Hasting teen goes on trial in June for Grand Island kidnapping

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A judge has ordered a Hastings teenager to be tried in adult court for his part in a January kidnapping in which three Grand Island children were left out in the cold.

Jozef McAllister, 17, of Hastings, was charged in Hall County District Court with nine felonies related to the incident that put three small children in danger. Court records show those charges are three counts of kidnapping, three counts of child abuse, theft by unlawful taking, theft by receiving stolen property, and operation of motor vehicle to avoid arrest (willfully reckless). McAllister also faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer.

McAllister last month asked that his case be transferred to juvenile court. A judge denied the request, noting that McAllister had already been in juvenile court and had “continuously squandered his opportunities in juvenile court and will not be treated as an adult...” The judge scheduled McAllister for trial on the nine charges for June 12.

McAllister and Tate Wolfe, 18, of Kearney, were arrested Jan. 29 for allegedly stealing a car containing three Grand Island children age 5, 1, and seven months old. The two older children were discovered later that morning in an abandoned pickup. The seven month old was found about two-and-half hours later on the deck of a farm house in rural Hall County. The temperature at the time was 0°F with a -19° wind chill.

Wolfe, who faces the same charges as McAllister, is scheduled for trial in July.