We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

The Latest: Emergency official says no injuries after quake

usgs.gov
usgs.gov

PAWNEE, Okla. (AP) — The Latest on the large earthquake in Oklahoma (all times local):

9:10 a.m.

The Pawnee County emergency management director says no injuries have been reported and no buildings have collapsed following a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that ties a 2011 temblor for the strongest in Oklahoma history.

Mark Randell said the Saturday morning quake did cause cracks and damages to city buildings, some of which date to the early 1900s.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake struck at 7:02 a.m. about nine miles northwest of Pawnee, a town of about 2,200 about 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

The U.S.G.S. also reports a 3.6 magnitude aftershock in the same area at 7:58 a.m.

___

8:55 a.m.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says that crews are checking bridges and structures for damage after the 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which ties a 2011 temblor for the biggest on record in the state.

Fallin tweeted Saturday morning that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is checking bridges in the Pawnee area for damage. The quake was centered about 9 miles northwest of the town of about 2,200 people.

Fallin also tweeted that state officials want structural engineers to look at building safety in the wake of the quake, which the U.S. Geological Society happened at 7:02 a.m.

No major damage was immediately reported. The quake was felt as far away as Nebraska.

___

7:20 a.m.

CHICAGO (AP) — An earthquake has rattled a swath of the Great Plains from Nebraska to North Texas.

The United States Geological Survey said that a 5.6 magnitude earthquake happened at 7:02 a.m. Saturday in north-central Oklahoma. It also tweeted that aftershocks may occur.

People in Kansas City, Missouri; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Norman, Oklahoma, all reported feeling the earthquake. Dallas TV station WFAA tweeted that it felt the quake, too.

Sean Weide in Omaha, Nebraska, said he’d never been in an earthquake before and thought he was getting dizzy.

Weide said he and one of his daughters “heard the building start creaking” and said it “was surreal.”

Ex-opera music director imprisoned for victimizing mother

gavel-and-scaleOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Opera Omaha music director accused of looting his mother’s bank account has been imprisoned.

On Thursday 53-year-old John Gawf Jr. was given one to two years behind bars. In July Gawf pleaded no contest to abuse of a vulnerable adult. Prosecutors say he took about $113,000 from Thelma Gawf from May 2015 to January.

Gawf told an investigator that he used the money to gamble.

Lincoln bank worker accused of stealing more than $10K from customer

handcuffsLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lincoln bank worker is suspected of stealing more than $10,000 from a customer’s account.

The 36-year-old woman turned herself in to police Thursday afternoon and was cited and released. Officer Katie Flood says the woman is scheduled to be charged in court later Friday. Online court records don’t yet list the name of her attorney.

Flood says U.S. Bank officials noticed suspicious activity on a 93-year-old man’s account and reported it to police Aug. 2. Flood says the woman used money from the customer’s account to make several deposits into her own account between March 22 and June 27.

Semitrailer driver killed, wife injured in Omaha crash

fatal-accidentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a Minnesota man driving a semitrailer has died in rollover crash that also seriously injured his wife.

Police say 66-year-old Danny Ryan, of Hayfield, Minnesota, was driving the truck eastbound on Interstate 80 in Omaha around 6 a.m. when the truck swerved, overcorrected and rolled into a ravine, landing on its roof.

Police say Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, 61-year-old Debra Ryan, who was a passenger in the truck, suffered two broken legs. Police say it took nearly two hours for rescuers to extract the woman from the mangled cab of the truck.

Omaha man who burned gay pride flag gets probation

Cameron Mayfield
Cameron Mayfield

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man convicted of burning a gay pride rainbow flag has been given two years of probation.

Online court records say 25-year-old Cameron Mayfield was sentenced Wednesday. He’d been convicted of felony arson as a hate crime.

Prosecutors say Mayfield took the flag from the porch of a lesbian couple who lived near him, set it on fire and waved it in the middle of a street in March 2015. Mayfield’s attorney argued the act was a drunken prank and not a hate crime.

Iowa man sentenced for Stolen Valor Act violation

dept.-of-justiceDAVENPORT, IA- On August 30, 2016, Robert Ellsworth Brooks, Jr., age 70, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced by District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose to five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Brooks pled guilty under the Stolen Valor Act to purchasing medals without proper authorization. Brooks was also ordered to forfeit the unauthorized medals and pay a $25 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

Brooks has served in both the United States Army and the United States Navy. From approximately November 1962 to September 1966, Brooks served in the Navy. From approximately May 1967 until September 1970, Brooks served in the Army. This time in the Army included deployment and service in Vietnam in the helicopter program. From approximately September 1970 until September 1974, he served in the Army Reserve. From approximately September 1974 until January 31, 1986, Brooks served in the Navy and was discharged under “other than honorable conditions.” After his discharge from the Army, Brook’s DD-214 dated September 10, 1970, listed the following Awards and Decorations (A & D): National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Aviator Badge, Parachute Badge, 30/S Service Bars, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal (14th award with “V” device).

Sometime between 1971-1974, and during his service in the Army Reserves, Brooks engaged in a conversation with others and as a result compiled a list of Awards and Decorations he thought he deserved, but had not validly been awarded. He knowingly provided this list to another and this information was falsely added to his official military file.

After Brooks began his service in the Navy in 1974, through a series of administrative interactions between the Army and Navy, the Navy obtained a copy of Army records, including a Form 66, which had been populated with this falsely added information under the Awards & Decorations. The Navy relied on this form as legitimate and believed Brooks was entitled to the incorrectly listed Awards & Decorations. When Brooks was discharged from the Navy on January 31, 1986, his DD-214 included the false Awards & Decorations. Throughout the years, the only document that was checked when suspicion arose about the earned Awards & Decorations was the fraudulent DD-214.

On January 31, 1986, Brooks was discharged from the Navy. As part of his plea in federal court, Brooks admitted that the DD-214 dated January 31, 1986, included false Awards & Decorations. Most significantly, Brooks’ DD-214 falsely reported that he had received a Silver Star Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, a Purple Heart with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Combat Infantry Badge. Brooks also admitted that his records falsely included the following: Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Airmen Medal with a 57, an Oak Leaf Cluster and “V,” Army Commendation Medal with “V,” Navy Good Conduct, Navy Pistol Expert, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with star, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign w/ Bar, Republic of Vietnam Honor 1st Class, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Presidential Unit Citation, (Army) Presidential Unit Citation, (Army) Meritorious Unit Citation, (Army) Valorous Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Combat Action Ribbon, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Vietnam Air Service, Vietnam Air Cross Gallantry w/ Silver Wings, Army Overseas Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army NCO Proficiency Development, Naval Parachutist Badge, Naval Aviator Badge, Navy Aircrew Member Wings, Army Parachutist Badge, Republic of Vietnam Parachutist Badge, and Pathfinder Badge.

Brooks knew he had not been legitimately authorized to receive these Awards and Decorations. Brooks admitted that he knowingly and intentionally purchased unauthorized Awards & Decorations, including, but not limited to a Silver Star with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, a Purple Heart with 4 Oak Leaf clusters, and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

Brooks has repeatedly and falsely affirmed, in public and private settings, that he was properly entitled to and received the additional Awards & Decorations improperly added to his DD-214. Brooks has failed to correct this erroneous information. On several occasions when others have questioned his service record, Brooks has referred to the 1986 DD-214, knowing that it contained false information. At his sentencing hearing, the district court noted that Brooks’ public claims that he was a prisoner of war (POW) after he and his crew were shot down during the Vietnam War were not credible. The district court also noted that a story published in Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul, based on information provided by Brooks and describing Brooks flying through enemy fire to save a group of Marines, one of which turned out to be a family member, also was apparently not true.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

10-year-old tried to sell pot at school, Lincoln police say

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 10-year-old boy tried to sell marijuana to two friends at school in Lincoln.

Lincoln police spokeswoman Katie Flood says the student told police he’d picked some of the pot from a wild plant in a neighbor’s yard. Flood says the neighbor told officers he’d found the plant growing in his flower bed. It’s been removed.

The boy was referred to juvenile authorities.

Car driver fled scene of fatal collision, Omaha police say

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a car driver has been arrested after fleeing the scene of a fatal collision with a motorcyclist in western Omaha.

The accident was reported around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday. Police say the motorcycle was heading west when it collided with the eastbound car as the car turned north. The car left the crash scene, but it was soon spotted.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of committing several crimes, including leaving the scene of a fatal crash and driving under the influence, fourth offense. Online court records don’t show that he’s been formally charged.

Police say the injured motorcyclist was taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where he soon died. Police identified him as 43-year-old Justin Hart, who lived in Omaha.

Police: Nobody shot when Omaha officer fired gun at suspect

officer-involved-shootingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say no one was shot when an Omaha officer fired his gun at a man accused of ramming a police cruiser. But both an officer and the suspect suffered minor injuries in a collision just after the shooting.

Omaha police say officers were trying to arrest 30-year-old Robert Coffman on a warrant charging him with felony drug possession and flight to avoid arrest when he rammed a police vehicle.

Police say 32-year-old Officer Sergio Gutierrez fired his gun, hitting Coffman’s pickup. Police say Coffman then drove off in reverse before another police vehicle rammed the front of his truck. Both Coffman and the officer who rammed him were treated for minor injuries.

Coffman is being held in jail. A public defender in his drug case did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday.

Man gets 3 years in prison in Lincoln assault case

Isaac Lowery
Issac Lowery

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 38-year-old man has been given three years in prison for beating a woman while holding her in her apartment for eight hours.

Online court records say Issac Lowery was sentenced Monday in Lancaster County District Court. He pleaded no contest to strangulation, false imprisonment, and domestic assault after prosecutors dropped two other charges.

The woman reported in January that Lowery choked and punched her during the ordeal. She says she escaped after eight hours, ran to a gas station and called police for help.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File