National Signing Day is Feb. 1 and the Husker football team has 14 commitments coming into the day with the potential of four of five more. Bo Pelini is holding a press conference at 2:30 today where he’ll talk about the 2012 signing class. Here is a schedule of when other potential top recruits will make their announcement. Check back here for the latest or follow us on Twitter at Nebraskasports. (All times listed are central time)
South Dakota men jailed after fleeing from, then shooting at state trooper
January 30, 2012 By
Two men from South Dakota have been arrested, suspected of fleeing from a Nebraska State Patrol trooper on Interstate 80, then shooting at him.
The incident began with a high speed chase on I-80 east of the Odessa exit late Friday night. It ended at noon Saturday with the arrest of the second suspect in Minden.
The Nebraska State Patrol reports 22-year-old Aleksandr Voznyuk of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and 18-year-old Petr Strizheus of Harrisburg, South Dakota fled from the trooper when he attempted to stop them for speeding. The vehicle left I-80 for Highway 44. The patrol says several shots were fired from the vehicle at the trooper, striking the patrol car at least once. The car turned east onto Highway 6, heading toward Minden, before turning north on Highway 10.
The pursuit ended when the vehicle struck a ditch and the two occupants fled on foot. Additional troopers, dogs and the Aviation Support Division were called in to aid in the search.
Troopers arrested Voznyuk very early Saturday morning near the Ft. Kearney Feedlot after the pilot of the NSP helicopter located a heat signature in a field using Forward Looking Infrared. Voznyuk has been detained in the Buffalo County jail.
A librarian’s tip led to the arrest of the second suspect, according to the patrol. A librarian at the Minden public library reported to the Kearney County Sheriff’s Department that a suspicious subject was there. Strizheus was arrested without incident. He has joined Voznyuk in the Buffalo County jail.
Neither suspect was armed at the time of the arrest. The investigation continues.
Oregon man stopped on I-80, drug dog leads trooper to 103 pounds of marijuana
January 30, 2012 By
An Oregon man has been arrested near Seward, charged with attempting to sale marijuana.
The Nebraska State Patrol reports a drug dog sniffed out marijuana in the sports utility vehicle driven by Raul Verdugo Jr., 43, of Ashland, OR on Interstate 80. A trooper seized more than 103 pounds of marijuana stuffed in four large suitcases in the cargo area of the SUV.
Verdugo is now a resident of the Seward County jail.
Cold case solved? Suspect jailed in 1989 murder of Ord woman
January 26, 2012 By
A suspect is now jailed in Missouri who authorities say is the prime suspect in a central Nebraska murder case from more than two decades ago.
Forty-five-year-old John Oldson was arrested Tuesday night at his home in Clay County, Missouri, near Kansas City.
Oldson is charged in the murder of Cathy Beard, who was a part-time waitress at a bar in Ord, Nebraska, when she vanished in 1989.
The remains of the 31-year-old woman were found in 1992 in a shallow grave near Ord.
The suspect, Oldson, had been questioned in Beard’s disappearance and he’d admitting making a pass at the woman. Witnesses claimed they’d left the bar together.
Authorites say new evidence has turned up that led to the arrest, but no details were released.
Oldson will be extradited to Nebraska next month to face charges in Valley County.
Smithfield man pleads guilty in cattle rustling scheme
January 24, 2012 By
A Nebraska man is facing federal prisontime on cattle rustling charges in Missouri.
The U-S Attorney for Missouri’s Western District says 47-year-old Allen Foos pleaded guilty to transporting stolen livestock across state lines.
Foos, from the south-central Nebraska town of Smithfield, admitted using an alias to order cattle from the livestock center in Callaway, Missouri.
In some cases, he got the cattle and sold them without paying the sale barn. He’s also accused of paying the sale barn by using the proceeds from later cattle deals.
In all, the amount of loss in the cattle scheme exceeded $200,000.
When he’s sentenced, Foos will face up to five years in prison, a quarter-million dollar fine and restitution.
