Trial on weapons charge rescheduled for Iowa County murder suspect

The trial date for Peter Riggs, 32, of Columbus, Neb., has been reset in Johnson County, where he is charged with carrying weapons. Trial on the weapons charge is now scheduled for Jan. 31, following a pretrial hearing on Jan. 19.

Riggs is charged with first-degree murder in Iowa County for the May 29 shooting death of Jeffrey McAdam, a maintenance worker at an Interstate 80 rest stop near Victor. Trial in that case is currently set to begin Oct. 5.

In early June, Iowa County Sheriff Robert Rotter said a Johnson County sheriff's deputy arrested Riggs about three hours after the shooting.

“A handgun was the murder weapon, and the weapon was found in Riggs' possession,” Rotter wrote in an e-mail to various media.

Court records show that deputies found a loaded 9 mm Ruger handgun inside a cooler in the front passenger area of Riggs' car, and also found a second 9 mm gun in the trunk and a stun gun in the passenger area of the car. Riggs told deputies he didn't have a permit to carry the guns, a criminal complaint states.