof his client fired the shots or was even in the truck involved in the dispute. After the shooting, Benson told police that his truck had been stolen days before the shooting.
Prosecutors Ryan Lindberg and Amy Jacobsen said a GPS tracking device on Benson’s vehicle and surveillance video show he was driving the vehicle the day of the shooting. They said they’re confident the evidence will lead to a conviction.
Benson was originally charged with being an accessory to a felony in the shooting before prosecutors increased the charge to second-degree murder in March 2018.
Womack was in the Army and served three tours in Iraq before he moved to Omaha with his wife to raise their three children.
GREENWOOD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a Lincoln resident who was killed when his car crashed on Interstate 80 in eastern Nebraska.
The Nebraska State Patrol identified him as 24-year-old Travis Egan.
The patrol says Egan was driving west Monday morning when his car crossed the median near the Greenwood exit and rolled. He was thrown from the car and struck by an eastbound sport utility vehicle.
Egan was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol says the SUV driver wasn’t injured.
An 11-mile (17.7-kilometer) stretch of the interstate was closed for about four hours from the Waverly exit east to the Greenwood exit.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — One of two people accused of hauling more than a quarter ton of marijuana through eastern Nebraska on Interstate 80 has been imprisoned.
Federal prosecutors say 39-year-old Felice Michael Giorgetti, of Huntington Beach, California, was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months. Giorgetti had pleaded guilty to possession for sale. The other person charged, Robert Rahon, also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in April.
The two were in a truck headed east on Jan. 10 last year when a trooper pulled them over just east of the Beaver Crossing interchange for traffic and vehicle violations. One of its drug dogs alerted troopers to the presence of a controlled substance. The troopers say they found just over 526 pounds of marijuana in the truck.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) – A 19-year-old driver has been given jail time and probation for the Platte County crash death of a motorcyclist.
Court records say Daisy Gonzalez, of Madison, was sentenced Tuesday to a year of probation. She also must serve five days in jail starting Aug. 2 and 15 more days starting Feb. 1 next year unless waived by a judge.
She’d pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide. Prosecutors dropped a related charge in return for her plea.
The records say the collision occurred Aug. 2 at the intersection of Nebraska Highway 91 and 490th Street. The records say her minivan collided with the motorcycle driven by 22-year-old Joshua Gasper, of Columbus. He died days later of his injuries.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former sheriff’s deputy is facing another sexual assault charge in southeast Nebraska.
Lancaster County Court records say 30-year-old Nicholas Bridgmon, of Pleasant Dale, is charged with sexual assault of a minor. Investigators say Bridgmon had sex with a 15-year-old girl at a Lincoln apartment in August 2007, shortly after he turned 19. He’s already been charged in Johnson County with forcible sexual assault that authorities say occurred in July 2007.
His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.
The Nebraska State Patrol says in court documents that investigators have linked him to at least five potential victims. The patrol investigation began with a polygraph test for a patrol job he was seeking.
Seward County Sheriff Mike Vance says Bridgmon resigned Friday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say they’ve made a third arrest in an Omaha shooting last month that left one man dead and a woman injured.
