Man convicted of murdering roommate in northeast Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Nebraska man was found guilty Wednesday of fatally shooting his roommate and injuring another man.

Rodolfo Cateura-Nogueras, 40, pleaded no contest in Colfax County District Court to second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but that was reduced under a plea deal. Prosecutors also dropped kidnapping and weapon charges.

Court documents say Cateura-Nogueras shot and killed Ariel Varella Herrera on April 7 at a storage unit in Schuyler, about 15 miles east of Columbus.

He also shot a 38-year-old man, with one of the bullets breaking a tooth and the other grazing his face and piercing his arm.

Authorities said Cateura-Nogueras reported himself, telling the 911 dispatcher that Varella Herrera was abusing his daughter and giving her drugs.

“I’m not calling you to turn him in,” Cateura-Nogueras said, according to an arrest affidavit. “I’m calling to tell you I shot him in the head and I killed him.”

Deputies and officers came to the area, finding blood and two .22-caliber shell casings on the ground.

They opened one of the storage units and discovered Varella Herrera’s body under some tarps, the affidavit says.

Police determined that Cateura-Nogueras, who had left the scene, was renting that storage unit.

They used his cellphone number to track him, and he was pulled over in Missouri.

The affidavit says he had a 22.-caliber handgun in his car.

Cateura-Nogueras is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 22.