WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge is considering whether to appoint an independent third party to look into prison recordings of confidential conversations between inmates and their attorneys at the Leavenworth Detention Center.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson has scheduled a hearing Tuesday to determine the appointment and scope of a special master in the case. The practice surfaced in a case over distribution of contraband at the prison in which video recordings were subpoenaed by a grand jury. But the defense outcry is now rippling across cases.

The federal public defender’s office filed a motion Monday seeking a special master’s inquiry.

Robinson last week ordered all jails housing federal detainees in Kansas and Missouri to stop any recordings.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says it would not knowingly seek privileged attorney-client communications.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 29-year-old man faces at least 50 years in prison for the stabbing deaths of two Lenexa men.

Alex Brune pleaded guilty in February to two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2014 deaths of 47-year-old Brian Baskind and his stepfather, 79-year-old Clifford Preston at the men’s home in Lenexa. Their bodies were found in the basement.

The Kansas City Star reports that Brune was sentenced Monday in Johnson County court to life. He will have to serve 50 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Brune was shot by one of the men during the altercation and initially told officers that he was kidnapped from his home and taken to the house, where he found a knife and stabbed both men during an escape attempt.

HUTCHINSON— A Kansas man serving time in prison for murder in Seward County was bound over for trial on Monday on a charge of aggravated battery of a corrections officer.

Eddie Nunez, 29, is accused of battering and causing injury to a female officer at the central unit of the Hutchinson Correctional Facility on January 13, 2016.

On Monday, the officer testified the she granted permission for his cell door to be opened so he could empty his trash.

She says she was distracted by other inmates and turned and saw his fist and that was when she was struck repeatedly.

She told the court that she went underneath a nearby stairway in an attempt to escape, but Nunez followed her and continued to hit and kick her.

She says during the altercation, she couldn’t get to her radio, so finally started screaming until help arrived. She suffered a black eye and other bruising from the altercation.

Judge Joe McCarville found there was probable cause for the case to proceed to trial, but also arraigned Nunez where he entered a not guilty plea.

The crime is a level five-person felony with a maximum sentence of over 11 years in prison.

By MEGAN HART
The Kansas Children’s Cabinet is throwing a Hail Mary budget request.

But its leaders acknowledge that the odds of scoring more funding – or even avoiding cuts – are low.

The Cabinet voted Friday afternoon to submit a budget that included 5 percent cuts to some programs, as requested by Shawn Sullivan, Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director.

But members sent what amounted to a statement of protest by also approving a second budget that requested a 54-percent increase in spending on early childhood programs.

The Cabinet oversees Kansas’ share of the tobacco master settlement, an agreement in which major tobacco companies agreed to compensate states for costs related to smoking.

Janice Smith, executive director of the Cabinet, told the members that Sullivan had instructed her to submit plans by Monday to cut 5 percent from the early childhood block grant, as well as programs related to autism and improving the quality of child care. If implemented, the cuts requested by the administration would reduce funding by $833,181 in fiscal year 2018.

Those cuts would be on top of approximately $3.3 million in reductions made this year to Children’s Cabinet programs.

The early childhood block grant supports pre-kindergarten programs run by schools and nonprofits, as well as efforts to teach parents how to interact with their infants and toddlers in a way that promotes brain development. The autism diagnosis program pays to screen children for autism spectrum disorders and the child care quality program teaches providers to support families in a way that decreases the odds children will be abused.

Sullivan has said the fiscal year 2018 cuts may not be necessary. But he wants to be prepared should state revenue collections continue to fall short of projections.

Smith said she was surprised by Sullivan’s directive and “baffled” by the decision to cut programs for at-risk children. She said studies have shown that every $1 spent on effective early interventions generated approximately $11 in long-term savings.

“I’ve never received a mandate from anyone outside this group for a budget to look a certain way,” she said.

LaEtta Felter, an Olathe business owner and cabinet member appointed by Brownback, objected both to the budget office’s directive and to the cuts themselves.

“In my opinion, it’s neutering the authority of this cabinet,” she said. “I don’t think any one of us would rob from our children, and I consider this robbing from the most vulnerable children.”

Smith proposed a second budget that would restore all of those cuts, while also using federal funds targeted at low-income families. The cabinet unanimously voted to go a step further by adding another $10 million to the second budget for block grant programs.

Annie McKay, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children, proposed adding the $10 million after noticing the second budget didn’t include the entire $59.1 million that the state expects to receive in tobacco settlement funds.

Cabinet chair Amanda Adkins, a Cerner executive and Brownback appointee, doesn’t support the cuts but said he conversations with administration officials have convinced her they’re likely.

“There probably – at least in the governor’s budget – are going to be some cuts. I know nobody likes that,” Adkins said.

Smith acknowledged the Cabinet’s preferred budget stood little chance of being funded. Still, she said, it was important to make a statement by submitting it.

“If the end result is going to be X, and we don’t really have a choice, at least we’ve had a small voice,” she said. “It can’t hurt to try, right?”

– See more at: https://www.khi.org/news/article/childrens-cabinet-laments-5-percent-cut-directive-from-governors-office#sthash.xLEPBRcB.dpuf

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found on top of a freight elevator at a 10-story apartment building.

Police reports show the man’s body was found on top of the apartment’s freight elevator Saturday. The man’s identity hasn’t been released.

Police Sgt. Nikki Woodrow said Monday the death appears to be accidental, but the coroner’s office is investigating.

Woodrow also told The Wichita Eagle that she did not know how far the man had fallen down the elevator shaft.

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A 54-year-old man has been charged in the May death of a Shawnee woman.

Authorities have brought Gregory P. Wright back from Virginia to Johnson County, where is charged with first-degree murder in the May 9 death of 44-year-old Monica Lee. She was found dead in her apartment.

The Kansas City Star reports that Wright was arrested in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in June and was being held on a fugitive warrant.

He’s being held in Johnson County on $1 million bond.

Update: Family has made contact with him, according to police.

No additional details were released on Monday evening.

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GRANT COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Southwest Kansas are attempting to locate a 19-year-old Ransom Reese.

He traveled to from Ulysses to Garden City over the weekend and did not return, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department.

Ulysses is approximate 50 miles from Garden City.

No additional details were available late Monday morning.

If you know of his whereabouts or see him, please contact officials in Ulysses at (620)356-3500.

If you speak with him please advise him to contact his mother as she is very worried about his safety, according to a social media report.

 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas oil and gas producers listened to dire warnings about their industry’s future from two House members during their convention in Wichita.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins told the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association on Monday that it is still an assault on the industry by President Barack Obama’s administration from a regulatory environment to tax proposals. She claims the administration wants to put them out of business.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo recounted the coal industry’s problems, and told oil and gas producers they should know they are next. He called it a “full-scale assault” by the environmental left on the fossil fuel industry.

The Kansas delegation has been a staple fixture at the industry’s annual meeting in Wichita, but only Pompeo and Jenkins attended for the panel this year.