Nebraska
Man accused of kidnapping five people in Nebraska Panhandle deemed mentally incompetent
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A western Nebraska man was found mentally incompetent to stand trial Friday on charges of kidnapping five people.
Garden County Judge Randin Roland ordered 71-year-old Carl Thomas of Morrill to receive treatment until his mental fitness is restored.
On Feb. 28, court documents say Thomas picked up two women and three children at a gas station in Big Springs.
He had offered to take them to the Walmart in Ogallala to buy car seats.
But the store was only 22 minutes away, and after 30 minutes, authorities said Thomas was still driving.
SEE ALSO: Affidavit: Scotts Bluff County man kidnapped two women, three children
When one of the children asked if they were still going to Walmart, Thomas ignored him, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Garden County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas then started showing everyone pictures of female genitalia.
He told them he was going to take them to his home to “clean and massage him,” the affidavit says.
One of the women tried to jump out of the car, but the sheriff’s office said Thomas was driving too fast.
Soon after, a deputy found the car and pulled Thomas over. The sheriff’s office had received multiple 911 calls.
Thomas faces 16 charges, including five counts of kidnapping and five counts of false imprisonment.
The judge ruled Friday that he should be held without bond.
He will remain at the Scotts Bluff County Jail until he can be taken to the Lincoln Regional Center, a state psychiatric hospital.
A hearing has been set for May 1 to determine whether Thomas is mentally competent yet.
Nebraska
Nebraska lands commitment from three-star tight end Joey Hunter
Nebraska Football picked up a commitment from a class of 2027 prospect. Three-star tight end Joey Hunter made the announcement on Sunday afternoon.
Hunter hails from Grayson High School. North Carolina State and Georgia Tech also recruited the playmaker. He measures in at six-foot-six, 255 pounds.
As Rivals.com’s Tim Verghese notes, Hunter was a large part of the offensive line at the high school level last season, due to his frame. He recorded six receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
This marks another commitment for a Nebraska football program that has seen four commitments on the weekend overall. The class itself ranks 19th17th overall in the country, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.
This is another strong commitment for a 2027 class that is really taking shape. It will be interesting to see how many more the program takes in this class overall.
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Nebraska
Nebraska Football Flips Minnesota Edge Commit, Adding to Stellar Recruiting Weekend
Nebraska football’s big weekend of official visits turned one edge rusher from a rival into a Cornhusker.
Ma’atoe Moe, a 6-3, 240-pound edge rusher from Utah, announced his commitment to Nebraska football on Sunday. Moe flipped his original verbal commitment from Minnesota after his official visit weekend in Lincoln, along with several other high-profile recruits. Moe becomes the fifth commit of the visit cycle, joining cornerback Bryce Williams, tight end Joey Hunter, linebacker Eli Harris, and defensive lineman Errol Demontagnac as commits for the Huskers over the weekend.
The pass rusher had been verbally committed to Minnesota since last Sunday during an official visit to the Golden Gophers in the final weekend of May, but took down his initial social media post later that same day. Moe confirmed to Rivals on Wednesday he was committed to Minnesota, but changed his status following the visit to Lincoln.
COMMITTED! to THE University of Nebraska! #AGTG #GBR #BLKSHRTS❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/NvjchUf9YR
— Ma’atoe Moe (@maatoe_moe0) June 7, 2026
“When in doubt, wear Red,” Moe reposted to his social media pages Sunday morning.
Nebraska had originally offered on May 5, becoming the latest of several Division I offers for the pass rusher since the spring. The Huskers earned Moe’s commitment over other offers from Utah Tech, BYU, Boise State, Washington State, UNLV, Utah State, Colorado State, and San Diego State.
Moe has transferred to Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, for his junior season in 2025, but was held out for five contests due to transfer eligibility rules in the state. The three-star prospect recorded 17 tackles, one sack, and 10 quarterback hurries in six games.
Moe is rated as a top-100 edge rusher prospect in the country and the No. 15 rated prospect in Utah, earning an 86 overall rating from 247Sports. Moe becomes the 10th three-star prospect to commit to Nebraska and bumps the Huskers’ 247Sports recruiting ranking to No. 17 in the country. Nebraska still trails fellow Big Ten programs Penn State (No. 7), UCLA (No. 8), USC (No. 10), Ohio State (No. 11), Oregon (No. 12), Minnesota (No. 13), Michigan (No. 14), and Washington (No. 16).
Nebraska continues to add commits from its new coaching staff additions, as Moe becomes another addition for assistant coaches Roy Manning and Corey Brown, as well as defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s commitment becomes the third defensive line or edge rusher commitment of Nebraska’s 2027 Class, as St. Frances Academy’s Jayden Travers committed back in Dec. 2025, joining Moe and Demontagnac’s verbal commitments this weekend.
Moe fits a critical need for Nebraska as well, with the Huskers rostering nine current edge rushers for the 2026 season. Nebraska will graduate two at season’s end in Cameron Lendhart and UCLA transfer Anthony Jones Jr. The Huskers have five sophomores and two juniors on this year’s roster, including converted tight end Mac Markway, who will be playing as an edge rusher for the first time in his college football tenure.
Since the 2026 cycle began, Nebraska’s defensive priorities have adjusted under new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s flip marks the 10th defensive commit or signee for the Huskers, including four-star safety Corey Hadley Jr. and Omaha athlete Tory Pittman. The 2026 cycle wrapped with high-profile additions of defensive lineman Dylan Berymon, cornerback Danny Odem, and three-star Elkhorn North grad Jase Reynolds.
After limiting the program’s signees for the 2026 class to only 12 commits, Nebraska has surpassed last year’s total with the official visit haul from this weekend. The Huskers are now up to 16 hard commits, as several more high-profile targets could still be up for grabs.
Nebraska football was able to bring LSU commit and five-star tight end target Ahmad Hudson on an official visit this weekend as well, marking Hudson’s fourth visit to Lincoln overall. The Louisiana product is also a dominant force on the hardwood, as Hudson had been in Lincoln to visit Fred Hoiberg and Nebraska basketball as a potential addition to play two sports for the Huskers.
Hudson would tell Rivals on Sunday that Nebraska is “close” and added that the program would “change the whole offense for me.” Hudson has created a new budding relationship with now in-state Nebraska commits Trae Taylor and Tay Ellis, as the Millard South pair connected with the five-star prospect since the ‘Battle at the Boneyard’ event last summer.
“I don’t talk to a lot of quarterbacks. I’m more of a receiver guy,” Hudson told 247Sports last summer. “So the fact that we just clicked instantly that could possibly mean that if I do come here, we could possibly just click just like that. It wouldn’t be we have to go out and throw every day. Just click. So being able to click with him like that helps with my recruitment.”
If Nebraska paired Moe’s flip with a Hudson commitment, the weekend could go down as one of coach Matt Rhule’s and the Huskers’ most important – and successful – recruiting weekends in the program’s history.
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