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Woman sentenced for taking newborn son from Norfolk hospital

Lacee Tuttle
Lacee Tuttle

MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A woman accused of kidnapping her newborn son from a Norfolk hospital has been imprisoned.

Court records say 34-year-old Lacee Tuttle, of Pierce, was given a year for violating a custody order and 90 days for negligent child abuse. Tuttle pleaded guilty last month after prosecutors dropped a kidnapping count. Authorities say Tuttle tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana while at the hospital, which is why custody was given to a state agency.

Judge Mark Johnson ruled at Tuttle’s sentencing Thursday that those sentences are to be served at the same time but will be served after her sentence of 180 days for unrelated convictions: theft and intentional child abuse. The records say Tuttle had a little girl with her when she was caught shoplifting from a store.

Hastings woman crossing street dies after pickup hits her

car-pedestrian-accidentHASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Hastings woman has died in a hospital after being struck while walking across a street.

The accident occurred a little before 3:20 p.m. Wednesday. Hastings police say 72-year-old Joyce Schiffler was in a crosswalk when she was struck by a pickup making a left turn onto the street Schiffler was crossing. The driver told police she didn’t see Schiffler. The driver was cited for not yielding the right of way.

Police say Schiffler was taken to a Hastings hospital before being flown to a Lincoln hospital, where she died.

Police seek man suspected of exposing himself in school lot

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police are looking for a man they believe exposed himself to three Millard North High School students in separate incidents.

Police say that all of the incidents happened Wednesday afternoon. One teen told police she was in the school’s parking lot around 4:30 p.m. when she was approached by a black pickup and the driver asked for help. She says as she approached the truck, the driver exposed himself.

Two other teens reported almost identical encounters in the parking lot with a similarly described man in a black pickup over the next 80 minutes.

The girls all said the man drove off after exposing himself.

Kansas woman killed, husband injured in Nebraska crash

polk-county-sheriffSTROMSBURG, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities say a Kansas woman has been killed in a rollover crash.

Polk County Sheriff Dwaine Ladwig said in a news release that first responders reached the crash site east of Stromsburg around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

80-year-old Deloris Marshall, of Kansas City, was pronounced dead at the scene. She’d been thrown from the vehicle. Her husband, Maewethers Marshall, was taken to Osceola for medical treatment.

Ladwig says Maewethers Marshall had been driving. The crash is being investigated.

Hall County Jail turning away other agencies’ inmates

jail-cellGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Hall County Jail is getting so close to full the corrections director is turning away inmates from other agencies.

Corrections Director Todd Bahensky told county supervisors Tuesday that he recently rejected a request to house Sarpy County inmates.

As of Tuesday, the 300-bed jail was holding 274 inmates and detainees. Of those, 71 were state inmates, 34 were federal detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one was held for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 13 were for other counties.

Bahensky said it’s not desirable to go to total capacity because officials have to have enough space to place each inmate at the proper level of security. But he also noted that turning away inmates means less outside-the-county revenue for the county.

Omaha school board adds gender identity to anti-bias policy

schoolOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school board has updated the district’s anti-discrimination policy to include gender identity or gender expression.

The board voted 6-0 Wednesday night after comments from students and community residents who favored the proposal and from others who opposed it.

The district’s policy was written in 2014 and bans discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, disability and age. The proposal adds gender identity and expression, along with pregnancy, military service and political affiliation, to the protected groups.

The newly revised policy does not contain guidance on restrooms and locker rooms. The board has discussed crafting a policy to address those issues but so far hasn’t.

Charges filed in break-in at home of Sam Foltz’s brother

Scott Davis
Scott Davis

GREELEY, Neb. (AP) — Charges have been filed against a man suspected of burglarizing the home of the brother of Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who died in a car crash this summer.

Court records say 38-year-old Scott Davis, of Lennox, South Dakota, is charged with two felony counts of theft, receipt of stolen property; one count of driving while his license was revoked; and one count of driving under the influence, third offense. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Authorities say Davis was stopped Sunday on Interstate 80 in York County for driving under the influence. Authorities say Davis had with him items stolen Saturday from the Greeley County residence of Jordan Foltz.

Jordan Foltz and other family members were at Saturday’s Husker game in Lincoln.

Missing 5-year-old found in bus, Omaha authorities say

school-busOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha authorities say a missing 5-year-old boy has been found locked in a school bus.

Samuel Van Tha Bik was found about 9 p.m. Wednesday, five hours after his scheduled release from classes at Field Club Elementary School.

He was reported missing around 6 p.m., and authorities used a helicopter as part of their search. The boy’s father told authorities he thought a substitute driver was operating the bus.

Police say officers talked to the bus driver, who said he’d dropped off the boy at home. Officers then went to where the school buses and vans were parked and found the boy sitting in one. The driver was cited for child neglect.

School officials intend to discuss the situation Thursday with the bus service contractor.

School: Stolen backpack from deaf student wasn’t bullying

omaha-psOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials at an Omaha high school acknowledge a deaf student had his backpack stolen and vandalized, but say the student wasn’t the target of bullies.

Alex Hernandez has seen an outpouring of support since his backpack was taken last week from Burke High’s lunchroom. A computer tablet inside was stolen and the rest of its contents were dumped in a school toilet. Hernandez told several news outlets that he believed he was targeted because of his disability. Among things ruined was a battery for his cochlear implant, which allows him to hear his teachers.

School administrators have determined the students who stole the backpack didn’t know it belonged to a deaf student.

The school says the tablet has been returned and the students disciplined.

Omaha police ID deputies who fatally shot suspect

douglas-county-sheriffOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have identified the Douglas County sheriff’s deputies who fatally shot a suspect in southeast Omaha and released more details of the shooting.

Police say the shooting happened Tuesday afternoon when deputies trying to serve an arrest warrant on 25-year-old David Anderson approached him as he was in a parked pickup. Police say witnesses reported that Anderson twice rammed a sheriff’s vehicle as he was approached, and two deputies fired at least nine shots.

Police say Anderson fled and soon crashed. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. An autopsy shows he was shot eight times.

A 19-year-old woman with Anderson also was treated for minor injuries, but was not shot.

Police say the deputies, now on paid leave, are 37-year-old Michael Jones, a 13-year veteran, and 33-year-old Scott Kuzminski, a nine-year veteran.

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