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

14-Year-Old Charged with Killing His Grandparents

police-lights-redCONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Police say a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his grandparents during a robbery and murder scheme hatched while he and two other friends were held in a juvenile jail.

Justin Staton was charged as an adult with murder Friday along with 17-year-old Hunter Drexler in the July 22 deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell in Conway, Arkansas. Police say the pair shot them and dumped their bodies in a nearby wooded area.

A police affidavit said Staton acknowledged the crimes and that he had told a relative Drexler was involved.

According to the affidavit, a 17-year-old girl who was at the house at the time said something should be done because the grandfather didn’t die immediately. Staton walked over to his grandfather and shot him once or twice more.

Omaha Police Locate Suspect in Early Morning Shooting Death

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police says its fugitive task force has located the suspect in a shooting that led to a man’s death.

Police say 24-year-old Trevor Bare died Friday at University of Nebraska Medical Center from his injuries. He was found at an Omaha home around 7 a.m. Friday with gunshot wounds.

Further details on the man in custody were not immediately released.

Police say they recovered a weapon at the scene.

Lincoln Man Acquitted on Charge of Scalding Baby Daughter

Reid Alden
Reid Alden

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a 21-year-old Lincoln man who’d been accused of scalding his 6-week-old daughter in bath water.

The verdict of not guilty was rendered Thursday for Reid Alden, who’d been charged in Lancaster County District Court with negligent child abuse.

Alden’s attorney argued that it was a terrible accident on April 16, 2014, that resulted in burns over nearly 65 percent of Raelynn’s tiny body. Prosecutors say Alden recklessly placed his daughter in danger because he didn’t first check bath water that proved to be too hot.

Nebraska Man Charged in Shooting of Daughter’s Ex-Boyfriend

Walter Camp
Walter Camp

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Dodge County prosecutors have filed charges against a 42-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his daughter’s former boyfriend.

Court records say Walter Campo was charged Thursday with manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony. Jail records say Campo remained in custody on Friday. The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could be contacted to comment on Campo’s behalf.

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office says Campo confronted and shot 22-year-old Tyler Childs, of Fremont, on July 24 when Childs tried to visit his former girlfriend. She’s been living with her parents a mobile home park about two miles northeast of Fremont.

Former Fremont Teacher to Run for Nebraska Legislature

ne-legislature-13LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Fremont real estate agent and former teacher has announced a bid for the Nebraska Legislature.

Lynne Walz said Thursday she will seek the District 15 seat held by state Sen. David Schnoor of Scribner.

Walz previously served as executive director of Bethphage of Northeast Nebraska, which has provided services for people with disabilities since 1986. She also was a former Fremont Public Schools teacher.

If elected, she says she would focus on bringing state funding to the district and on education.

Walz and her husband of 29 years, Chris Walz, have three children.

UNL Plans $5M Construction Plan

UNLLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln says it plans to spend $5 million on improvements to housing, recreation, parking and campus buildings this year.

The Board of Regents voted Thursday on an ongoing building maintenance plan which has identified 40 projects ranging from brick and mortar repair, replacing tile and carpet to purchasing new equipment, technology and signage in areas across campus.

The board says the highest priorities identified by residents, user groups and managers are Campus Recreation, University Health Center and University Housing facilities for which $4.2 million will be spent.

UNL will pay for the upgrades using excess funds from student fees and facility revenue bonds.

UNL will also spend $843,000 in parking revenue bonds surplus funds to enhance parking facilities.

Nebraska PA Announcer Accused of Bilking Thousands from Elderly Women

Patrick Combs
Patrick Combs

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The public address announcer at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium has been accused of bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from two elderly women from Lincoln.

According to Lancaster County Court papers, 49-year-old Patrick Combs of Gretna spent about $363,000 on cars, home repairs and gifts to friends. He’s charged with two counts of theft and one count of attempted theft, abuse of a vulnerable adult and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device.

He turned himself in to the county jail on Thursday morning. Bond was set at $10,000 in one case and $40,000 in the other. A jail staff member said he bonded out in the afternoon.

The Nebraska athletic department said Combs’ contract expired Aug. 1 and that a renewal will not be considered until his legal issues are resolved.

An attorney for Combs wasn’t listed in court records. Attempts to reach Combs were unsuccessful.

Tour Offers Insight for Omaha Teachers Into Student’s Lives

schoolOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Teachers and other Omaha elementary school staffers have visited several community organizations that many students’ families turn to for housing, transportation, and after-school care.

Kellom Elementary employees boarded a bus on Wednesday to visit the local agencies, and learned more about how to connect families with the help they need. The school’s principal said it’s an effort to build stronger connections with the groups that regularly work with their students and their families.

Several employees, including early childhood resource teacher Lindsey Tisthammer, said they appreciated the tour. Tisthammer says it was a great way to explore and learn more about the neighborhoods where students and their families live.

Falls City Shooting Suspect in Custody in Kansas

Desiderio Hernandez
Desiderio Hernandez

Authorities in Brown County, Kansas have arrested a suspect wanted in connection with a Wednesday morning shooting in Falls City.

Desiderio Hernandez, 34, Falls City, was taken into custody during the early morning hours of Thursday August 6, after a nearly seven-hour standoff at a residence in Horton, Kansas.

Hernandez is wanted on a Nebraska warrant for Attempted First Degree Murder in connection with the shooting of Joseph Debella Jr., 31, Falls City. Debella was critically injured in the shooting which occurred during the early morning hours on Wednesday, August 5, at 1418 Morton Street in Falls City.

Hernandez is being held in the Brown County Jail awaiting extradition.

Debella Jr. remains in critical condition at Bryan Trauma Center West Campus in Lincoln.

The investigation into the shooting continues.

Colorado Resident Is 2nd to Die from Plague This Year

Medical-ChartPUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — The plague has killed a second person in Colorado this year.

Pueblo County announced Wednesday that an adult there had died of the disease, which was likely spread by fleas from a dead animal.

Cases of the plague are rare, and deaths are even rarer. Nationally, an average of seven human plague cases is reported each year, although Colorado had eight on its own last year.

In June, a 16-year-old from Larimer County died of septicemic plague that wasn’t detected until after he passed away. That’s a relatively rare form of the plague that is difficult to diagnose because it isn’t accompanied by the tell-tale swelling of the glands seen in most plague cases.

The latest case is also believed to have been the same type.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File