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Hastings Woman to Stand Trial in Death of Toddler

Azudany Serrano-Contreras
Azudany Serrano-Contreras

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A 33-year-old Hastings woman accused of causing a toddler’s death in March by allegedly stuffing a baby wipe down her throat will stand trial on a charge of committing intentional child abuse causing death.

Azudany Serrano-Contreras waived her right to a preliminary hearing Friday in Adams County Court.

If convicted, she faces 20 years to life.

Investigators say Serrano-Contreras told officers she was baby-sitting 19-month-old Aliyana Peterson on March 12 when she wiped the girl’s face with a baby wipe, set it down on a counter and turned to get lotion. She says when she turned back, the girl was gasping for air.

Doctors say the child did not have the strength or dexterity to shove the wipe that far into her throat.

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Prosecutors Criticize Bail Being Set for Nebraska Murder Suspect

Carl Heng
Carl Heng

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors are criticizing a judge’s decision to set bail for a man charged with murder after a different judge had twice refused to do so.

Douglas County District Judge Gary Randall set bail Friday at $50,000 cash for Carl Heng.

Heng is charged with second-degree murder and a weapons count for the Aug. 24 shooting death of 25-year-old Thomas Lane. Heng has insisted he was acting in self-defense and protecting Lane’s girlfriend, who was a co-worker.

But prosecutors say the evidence shows Lane was unarmed and not posing a threat when he was shot as he unlocked an exterior door to his apartment building.

Heng is free after his family posted his bail late Friday.

Falls City Man Faces Murder Charge in Fatal Shooting

gavel-moreFALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) — A Falls City man accused of fatally shooting a relative in August is facing a murder charge.

Deputy County Attorney Zach Blackman says a charge against Desiderio Hernandez has been upgraded to first-degree murder. He was previously charged with attempted first-degree murder.

34-year-old Hernandez is accused of shooting 31-year-old Joseph Debella Jr. on Aug. 5. Debella died days later at a Lincoln hospital. Authorities say the men were cousins.

Hernandez was arrested after a nearly seven-hour standoff at a home in Kansas. He faces other charges including use of a firearm to commit a felony.

A message left for an attorney representing Hernandez was not immediately returned Friday.

Northeast Nebraska Farmers Win Appeal in Grain Elevator Case

ne-supreme-courtOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has reversed the state Public Service Commission’s ruling in the case of two farm operations whose claims were denied when a Pierce grain elevator was shut down last year.

The high court said Friday that the commission wrongly denied the claims of Curt Raabe and James and Diane Herian, all of Pierce County.

It ordered Raabe be paid his $88,500 claim to cover a check issued to him days before the elevator closed. The court also ordered the Herians be compensated for nearly 28,000 bushels of corn they had stored at the failed elevator.

The Public Service Commission closed Pierce Elevator Inc. in March 2014, after a bank discontinued financing the operation. More than 200 farmers filed claims worth $9.7 million against the company.

Police ID 2 Men Found Fatally Shot in Omaha

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police had identified two men found fatally shot in a gravel alley behind a north Omaha home.

According a news release from Omaha police, 58-year-old David Cooper and 42-year-old Kevin Pace were killed. Police say the men were shot around 7 p.m. Thursday, and officers responding to the scene found them in the alley a few minutes later. Medics were called to the scene, but attempts to resuscitate the pair were unsuccessful. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not announced any arrests in the case.

Nebraska Woman Loses Wedding Ring, Finds It in Trash with Help

wedding-ringsLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman, her husband and some other relatives have found a gleam in a pile of garbage: the 2-karat diamond wedding ring that her husband had given her more than seven years ago.

Geralee Olson-Triplett says she accidentally had thrown away her ring Tuesday while tossing some trash into a can.

The couple contacted the owner of their garbage service, who told them all the trucks had dumped their trash at the landfill. But he called back an hour later to say that one of the trucks hadn’t arrived at the landfill by closing time so they could look through its load.

The next morning, the couple and relatives went through the trash and discovered the ring to Olson-Triplett’s relief.

Police: 2 Men Found Fatally Shot in Omaha

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police are investigating after two men were fatally shot in a gravel alley behind a north Omaha home.

According to Omaha police spokesman Officer James Shade, the two men, whose identities have not been released, were shot around 7 p.m. Thursday.

Police say they do not have any suspects in custody.

Omaha Woman Gets 9 Months in Jail for Vehicular Homicide

jailOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman has been given nine months in jail for misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

Online court records say 41-year-old Lawanda Cook was sentenced Thursday in Douglas County Court. She’d pleaded no contest and was convicted on May 28.

Cook was charged after the Jan. 18 death of 55-year-old Joanne Smith. Police say Smith was struck by Cook’s car as Smith was unloading items from the trunk of her car. Smith’s legs were severed, and she died four days after the accident.

Police say Cook reported that she got distracted when her cellphone fell to the floor of her car.

Student Accused of Sexual Assault in UNL Dorm

UNLLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A first-year student from Arizona is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old student in a dorm at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

University officials say Christopher Petersen, of Scottsdale, Arizona, has been barred from campus following the Sept. 5 incident. His attorney, Bob Creager (KREE’-gur), declined to comment on Friday.

A court affidavit says Petersen and the woman went to the woman’s room and began kissing. The woman told investigators that Petersen continued kissing and groping her after she told him to stop. The affidavit says Petersen acknowledged during a subsequent interview with an officer that he’d made some “bad decisions.”

Nebraska Teen Accused of Putting Chemical in Water to Sicken Student

sarpy-co.-sheriffSPRINGFIELD, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska teenager has been accused of putting a chemical from a chemistry class into a water bottle and duping another student into drinking the tainted liquid, sickening him.

Authorities say the incident occurred Tuesday at Platteview High School in the rural Omaha suburb of Springfield. The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the 16-year-old was booked on suspicion of attempted second-degree assault and released to his parents. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

The Sheriff’s Office says the teen had dared the other 16-year-old boy to drink from the bottle, telling him it contained just old water that had been sitting in a truck. The other 16-year-old became ill and vomited within a minute of drinking the water. The chemical was believed to be copper sulfate.

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