An arrest has been made in the missing person investigation and homicide of Jesus “Ismenia” Marinero.

On Thursday, May 7, 2015 at approximately 9:10 p.m., Roberto C. Martinez-Marinero, date of birth 4-16-90, walked into the Douglas County Department of Corrections where he advised staff that he was involved in the death of his mother, Ms. Marinero.

Martinez-Marinero was transported to Omaha Police Department Central Police Headquarters where he was interviewed by Homicide Detectives and subsequently booked for 1st Degree Murder and Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony for the murder of Ms. Marinero. This investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed. At this point in the investigation, there are no other suspects being sought by the Omaha Police Department.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 4-year-old western Iowa boy has been shot in the back of his neck and another child has been taken into protective custody.

Authorities say Q-Marion Jones has been taken in critical condition to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Police say the boy was shot around 5 p.m. Thursday at the Northgate Apartments in Council Bluffs. A hospital spokesman didn’t immediately return a message Friday from The Associated Press.

Police say another juvenile in the home at the time had access to a semi-automatic pistol, and the child was taken into protective custody. No arrests have been reported, and police haven’t said whether the shooting was accidental.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Florida man and woman have pleaded not guilty to charges of leading police on a high-speed chase through three counties in Nebraska.

31-year-old Keri Ansley and 34-year-old Christopher White, both of Milton, Florida, entered their pleas on Thursday. They face charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

According to prosecutors, White and Ansley led law enforcement through Adams, Webster and Kearney counties for an hour and 20 minutes before running out of gas in March.

Authorities say the two suspects were found with about 2 pounds of methamphetamine, a firearm and multiple rounds of ammunition for different caliber firearms.

A jury trial has been set for July 27.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — The swollen Big Blue River in Beatrice has fallen nearly 1.5 feet since cresting overnight at more than a dozen feet above flood stage.

National Weather Service records showed Friday that the river rose to 30.1 feet, less than 3 feet from the record of 33 feet.

Floodwaters had closed U.S. Highways 77 and 136 into and out of the southeast Nebraska city. On Thursday workers at the Gage County Museum removed items as water approached the main building and storage facility. The museum sits barely a block east of the river.

Rain reports from the Wednesday-Thursday overnight storms ranged from 5 to more than 10 inches in southeast Nebraska. Gov. Pete Ricketts declared a state of emergency.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials say they’ve taken action to protect residents of two nursing homes run by an ailing Utah company.

The office of Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says a judge in Brown County on Thursday placed Ainsworth Care Center into receivership with Klaasmeyer & Associates in Omaha. A judge in Burt County did the same with Logan Valley Manor in Lyons. Under receivership, Klaasmeyer & Associates will take over management and operation of both homes.

Peterson’s office sought the receiverships at the request of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Officials say both homes are owned by Deseret Health Group, headquartered in Bountiful, Utah. Peterson’s office says Deseret Health had told Nebraska officials that it was ceasing operations at the nursing homes and been unable to pay staffers.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A powerful and potentially harmful chemical compound has been found in synthetic marijuana tested in several states that saw a huge spike in the number of people hospitalized because of the drug last month.

Recent tests have turned up a synthetic cannabinoid that mimics the effects of the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Officials say it’s one of several cannabinoids that can cause severe health problems including seizures, elevated blood pressure and death.

Dr. Steven Marcus of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System has been monitoring the recent hospitalizations spike. He tells The Associated Press that the same compound has been found recently in synthetic marijuana seized in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states.

DEWITT, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has declared a state of emergency in areas of Nebraska affected by tornadoes and flooding.

Authorities scrambled Thursday to evacuate as water from tributaries throughout the southeastern portion of the state rose in the wake of nearly a foot of rain.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office asked DeWitt residents to go to the village hall, and further south, flooding in Jefferson County forced some evacuations.

Several highways and local roads in Lincoln and surrounding areas were closed because of runoff from overnight thunderstorms in southeast Nebraska.

The storm system also produced several tornadoes that swept parts of southeast and south-central Nebraska. Most were small and tore through farmland, though several homes were reported damaged around Grand Island, Roseland and Hebron.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Grand Island man has pleaded not guilty to persuading a 12-year-old Minnesota girl to send him nude and erotic photos.

22-year-old Kenneth Miller is charged with visual depiction of sexually explicit content and enticement by an electronic device. Prosecutors allege the photos were exchanged in June.

Miller entered his plea Tuesday.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 18. He faces up to 50 years in prison on the first charge and up to five years on the second.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The owner of the only restaurant in a small Nebraska town says the business won’t survive after a state panel denied her a liquor license this week.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission on Wednesday refused to grant the license for Heather Cole because investigators discovered illegal moonshine at her Riverton bar last year.

Members said they couldn’t trust Cole after she allowed the moonshine into Smitty’s and then lied to investigators about it.

The restaurant serves 40 diners a day in Riverton, which has a population of 86.

Cole said she forgot the moonshine was in the bar and that she never sold it.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha mother wants Douglas County to pay her $100,000 for her mistaken arrest last year after she said deputies wrongly assumed she was another woman wanted for suspected child abuse.

Maria C. Vargas-Bautista was jailed for four days after she said officers arrested the wrong Maria.

She said Tuesday that officers never read her her constitutional rights before taking her into custody. She says she was later released from the jail without explanation. Her attorney filed a tort claim last week, detailing her arrest in May 2014.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Wheeler declined to comment on Vargas-Bautista’s arrest because of the pending claim. Messages seeking comment from the Douglas County Corrections director were left by the newspaper.