German, Carter await next court date

    Two major court cases in the area appear to be in something of a holding pattern this week.
    Chase County Clerk of District Court Debra Clark said no new court dates have been scheduled for Kevin German and Keonna Carter, who face first degree murder and kidnapping charges in the November abduction and murder of Annika Swanson.
    Imperial native German, 24, of Colorado Springs, and Carter, 22, who has a Utah address, face charges of first degree murder. German also is charged with two kidnapping counts and Carter with one. Each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
    The pair pled not guilty to the charges at Feb. 4 district court arraignments.
    They are charged in connection with the November disappearance and death of Swanson, 22, who was reported missing by her father three days before her body was found about five miles south of Imperial. German also is charged with kidnapping Eve Ambrosek of Imperial.
    Both remain in the Lincoln County Jail in North Platte.
    Charges against a third defendant in the case, Russell Mann, 43, of rural Enders, are being dismissed. An arraignment for Mann was scheduled Tuesday, and Clark said it was expected the charges would be formally dismissed at that time.
Child enticement case
    Another area case, in Hitchcock County, is against James Hicks, 42, of Palisade.
    The Hitchcock County Attorney’s Office said Hicks’ first court appearance is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. CT Feb. 26 in county court in Trenton.
    Hicks is charged with child enticement by electronic device.
    The Hitchcock County Clerk of Court’s office said no hearings have been scheduled. County Attorney D. Eugene Garner could not be reached for comment.
    The Nebraska State Patrol said Hicks was arrested Jan. 17 after a search of his Palisade home.
    That investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted the State Patrol and told them a person at Hicks’ residence had received child pornography.
    Child enticement by electronic device is a Class IV felony punishable by a maximum of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine.
    Hicks was released from the Hitchcock County Jail on $75,000 bond.