NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have arrested four teenagers who are suspected of assaulting and robbing a 57-year-old man in Norfolk.

Three 18-year-old men and a 16-year-old female were charged after the Wednesday assault.

Police say the man who was attacked was hospitalized with head and face injuries, and his wallet was stolen.

Those arrested were Zackary J. Schmer, Damian L. Price and Aaron C. Wilson, all of Norfolk. All were charged with robbery, and were being held in the Madison County Jail. The 16-year-old also faces a robbery charge, and was taken to the Madison County Youth Detention Center in Madison.

Officers say they found the accuser’s wallet, driver’s license and other personal items during a search of Schmer’s home.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say they’re investigating an incident in which an officer was caught on video speeding in a non-emergency.

A man with a cellphone posted the video on YouTube after following the office to a convenience store, where the officer bought a bag of peanuts.

Police Chief Todd Schmaderer says authorities have launched an internal investigation, but he declined to comment further, saying it was a personnel matter.

Police say officers are allowed to violate traffic laws at times, but the incident in question didn’t appear to be warranted.

Authorities say they appreciate citizens reporting questionable police actions, but say they shouldn’t violate the law. The camera man, who was not identified, acknowledged that he had to speed to follow the officer.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska sheriff’s deputy faces a misdemeanor sexual assault charge for an alleged incident at a Papillion sports bar.

Sgt. Rick Wheeler of the Sarpy County sheriff’s office is charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault.

The Cass County attorney’s office alleges that Wheeler touched a woman in a sexual manner without her consent at Jerzes Sports Bar on Sept. 9. The sheriff’s department became aware of the incident a few days later and launched an internal investigation.

Wheeler, a 26-year veteran of the department, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. A pretrial hearing is set for Nov. 21.

Wheeler was placed paid administrative leave. His attorney declined to comment.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 21-year-old is recovering in the hospital after he was shot in the street in north Omaha.

Police say Denzell Davis told them he was walking toward a home around 8:45 p.m. on Thursday when he heard gunshots and realized he was wounded.

Authorities say Davis was able to walk into CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center for treatment. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Davis’ family members say they’re cooperating with the investigation. A neighbor told Omaha television station WOWT that he heard about eight gunshots.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say the “real work” will start Friday to recover the remains of four people who died when a small plane crashed into a building at a Kansas airport.

Jet fuel from the twin-engine Beechcraft King Air burned so hot after the crash Thursday morning that portions of the building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport remained unsafe all day.

Wichita Fire Chief Ronald Blackwell says heavy equipment will arrive Friday to remove portions of the building so emergency personnel can reach the victims’ bodies. Crews are expected to be at the site for several days.

A federal investigator says the pilot reported a problem with the aircraft’s left engine soon after taking off from the airport.

Three of the dead were inside the building and the pilot was the fourth victim.

PIERCE, Neb. (AP) — A Columbus man accused of killing a Norfolk teenager in 2011 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Twenty-four-year-old Daniel Hofmann entered the plea in Pierce County court on Thursday. He admitted to shooting his friend, 18-year-old Wesley Kuester, in April 2011. Three other charges were dropped as part of the deal.

Authorities say Hofmann shot Kuester with a shotgun while they were playing with guns after drinking.

Hofmann faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in December.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A worker at a Tyson Foods building in Omaha was injured in an early-morning accident.

Omaha television station WOWT reports that the man was taken to the hospital after getting his hand caught in a chain at the plant around 2:45 a.m. It took crews about half an hour to extricate him.

Authorities say the man was at the CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center with critical injuries. It’s not yet clear what caused the accident.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska sheriff says deputies have seized nearly $560,000 in suspected drug money in recent traffic stops.

The money was confiscated in three separate stops in Lancaster County.

The biggest bust came on Saturday, when a deputy stopped 31-year-old Matthew S. Crothers of Palos Heights, Illinois, and 50-year-old Jeffrey A. Larkin of Orland Park, Illinois. Authorities say a search of their pickup yielded nearly $439,000 in a spare tire and a small amount of marijuana.

Deputies also seized nearly $54,000 in a Sunday stop, and arrested 33-year-old Wing Lun Lau of Minneapolis.

On Friday, they confiscated $67,000. The sheriff says deputies arrested 21-year-old James Milton Atkinson of Mankato, Minnesota, and 22-year-old Erik Joseph Felsheim of Waseca, Minnesota.

CENTRAL CITY, Neb. (AP) — A former office manager at a Nebraska county sheriff’s office is suing the sheriff after she was acquitted of a theft charge.

Lori Sautter and her attorneys announced the lawsuit on Wednesday.

Sautter alleges that Merrick County Sheriff Kevin Campbell invaded her privacy and painted her in a false light within the community. She appeared a news conference with Dane Sullivan, a write-in candidate for sheriff.

Sautter was charged with theft after a 2012 state audit found nearly $17,300 missing from the department. All but about $5,900 was later found.

Sautter was declared not guilty in May. She is seeking more than $56,000 in back pay, court costs of more than $4,000 and more than $6,000 for the loss of personal items.

Campbell says the lawsuit isn’t warranted.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A small pioneer cemetery near Beatrice will be reopened and privately run under a new Nebraska law.

Beatrice radio station KWBE reports that the Gage County Board of Supervisors approved a special permit Wednesday to let a family reopen the Sparks Cemetery.

The cemetery sits on land about six miles west of Beatrice. It’s expected to be the first such cemetery reopened under a law that allows private associations to operate closed cemeteries that have been maintained by counties.

Gage County resident Dan Crawford worked with state Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland to pass the law. Crawford says he wanted to lay his late mother to rest in the small cemetery, but couldn’t do so until the law was changed.

Graves in the cemetery date back to 1824.