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Tiger split
. The Nebraska women beat Missouri 84-46, but
r the NU men had their four-game win streak
snapped with a 75-74 loss at Columbia. PAGE 9
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Wide open
Lincoln band Wide will bring its punk-rock en
ergy and slightly skewed sense of humor to Han
gar 18,11180 St., tonight. PAGE 12
THURSDAY
January 23, 1997
Lons Jow Suva
Cloudy, high 25. Light snow liter, low 7.
Witness to Cole shooting testifies
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
Fighting words and gang speech
sparked legal clashes the first day of
the second-degree attempted murder
trial of a former NU football player.
Attorneys in the case of Riley
Washington, the former Husker
wingback, got to their long-awaited
opening statements just minutes after
finishing more than seven hours of jury
selection.
Prosecution witnesses, including a
forma gang member and witness to the
alleged crime, also got under way
Wednesday afternoon. The defense said
Washington will testify when it presents
its case.
An all-white, 7-man, 5-woman jury
will hear Washington’s case, in which
he is accused of shooting Jermaine Cole
on Aug. 2, 1995, outside the Kwik
Shop at 27th and W streets.
Washington is charged with at
tempted second-degree murder —
meaning he acted with malice, but with
out premeditation—and use of a fire
M
We’re going to introduce some witnesses,
and they are not going to he some of the
nicest people in the world”
.
Ronald Lahners „ -
snarial Tvmsta/ni+ar '
arm to commit a felony.
Much of Wednesday’s legal wran
gling was about gangs and gang speech.
Before the jury was allowed into
court, Lancaster County District Court
Judge Bernard McGinn granted a de
fense motion not allowing the prosecu
tor to make statements about — or in
troduce evidence of — any alleged in
volvement in gangs on the part of
Washington.
McGinn, however, did allow Spe
cial Prosecutor Ronald Lahners to in
troduce evidence about other wit
nesses’ gang affiliations.
Lahners’ first witness was a former
gang member. Anthony Jackson, who
changed his name to Israel Hawkins
after the incident, said on the witness
stand that he came to Cole’s aid dur
ing a fight with three men, two of them
former NU football players Abdul
Muhammed and Willis Brown. #
Hawkins said he was at the Kwik
Shop in the early morning of Aug. 2,
1995, when he witnessed a verbal ex
change between Cole and some ofhi^
Brown and another man hecohEfnot
identify.
Please see TRIAL on 3
Central Administration blaze
spares NU president’s office
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
A fire that damaged a kitchenette
in Varner Hall Wednesday night won’t
be enough to close the building for
business today, university police said.
Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege St.,
houses NU Central Administration, in
cluding the office of NU President Den
nis Smith.
Cpl. Carl Oestman, who was the
responding officer to the fire, said pre
liminary investigation into the blaze
found that a coffee pot was left on an
active electric-stove burner in a kitch
enette on the west end of the first floor.
The fire, he said, was reported by a
custodian working in the East Campus
building around 7 p.m.
“I would commend her for notifying
people so we could put it out before it
caused real damage,” Oestman said.
Damage from the fire was estimated
to be $20,000 to $30,000.
There were smoke detectors in the
hallway, but not in the kitchenette,
Oestman said.
The smoke did not get thick enough
in the hallway to set off the smoke
alarms, he said.
The fire damaged the counter tops,
carpet, walls, cabinets and ceiling tiles
in the kitchenette, Oestman said.
There was soot in the hallways
around the fire-damaged kitchenette,
and the walls would have to be cleaned
and perhaps repainted, he said.
The president’s office is on the
northeast side of the building. How
ever, Oestman said, the fire was con
tained in the kitchenette, which sits in
a common area off a hallway on the
west.
No damage was done to Smith’s of
fice, he said.
Oestman said university personnel
would work in the building Wednes
day night to try to get the area clean
enough for business hours today.
By Brian Carlson
Staff Reporter
A sense of awe, history and respon
ribilfty have greeted the six newest mem
? bers of the Nebraska Legislature.
The six new senators of the 95lh Leg
1 islalure vary in age, career experience and
legislative goals. But they express simi
t lar early impressions of die everyday
business of the State Capitol.
Chris Peterson
Sen. Chris Peterson, 35th District
said,
inch a
sense of history
around you, and
it’s very humbling.
1 felt like a little
kid the first day.”
A former
teacher, Peterson
spent six years di
recting the Hall
v^vsuiujr j^auership Training Program.
p. *
Iw # * #•*
senator sacrifices
-—--— ---——r—7“
Siaff j^eptfrtier 'v
StateSen.Jon Burning says gov
ernment should make do with less,
and he is offering his own experi
ence as an example.
Bruiting, the youngest member
of the 1997 Nebraska Legislature at
27, gave up a lawyer’s salary to suc
cessfully campaign last fall for
Omaha’s 3rd ^strict seat. He will
earn just $12,0b0 this year, a sub
stantial pay cut he accepted for the:
chance tohave animpactoajtate
government. H V?v
bruning and his
expecting a child in April — a girl
the couple recently learned follow
ing an ultrasound test.
Although Bruning admits his
situation is “scary” at times, he said
his sacrifices are worthwhile.
“I thought property taxes in Ne
braska were too high, and we've got
a lack of balance between the
Read the Daily Nebmskan on the World Wide Web at http: / / www.unl.edu IDailyNeb
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