LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman who reported her gibbons as stolen has been sentenced to two years of probation for having the apes as pets.

Nancy Stephens of Doniphan was sentenced and fined $4,000 Thursday. Stephens had pleaded guilty in June to violating the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the transportation, shipment or receipt of endangered species.

Stephens said she bought her two apes, Caylee and Cody, in 2011 and 2012 for $22,000 each in Florida and brought them to Nebraska.

She reported they were stolen from her home by two men in September 2013. The primates were found in Florida during a traffic stop and placed in a sanctuary.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 29-year-old Ralston man has died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car in southwestern Omaha.

The accident occurred around 3:20 p.m. Thursday. Omaha police say the speeding motorcycle was headed west when it ran into the right rear corner of a car that was turning north.

Police say the motorcyclist was taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where he died. He was identified as Sean Miner.

The three people in the car weren’t injured.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Services has issued flood advisories for several eastern Nebraska counties after thunderstorms dumped heavy rain.

A stream flood advisory was to expire later Friday morning in portions of Antelope, Boone and Madison counties. Up to 6 inches of rain was reported in southern Antelope County.

Law enforcement officials say water has covered the roadway on U.S. Highway 275 east of Oakdale and on Nebraska Highway 70 west of Elgin. Storm runoff also covered some streets in northwest and midtown Omaha.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a canine has helped find 70 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Nebraska.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says 50-year-old Raymond Ojeda, of California, was arrested following a traffic stop Wednesday night. He faces charges including possession with intent to deliver.

Authorities say a deputy became suspicious of three large duffel bags in Ojeda’s car during the traffic stop. A canine later indicated the odor of illegal drugs in the car. The drugs were discovered inside the bags.

Court records do not list an attorney for Ojeda.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln officials say problems at a new apartment complex remain unresolved but aren’t serious enough to warrant action by the city.

Tenants who moved into the Prime Place apartment complex over the weekend were met with unfinished units and common areas. Some apartments had clogged bathtub drains.

Officials noted seven building code violations when the complex was inspected last week, but all of them were considered minor.

Building and Safety Manager Terry Kathe says those issues haven’t been resolved as of Wednesday, but none are considered life-threatening.

Kathe says the city has urged the developer and contractor to finish cleaning. The complex’s developer has declined to comment on specific problems.

RALSTON, Neb. (AP) — Ralston officials could face a tough task in persuading lawmakers to help spare city taxpayers from a huge tax increase.

Ralston Mayor Don Groesser is expected to propose a 34 percent property tax increase and a new restaurant tax in the city in response to the Ralston Arena’s financial problems.

But Groesser says he’ll promise to roll back the property tax increase if lawmakers step in with more incentives for the arena.

Several legislators say changing state law to help spare taxpayers from the potential increase would be a difficult sell to the Legislature.

State Sen. Merve Riepe says he’ll do what he can to help but that the city shouldn’t “expect the Legislature to ride in on a white horse to save it.”

 

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A 33-year-old Hastings woman has been accused of stuffing a baby wipe down the throat of a toddler, killing her.

Azudany Serrano-Contreras was arrested Wednesday and charged with committing intentional child abuse resulting in death. Her attorney declined to comment on Thursday.

A court document says Serrano-Contreras was baby-sitting 19-month-old Aliyana Peterson on March 12 when officers were sent to the woman’s home. Serrano-Contreras told officers the she’d wiped the girl’s face with a baby wipe, set it down on a counter and turned to get lotion. She says that when she turned back, the little girl was gasping for air. A hospital nurse later removed the baby wipe from the girl’s throat.

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy ruled the death a homicide.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An October trial has been scheduled for a Nebraska man charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in Iowa.

Online court records say 29-year-old Dustin Suppi, of South Sioux City, entered a written plea of not guilty on Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court. His trial is set to begin Oct. 13.

Sioux City police say the accident occurred around 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 8, when Troy Ford and his wife stopped to check on a driver slumped behind the wheel of a pickup that was sitting in a roadway. They awoke the driver, who started to speed away. But police say a trailer being pulled by the pickup ran over Ford, fatally injuring him. Suppi was arrested in Plymouth County after officers forced him off a road.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 19-year-old man convicted of an Omaha slaying has been sent to prison for up to 60 years.

Mitchell Wynne was sentenced Wednesday in Douglas County District Court. In April a jury found the former Northwest High School football player guilty of first-degree murder for the July 14, 2013, shooting death of Darnell Haynes in an Omaha parking lot.

Prosecutors say Wynne, who was 17 at the time, intended to rob Haynes of marijuana when he shot and killed him.