Lincoln police have taken no criminal action against a Canadian truckdriver who accidentally ran over a 50-year-old Lincoln man in a crowded truck stop parking lot Monday morning.

Officer Katherine Finnell said she didn’t anticipate police ticketing or citing 49-year-old Edward C. Snippe of Wilno, Ontario, in the incident at Shoemaker’s truck stop parking lot, 4800 W. O St. Resad Salja died when Snippe’s semi-truck backed over him. He had been standing between two parked semi-trucks talking with some friends when the accident occurred, according to police.

After reviewing police reports, the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office will determine if charges will be filed. No one from the office was available for comment Tuesday afternoon to say if a decision had been made.

Police said the driver of the Canadian truck, a Winnipeg Motor Express truck, had walked around his truck to check it out before leaving the lot in mid-morning.

20-year-old Roca man accused of robberiesA 20-year-old turned himself in Monday to police investigating him on suspicion of robbing Pizza Hut two nights in a row over the July 4 weekend.

 

Police arrested Donald C. Verts Jr. of Roca for allegedly robbing Pizza Hut at 5601 S. 56th St. on July 2 a little after 1 a.m. and again July 3, just before 11:30 p.m. They were following up on a tip.

Both times he went into the business, pointed what appeared to be a pistol at an employee and demanded money, Officer Katherine Finnell said. She said it is believed that Verts had used a toy gun in the robberies, in which he got less than $100 combined.

Police look into 25 reports of vandalism

Lincoln police were looking into 25 reports over the weekend about broken windows. Officer Katherine Finnell said most of what was believed to be BB gun or pellet gun vandalism happened to vehicles and some homes  overnight Friday in northeast and southeast Lincoln, with a handful more in northwest Lincoln. Finnell said they had no suspects.

Speeding stop leads to 450 lbs. of marijuana

A Nebraska State Patrol trooper stopped an F350 utility truck early Saturday and ended up finding 450 pounds of marijuana in a hidden fuel compartment.

State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said the trooper made the stop along eastbound Interstate 80, near the downtown Lincoln exit, at about 12:45 a.m.

She said the driver, 55-year-old Mills Peterson gave the trooper verbal and written consent to search the vehicle. A police canine indicated drugs near a 500-gallon fuel tank on the bed of the truck, Collins said. A closer inspection turned up a covered trap door and the marijuana, she said.

On Monday, Peterson, who gave his address as Ft. Wayne, Ind., and provided a Colorado operator’s license, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Federal judge sentences men on drug charges

A federal judge has sentenced a 30-year-old Lincoln man and a 31-year-old Las Vegas man on unrelated drug charges.

Judge Richard G. Kopf sentenced Steven M. Luedtke to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and five years for possession of a firearm by a felony.

Luedtke was involved with at least six others in buying and selling between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of meth within the Lincoln area from September 2003 through the end of 2005, said U.S. Attorney Michael Heavican. On Dec. 31, he was arrested in his vehicle, where police found drugs and a .9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Kopf also sentenced Daniel L. Moore of Las Vegas to three years and four months in prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The men were sentenced Friday. Three co-defendants — Gary Oh Ward, Lillian Ruiz and Sokha Keo — are set for sentencing later this month.

On Jan. 25, 2005, a Nebraska State Trooper stopped Ward for a traffic violation as he drove east on I-80. A search turned up 540 pounds of marijuana and $2,486. Two days later, another trooper stopped a vehicle speeding west on I-80 and found $112,895. Ward had rented the vehicle several days earlier. Ruiz was driving and Moore was a passenger.

Heavican said, as part of the plea agreement, Moore agreed to forfeit the money found in the cars and to cooperate with the prosecution of Ward and Ruiz.

Union treasurer pleads guilty to theft

A former transit union treasurer pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling from the organization.

Antoinette Cox-Burress, 43, pleaded guilty to a fourth-class felony theft charge and agreed to make restitution at the plea hearing before Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn.

Cox-Burress had been charged with third-class felony theft. Colborn scheduled her for sentencing Oct. 26.

Prosecutors alleged Cox-Burress stole $14,663 from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1293 in Lincoln between June 2001 and December 2004. The funds were taken from the union’s account at First Choice Credit Union in Lincoln, authorities said.

Transit union members include bus and van drivers and workers involved in light rail transit.