OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a man they believe shot into a car full of people, including two toddlers.

Police say one man in the car, 26-year-old Johnny Landers, was critically injured in the Thursday night shooting, but expected to survive. He is being treated at Creighton University Medical Center.

Besides Landers, three other adults, a 14-month-old girl and a 2-year-old girl were in the car. The children suffered scrapes on their faces and were checked by paramedics at the scene.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man in the shooting on suspicion of assault, five counts of attempted felony assault and discharge of a firearm.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska’s College of Law is sending its students to help military veterans with matters related to estate planning, giving law students practical experience while helping a population in need.

Over recent weeks, 14 veterans have received free counseling on drafting wills and naming powers of attorney through the Veterans Advanced Directive Clinic.

Ryan Sullivan, who teaches at the law college and helps direct its clinics, says the Advanced Directive Clinic matches law students eager to put their studies to the test to clients who need their help. Veterans who receive the free legal help preparing end-of-life documents see those documents immediately scanned into the Veterans Affairs’ database, where they can be accessed by doctors across the country.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man has died after crashing his motorcycle into a car at an Omaha intersection.

Omaha police say the crash happened late Friday night, when a motorcycle driven by 44-year-old Troy Travis of Omaha hit a car making a left-hand turn at an eastern Omaha intersection.

Police say witness statements and evidence show the motorcycle was speeding.

Travis was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he died early Saturday.

The 28-year-old driver of the car was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) — An Omaha man has been killed and his wife critically injured in a motorcycle crash in western Iowa.

81-year-old Willard Crowl was killed and 78-year-old Sonya Crowl was injured in the Thursday morning crash near Onawa on Interstate 29.

The Iowa State Patrol says the motorcycle was northbound when it began to drift into the right lane, then switched back to the left lane and crashed into the median.

Investigators say Willard Crowl died at the scene. Sonya Crowl was taken to an Onawa hospital, then transported to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City.

It is not known who was driving the motorcycle at the time. The investigation into the crash continues.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man twice found to be too mentally unfit to stand trial for his wife’s killing before being declared competent to stand trial in May will argue that he’s not guilty by reason of insanity.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/1IfENpu ) that Kent Burklund’s public defender recently filed notice with the court of her intent to raise the insanity defense at his second-degree murder trial.

Burklund is charged in the death of 41-year-old Bettina Burklund. She was found dead in the couple’s home in April 2014.

Police say Kent Burklund told investigators he was afraid of his wife and believed gang members had put date-rape drugs into his drinks and poisoned him with meth.

If convicted, Burklund could get 20 years to life in prison.

LINCOLN — Three girls were injured when an inflatable collided with a boat Friday evening at Ginger Woods, a private lake 1 1/2 miles southwest of Valley.

At approximately 7:46 p.m. Friday, a 45-year-old woman operating a boat towing the inflatable made an evasive action to avoid colliding with a second boat that had a skier down in the water. The evasive action caused the inflatable to travel out of the towing boat’s wake and collide with the side of the downed skier’s boat.

Two 13-year-old girls and one 12-year old girl were riding on the inflatable. One of the 13-year-old girls was flown by helicopter to UNMC. The other two girls were transported to UNMC by Valley and Waterloo Rescue. The girls sustained injuries including broken bones and internal injuries that did not appear to be life threatening. All three girls were wearing Coast Guard-approved life jackets. There were no injuries to the occupants of either boat or to the skier.

Alcohol is not suspected as a factor in the accident, which remains under investigation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered that a man’s gun collection seized last year by police must be returned to him, but Lincoln ordinances won’t let him have them in the city.

Police confiscated 24 handguns from Kevin Williams, who was accused of illegally possessing them after being convicted of having an illegal pocketknife. The unlawful possession gun charge against Williams was dropped at the city’s request last week.

Gun rights proponents say the case underscores the need for a state law ensuring consistent regulations statewide so cities can’t enact stricter gun laws than the state. Supporters of gun control and city officials contend the ordinances ensure local leaders can protect citizens by keeping the weapons out of the hands of irresponsible owners.

DENVER (AP) — The marijuana industry is hoping a federal judge will force regulators to let pot businesses access the banking system by setting up its own credit union.

A pair of recently filed lawsuits in Denver challenge recent decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the National Credit Union Administration to deny applications from the Fourth Corner Credit Union.

The credit union was set up last year to serve Colorado’s marijuana industry, but it needs permission from federal insurers and regulators before opening for business.

The Federal Reserve rejected Fourth Corner’s application earlier this month.

The decision means many pot businesses still use elaborate banking work-arounds from paying the power bill at facilities with money orders to spritzing cash with air freshener to avoid bank detection.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for a 21-year-old Columbus mother convicted of child abuse.

Jodie Shelly pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor negligent child abuse. Prosecutors had lowered the charges from felonies in exchange for her pleas. Her sentencing is set for Aug. 31.

Shelly’s boyfriend, 24-year-old Ryan Roberts, was sentenced in May to five years on two counts of child abuse. Roberts acknowledged backhanding Shelly’s 1-year-old son after the boy bit him in January.

A court document says Shelly acknowledged having an anger problem and that “she grabs her daughter too firmly when she is whining or arguing with her brother.” The document says Shelly acknowledged angrily tossing her daughter onto a couch from a few feet away in January.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 5-year-old boy has died after being struck by an SUV in an alleyway in southeast Omaha.

According to police, Yoshua Mejia-Estrada died late Thursday. He was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition with severe head injuries and a pelvic fracture.

Authorities say a 25-year-old man was driving through the alleyway when he struck Mejia-Estrada as the child emerged from between a set of parked vehicles around 9:15 p.m.

According to police, the boy and his family had been visiting relatives at a nearby residence when the accident happened.

Police say speed and alcohol were not factors in the collision. The incident is under investigation.