OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has denied a request to reinstate a Chicago attorney to help defend a former doctor accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school.

On Monday, Douglas County District Judge Gary Randall rejected a third request to reinstate Alison Motta to the defense team of Anthony Garcia.

The ruling comes after Randall earlier this month deemed that Motta will not be allowed to speak at trial or sit at the defense table, although she can still assist Garcia’s defense. The judge said Motta made public comments days before Garcia’s trial was to begin that violated ethical rules and could have swayed a jury.

The motion to reinstate Motta suggested her team was prepared to appeal the judge’s decision before the Nebraska Supreme Court.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An ordinance that has been narrowly approved will allow police to interfere with drone operation in Lincoln.

The City Council voted 4-2 on Monday to approve the ordinance, which will allow Lincoln police to stop drone operators who are flying recklessly, outside of operators’ line of sight or without proper registration and markings.

Dissenting City Council members say the ordinance is a case of over-regulation because drones are already regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Councilwoman Jane Raybould says the local drone ordinance would give law enforcement the ability to interfere in unsafe situations.

The city’s Airport Authority had asked for a city ordinance to restrain drone activity during a major airshow scheduled in May.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two people who were shot in Lincoln.

Police say 32-year-old Christopher Coleman was killed and 21-year-old Jerry Griffis Jr. was wounded. The two were shot Monday afternoon at a two-story home about a block from Prescott Elementary School, which was briefly locked down.

No arrests have been reported.

Children ages 5, 3 and 1 were in the house but were not injured. Police say Coleman was the father of at least two of the children.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former U.S. Cellular employee has been accused of stealing nearly $30,000 in merchandise from the company in Council Bluffs.

Iowa online court records say 21-year-old Sayeg Moreno Padilla, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, is charged with felony theft and ongoing criminal conduct. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 9.

Prosecutors say Moreno Padilla opened fraudulent accounts and stole 44 cellphones and $1,500 in gift cards between May 6 and June 16 last year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln authorities say a 10-year-old child in a pickup suffered minor injuries when the truck collided with a semitrailer, killing the pickup driver.

The accident occurred a little before 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Lincoln police Capt. Bob Farber says the westbound pickup crossed a center line and struck the eastbound semi. The pickup driver was partially ejected and was pronounced dead at the scene. The child was taken to a hospital and then released. The semi’s driver was not injured.

Police identified the pickup driver as 27-year-old Eric Bergman. The names of the child and the semi driver have not been released.

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — A proposed change to Winnebago tribal enrollment could change the northeast Nebraska tribe’s future.

Tribal leaders have proposed that future Winnebago members be at least one-eighth Winnebago and one-fourth Native American.

The tribe currently requires enrolled members to be at least one-fourth Indian.

Tribe’s enrollment manager Phyllis Ware says more than 100 people from other tribes throughout the country have enrolled as members over the last seven years since the rule doesn’t specify a minimum amount of Winnebago lineage.

Proposed changes require the approval of currently enrolled members in a special election. If it’s approved, existing Winnebago members who don’t meet the new requirements would be allowed to retain their membership, financial benefits and voting rights.

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) — The Fort Calhoun Community Schools superintendent says that a seventh-grader died after collapsing at track practice in Washington County.

Superintendent Don Johnson said that coaches immediately began life-saving measures on Gabe Namuth before he was transported by ambulance from Fort Calhoun Junior-Senior High School to an Omaha hospital around 4 p.m. Monday. Johnson said Namuth died on arrival.

School activities planned for the remainder of the day were canceled.

Johnson declined to give further details out of respect for Namuth’s family.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln shooting has left one man dead and another hospitalized with serious injuries.

Lincoln Police Capt. Bob Farber said there is a public safety risk as authorities continue to look for a suspect in a Monday afternoon shooting that happened at a Euclid Street home.

Police also called animal control to report a dog that was injured by gunfire.

Lincoln police, Nebraska State Patrol troopers and deputy U.S. marshals responded to the two-story rental home.

Authorities also briefly locked down nearby Prescott Elementary School before allowing school officials to dismiss students. The school is about one block away from the scene of the shooting.

Police have not identified the victims.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to clean up 35 homes with lead-contaminated soil in Lincoln’s North Bottoms neighborhood.

EPA spokesman Chris Whitley says the agency plans to offer remediation to property owners whose dirt tested high for lead. Whitley says remediation involves digging up at least one foot of soil, bringing in clean dirt and covering the area with sod or hydroseed.

The properties are located near the former site of the Northwestern Metal Co. plant, which operated from about 1918 to 1961.

Whitley says owners who agree to have their soil tested will receive a letter about remediation this fall or next spring.

The project is being handled by a federal Superfund program, and Whitley says remediation will be done at no cost to the property owner.