Found on 04/08/05

HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) -- A teenager accused of firing a shotgun into a pickup and injuring two children while on a crime spree has pleaded guilty to five of eight charges in Phelps County.

Emeterio Guajardo, 18, of Lexington pleaded guilty last week to unlawful discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm and flight to avoid arrest. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault.

Phelps County Attorney Tim Hoeft said three other charges against Guajardo involving weapons, stolen property and assault counts were dropped in exchange for his plea.

In October, Guajardo and teenage runaway Wendy Valencia of Elm Creek went on a three-day crime spree that included stealing cars to elude police.

Valencia and Guajardo were eventually captured near Bertrand and charged in the early October for a string of crimes that began when Valencia allegedly stole a police car in which she was being transported.

At one point, shots were fired from the pair's vehicle that injured two children in a nearby vehicle.

Valencia has been charged in Phelps County with eight similar felony counts Guajardo had faced. She has pleaded not guilty.

The two also face charges in Dawson County.

Valencia pleaded no contest in Dawson County Juvenile Court in February to five charges.

Guajardo is being held in the Phelps County Justice Center in Holdrege. Valencia is being held in Dawson County Jail in Lexington.

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