COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 31-year-old Columbus man who pointed a pellet handgun at the face of a police officer has been given probation and some jail time.

Aaron Lotspeich was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 30 days of jail immediately and 60 days of jail time to be served in four increments of 15 days unless waived by a judge. After making a deal for lesser charges, Lotspeich pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of attempted terroristic threats. He was sentenced on Friday.

Police say two officers responded on Jan. 20 to a report that Lotspeich might harm himself. They say he pointed the gun at one of them before surrendering.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former fourth-grade teacher in northeastern Nebraska is facing a year’s suspension from teaching for correcting punctuation and capitalization errors on some of her students’ statewide writing tests.

Michelle Jacobsen also was the district assessment coordinator for Allen Consolidated Schools. She resigned after a school investigation showed she made the changes on eight of her students’ rough draft portions of the test.

The exam for fourth-graders is a two-day process. Students first write rough drafts and then write their responses to a prompt in the test booklet.

Officials say Jacobsen admitted to changing the tests, because she felt pressure for her students to do well.

School officials notified state education officials and the district’s fourth-grade writing tests results were tossed.

A phone number listed for a Michelle Jacobsen in Allen was out of service.

ROGERS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in eastern Nebraska say a man has been seriously injured after his car was hit by a train.

The Colfax County Attorney’s office said on Wednesday that 38-year-old Jessie Fujan of Colon was seriously injured in the Tuesday collision near Rogers.

Authorities say Fujan was driving on a private road when the car got stuck on the railroad tracks. They say he didn’t have his lights on when he was hit.

He was flown to an Omaha hospital where he remained in serious condition on Wednesday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A second man has been arrested on suspicion of playing a role in the September fatal shooting of an Omaha jewelry store owner during a botched robbery.

Authorities said Wednesday that 20-year-old Christopher Hicks is being held on suspicion of receiving stolen property, violation of probation and felony criminal conspiracy.

Police have not said what role Hicks is believed to have played in the Sept. 17 shooting death of 71-year-old James Minshall Sr.

Another man, 18-year-old Milton Dortch Jr., pleaded not guilty last month to first-degree murder and weapons charges in Minshall’s death.

Police say Dortch told officers he shot Minshall three times at his store, JR’s Jewelry & Gifts, because he thought Minshall was reaching for a gun.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police have released the name of an 83-year-old man who they believe had a medical episode before fatally crashing into a light pole.

Witnesses tell police Robert Marhenke of Lincoln was driving his Chevy truck erratically on Tuesday night before going off of the road. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident and no other injuries were reported. Marhenke’s cause of death hasn’t been reported.

BURR, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a former Burr couple who authorities say confined a 3-year-old boy in a makeshift cage for hours at a time.

Otoe County Attorney David Partsch asked the judge to dismiss the cases of 23-year-old Louis Arms and 22-year-old Kelsi Gaube in exchange for the pair entering admissions in a related juvenile case. The judge dismissed felony child abuse charges after they complied.

Partsch says a sheriff’s deputy found the makeshift cage in June when responding to a report in Burr about a disturbance. The cage was in a closet that had crib bars rigged across it.

A judge granted custody of the boy to the state in an order last month.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Miranda Lambert has reached new heights as a female country performer: The fiery singer is the most decorated female artist in the history of the Country Music Association Awards.

Lambert’s four wins Wednesday night give the 30-year-old a total of 11 CMA trophies throughout her career, putting her ahead of any other female act. Lambert’s fifth consecutive win for female vocalist of the year Wednesday beat a record set by herself, Reba McEntire and Martina McBride.

Lambert also took home album of the year for “Platinum,” single of the year for “Automatic” and music event of the year for “We Were Us” with Keith Urban.

LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teenager has testified that when he killed his 5-year-old foster brother, he was in a fantasy world and thought he was killing a goblin.

Cody Metzker-Madsen told the western Iowa jury on Wednesday that he visits a world only he can reach whenever he plays with someone. He says he didn’t realize until afterward that what he thought was a goblin was actually his foster brother, Dominic Elkins.

His lawyer is using an insanity defense.

Authorities say Metzker-Madsen killed Dominic last year while the two were playing outside of their home near Logan. Metzker-Madsen was 17 at the time.

The boy’s body was found at the bottom of a ravine. An autopsy showed he died of blunt-force head injuries and drowning.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 30-year-old man was fatally wounded outside his home in northwest Omaha Wednesday morning.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s office says the shooting happened near 96th and State streets around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The victim, Michael Stubbs, died at the Nebraska Medical Center around 10:30 a.m.

A suspect has been arrested but authorities did not immediately release his name Wednesday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln authorities say a man may have had a medical episode before fatally crashing his vehicle into a light pole.

The crash occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in south Lincoln. Police Sgt. Brian Agnew says the vehicle left the roadway and rammed into the pole. The man was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

The man’s name isn’t being released until relatives are notified about his death.