Beatrice man pleads no contest to charges in fatal shooting

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A Beatrice man has pleaded no contest to felony counts in the fatal shooting of a man outside his home last December.

Brandon Long, 26, entered pleas Monday to counts of making terroristic threats and being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon, the Beatrice Daily Sun reported. In exchange, counts of second-degree murder and another weapons count were dismissed.

Police arrested Long after Alex Rader, of Beatrice, was found Dec. 30 outside Long’s home with a gunshot wound and later died at a hospital. Long told officers he heard a disturbance outside his home, saw a man standing next to his house and shot him, police said.

Police said the two men knew each other, and the shooting did not appear to have been related to an attempted burglary or self-defense.

Long faces up to seven years prison when he’s sentenced on Feb. 3.