LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police have issued an arrest warrant for a man who allegedly injured an officer by dragging him with his vehicle as he fled a traffic stop.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Amy Rhoads says 36-year-old Aramis N. Hernandez is wanted for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

A police officer stopped a white Ford Fusion with a Missouri license plate around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say Hernandez fled the area, dragging the officer on the street with his vehicle.

Rhoads says the officer was treated in a local hospital for injuries that weren’t life-threatening. He has been released.
Police said Wednesday that the vehicle has been found, but that Hernandez is still at large. Hernandez was wearing a blue suit, white shirt, red tie and aviator-style sunglasses.

BARTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a suspect in connection with a burglary.

On Wednesday, officers were notified of a burglary that occurred at The Long Drive driving range in the 400 Block of South Main in Hoisington at midnight, according to a social media report.

Thanks to surveillance footage and the assistance of neighboring law enforcement agencies a suspect was identified.

Just before 3p.m. on Wednesday, officers with the Great Bend Police Department arrested Keaton Krom in the 3200 block of Lakin Avenue.

Krom is being held at the Barton County Jail on a $20,000 bond for burglary. Additional arrests are expected in the coming days as the investigation continues. Anyone with information is urged to call the Hoisington Police Department at (620) 653-4995 or Barton County Crimestoppers at (620) 792-1300.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A state senator from southern Kansas says school district superintendents are working to defeat incumbent Republican conservative lawmakers in this year’s elections.

Sen. Forrest Knox, a Republican from Altoona, made that allegation in an email to supporters last week and in an interview with The Wichita Eagle.

Knox says he sees signs for his opponents at the homes across the state belonging to people connected to the state’s schools. He suggested some superintendents are intimidating teachers into supporting his opponents.

Cory Gibson, president of the Kansas School Superintendents Association, says the organization doesn’t ever make endorsements in legislative races. He says school employees are free to campaign for a candidate on their own time but many superintendents don’t because they have to work with whoever wins the election.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Army says imprisoned transgender soldier Chelsea Manning was briefly hospitalized this week, though few details have been provided.

Army spokesman Wayne Hall says the 28-year-old Manning was taken to a hospital Tuesday near Fort Leavenworth and was later returned to the Kansas military base’s prison, where Manning is now being monitored. Hall and other Pentagon officials didn’t say why Manning was hospitalized.

Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, was convicted in military court in 2013 for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence.

Manning’s appellate attorney, Nancy Hollander, said she was unaware of the hospitalization until Wednesday and was “profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea’s current situation.”

A Fort Leavenworth spokeswoman declined comment, citing medical privacy laws.

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 15 years in federal prison for robbing two Wichita gas stations, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Also Tuesday, a co-defendant in the same case pleaded guilty.

Roy E. Walls-Guiden, 29, Wichita, was sentenced Tuesday to 188 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of robbing a commercial establishment.

Demon L. Anderson, 27, Wichita, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of robbing a commercial establishment.

In their pleas, the defendants admitted that on Dec. 4, 2015, they robbed a Valero gas station at 248 S. Hillside in Wichita. They entered the store while the clerk was outside and began taking cash and cigarettes. When the clerk returned, Walls-Guiden pointed a .40 caliber handgun at him. Then the defendants fled the store.

Later that same night, the defendants tried to rob a Petro America gas station at 2838 W. Central in Wichita. The defendants did not know that a police officer had set up surveillance on the store and called for backup when he saw the defendants enter. The defendants were arrested at the scene.

Anderson is set for sentencing Sept. 20. He faces a penalty of up to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

Beall commended the Wichita Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a suspect on various drug charges.

Garden City/Finney County Drug Task Force culminated a four-month investigation into the sale of methamphetamine by service of a search warrant at the residence of 603 1⁄2 Garden City Avenue, according to a media release.

The search warrant was served by the Garden City/Finney County SWAT team.

The suspect, Alfredo Ramirez Jr., 29, Garden City Ave. was not at the residence at the time of the service of the warrant.

He was arrested a short time later on a traffic stop conducted by the Garden City Police Department.

He is being held in the Finney County Jail and could face the possible charges of:
Sale of Methamphetamine (x2), Possession of Methamphetamine with intent to distribute, Use of a Telecommunication Device to facilitate a drug felony, Possession of Proceeds from the Sale of Controlled Substances Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners are officially asking the Kansas Legislature to ban immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from receiving in-state tuition or help from a federal nutrition program.

The resolution passed 3-2 Wednesday after almost two hours of public debate. The Wichita Eagle reports  some speakers supported the resolution but most were opposed.

Commissioners supporting the resolution said they were seeking a clear directive from Kansas government on issues related to those in the country illegally. The resolution is not binding.

The resolution will ask the state lawmakers to keep immigrants in the country illegally from receiving in-state tuition. It also asks the state health department to ban them from receiving help from the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides nutritious foods to low-income mothers and their children.

JOHNSON COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 9a.m. on Wednesday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Kenworth concrete truck driven by Christopher J. Robertson, 32, Leavenworth, was southbound on Interstate 435 and took the exit ramp to Holiday Drive.

The truck was going too fast for the load it carried and overturned into the south ditch.

Robertson was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.