State Patrol Arrests Homicide Suspect

(GRAND ISLAND, Neb.) — A routine traffic stop on Interstate 80 turned into a much more serious encounter Wednesday, as Nebraska authorities discovered the driver was wanted in another state. What initially appeared to be an ordinary stop quickly took an unexpected turn.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested a man wanted in connection with an attempted homicide in Wisconsin. 

Wednesday morning, NSP was alerted that the suspect was believed to be traveling through Nebraska on I-80 in a Chevrolet Malibu. At approximately 11:45 a.m., a trooper saw the vehicle and made a traffic stop at mile marker 304, near the Alda interchange.

During the traffic stop, the trooper confirmed that the driver was the suspect wanted from Wisconsin. Joseph Niemiec, 18, of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, was arrested on the warrant from Wisconsin. He was lodged in Hall County Jail. Extradition proceedings are pending. 

The Nebraska State Patrol is working with the Racine (WI) Police Department on this investigation.