Kearney man charged with multiple felonies in multiple cases.

A 21-year-old Kearney man was arraigned in the Buffalo County Court in three separate cases. His alleged charges are

· Issuing a Bad Check ($1,500-$5,000) - Class 4 Felony

· Identity Theft - Class 2A Felony

· Possession of Child Pornography - Class 2A Felony

Case 1:

In the first case, Nicholas Costello allegedly attempted to purchase a laptop computer from Computer Warehouse on June 1, 2020. Court records state that he called the store and wanted to purchase a MacBook Pro. He then called a second time stating that he also wanted to buy his girlfriend a MacBook Air along with the previously mentioned laptop. (Story continues below photo)

Nicholas Costello. Photo via Buffalo County Jail.

When Costello went into the store, he was informed that they didn't currently have any MacBook Airs but they did have a second MacBook Pro and that they'd have to verify the funds before they could complete the sale of both computers. At that point, Costello allegedly stated that he couldn't afford both computers and would only be able to purchase one MacBook Pro. The check was allegedly written from an account that had been closed as of October 11, 2019.

Costello's bond, in this case, has been set at $1,000 Cash. He faces a maximum of 2 years imprisonment for this charge.

Case 2:

In the second case, Costello is charged with stealing the identity of a friend. The friend, according to court records, advised that on June 6, 2020, she gave Costello all of her personal information in order to purchase furniture from a local store. The friend then discovered 18 different credit check hits to her name over that weekend. The hits came back from Target, Fingerhut, Amazon, Best Buy, Kohls, Lending Club, JC Penney, among others.

When interviewed, Costello allegedly stated that the victim gave him permission to run her credit and then stated that he ran credit inquiries without their permission.

Costello's bond, in this case, has been set at $5,000 Cash. He faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment for this charge.

Case 3:

On June 30, 2020 Costello granted permission for investigating officers to search his cell phone in regards to a previously mentioned case.

During the download of information on the phone, police reportedly found pictures and videos of females that appeared under the age of 18. Costello allegedly admitted to having purchased a "code" in 2018 for an app on the "dark web" from a site called Duck Duck Go. Costello allegedly admitted that he wanted to tell an officer about this but wasn't sure how since he was in jail.

Costello reportedly admitted to viewing some of the images, but not all of them. He then allegedly said that he had seen a video of a minor undressing. He said that the female appeared to be 13-14 years-of-age and that after that he stopped looking.

According to police, Costello did not delete the image and kept the app on his cell phone. He also allegedly admitted to downloading the app on his new phone.

Costello's bond, in this case, has been set at $20,000 Cash. He faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment for this charge.