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

Grand Island Man Sentenced for Video Recordings in Restroom

Robert Koziol
Robert Koziol

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A judge barred a former restaurant manager from watching pornography as part of his sentence for making video recordings of his female employees in a restroom.

28-year-old Robert Koziol, of Grand Island, was also sentenced Friday to six months in jail and placed on four years of intensive supervised probation. He was found guilty in February of five counts of felony unlawful intrusion for recording the women last year.

Prosecutors say Koziol’s employees found a cellphone in the vent of the women’s restroom on Sept. 25. The phone proved to be Koziol’s, and prosecutors say it contained images and videos of women in varying stages of undress.

Lincoln Pharmacist Accused of Bilking Medicaid for $2.5M

gavel-and-scaleLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has deemed a Lincoln pharmacist charged with bilking Nebraska’s Medicaid program out of nearly $2.5 million a flight risked and ordered him to remain jailed.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart on Friday ordered 44-year-old Scott Tran to stay in jail, saying the Pharmacy Specialty Services owner has led a secret life from even his family that involved a “massive amount of gambling.”

Tran was arrested Wednesday after an FBI affidavit said that between May 2009 and February 2015, Tran submitted 399 claims for reimbursement for a cystic fibrosis medication, saying they had been ordered by six doctors in the Lincoln area. The affidavit said those claims were fraudulent, and many used the names of the children of Tran’s customers.

Ex-Mad Dad’s Volunteer Sentenced for Theft from Group

Kenneth Borene
Kenneth Borene

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Mad Dads volunteer has been sentenced to 1.5 years to three years in prison this week for prying open a locked office and stealing a new computer from the nonprofit organization.

50-year-old Kenneth Borene pleaded no contest to an attempted burglary. He was sentenced Tuesday in Lancaster County District Court.

Surveillance video caught him going into Mad Dads’ office about 3 a.m. Nov. 18, 2013, and leaving about 15 minutes later after prying open a locked office and taking a new computer worth about $1,300. Lincoln police tracked the computer back to a man who said he bought it from Borene for $200.

Wine Festival Scheduled for May at Mahoney State Park

glass-of-wineLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is hosting the second annual Toast Nebraska Wine Festival with 19 wineries from around the state.

The event is scheduled for May 1-2 and will include music, food and conversation against the backdrop of the park.

The weekend will include live entertainment, an amateur wine-making competition, a cigar lounge, jewelry vendors, wine education sessions and trolley tours through the park.

Tickets range from $25 to $65. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Heartland Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs. A state park permit is required for each vehicle entering the park.

Hash Explosions Prompt Changes in Legal Pot States

hash-oilDENVER (AP) — A rash of hash oil explosions is prompting lawmakers in Colorado and Washington to consider spelling out what’s allowed when it comes to making hash or concentrated marijuana at home.

Both states have seen an increase in home fires and explosions linked to amateurs making hash — concentrated marijuana that can be inhaled or eaten.

Washington’s proposal would ban amateur hash cooks from using butane or other explosive gases, though safer methods would be allowed. Colorado lawmakers are considering similar limits.

Concentrated marijuana is increasingly popular because it can be mixed with food and made at home more cheaply than buying it from a commercial dispensary.

Nebraska Man Accused of Imposing ‘Slave Contract’ to Stand Trial

Nicholas Talbot
Nicholas Talbot

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man accused of making his girlfriend sign a “slave contract” that obligated her to endure his physical and sexual abuse will stand trial.

35-year-old Nicholas Talbot waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday. He is being held on $25,000 bond on one count of second-degree domestic assault.

Court documents show Talbot forced his 32-year-old girlfriend to sign a “slave” contract, subjecting her to sexual acts and abuses that included making her drink his urine. Talbott was arrested in January.

Talbott’s case has been assigned to the public defender’s office. Online court records don’t indicate whether a specific attorney has been appointed to his case who could be contacted to comment on his behalf. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 22.

Police: Man Shot with Pellet Gun at Omaha Lake

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man injured in a shooting earlier this week at Standing Bear Lake in northwest Omaha was shot by a pellet gun.

The Omaha Police Department said Friday that investigation into the incident determined that the weapon used was a pellet gun. Officers responded to a report of the shooting Monday afternoon and found 74-year-old Alexander Tsymkovsky with an apparent gunshot wound.

Tsymkovsky was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center in serious condition. He was later released.

No arrests have been made at this time.

12-Year-Old Suspected of Setting Fire in Lincoln Art Gallery

arsonLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a 12-year-old girl suspected of setting a fire in a Lincoln art gallery.

The blaze erupted in a first-floor studio Thursday afternoon at the Burkholder Project building in the Haymarket district on the west side of downtown.

Police say the girl used a lighter to set flame to paper used to wrap art pieces. No injuries have been reported. Smoke and fire damage was estimated at $10,000 to the building and its contents.

Court: Nebraska Judge Had Right to Keep Mother from Homeschooling

ne-supreme-courtOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a judge had the right to order a mother not to homeschool her young daughter, based on child welfare officials’ recommendations and the mother’s history of abusive disciplinary tactics.

The mother, listed only as “Angel B.” in Friday’s opinion, had appealed the Lancaster County Juvenile Court’s order last summer keeping her from homeschooling her 6-year-old daughter until further notice.

In 2012, Angel’s 13-year-old daughter was removed from the home after she was forced to sleep in a tent in 55-degree weather as punishment. The younger daughter remains with Angel, but the state has legal custody until Angel can be declared a fit parent. The high court says that legal custody gives the state the right to make education decisions for the girl.

More Prison Time for Omaha Mom Convicted of Aiding Killer Son

Lori Jenkins
Lori Jenkins

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman convicted of being an accessory to her son’s Omaha killings has been given state prison time on top of the federal time she’s already serving.

Last month 48-year-old Lori Jenkins was convicted on two accessory counts. State prosecutors say Jenkins concealed evidence about the purchase of ammunition her son, Nikko Jenkins, used and helped dispose of clothing that had gunshot residue on it.

Nikko Jenkins has been convicted of four slayings.

Court officials say Lori Jenkins was sentenced on Thursday to eight to 10 years on one charge and 20 to 24 months on the second. They are to be served consecutively and consecutive to her 10-year federal sentence for being a felon in possession of ammunition and of illegally buying ammunition for her son.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File