SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a carjacking and have made an arrest.

Just before 9p.m. Tuesday, police responded to 2024 SE California in Topeka, according to a media release.

A woman traveling on Interstate 70 stopped at the Phillips 66 convenience store when she noticed a tire on her Dodge Caravan needed air. As she was near the store, three suspects approached, held her at gunpoint and drove away in the vehicle.

Officials broadcast a description of the vehicle.  A Kansas Highway Patrol officer saw the van traveling on 6^th Street near Croco Road.  During the pursuit, the suspects made it to the west side of Lawrence before they were detained.  Two of the suspects are juveniles and are being held for Aggravated Robbery in the Shawnee County Juvenile Detention Center. Police

continue searching for other suspects.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a carjacking.

Just before 9p.m. Tuesday, police responded to 2024 SE California in Topeka, according to a media release.

A woman traveling on Interstate 70 stopped at the Phillips 66 convenience store when she noticed a tire on her Dodge Caravan needed air. As she was near the store, three suspects approached, held her at gunpoint and drove away in the vehicle.

Officials broadcast a description of the vehicle.  A Kansas Highway Patrol officer saw the van traveling on 6^th Street near Croco Road.  During the pursuit, the suspects made it to the west side of Lawrence before they were detained.

Police did not release names of the suspects or possible charges they face.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A registered sex offender from Kansas has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for taking a 16-year-old from Virginia across state lines for sex.

Federal prosecutors say 21-year-old Logan Viquesney, of Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of a minor for sexual activity.

In his plea, Viquesney admitted that he communicated with the girl on the internet while she was staying with her grandparents in Virginia.

The girl was reported missing from her grandparents’ home in May 2016. Investigators learned that Viquesney drove to Virginia and picked up the girl. He took her to Maryland, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas and had sex with her on the trip.

He was arrested when he and the girl arrived in Kansas City, Kansas.

LYON COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide and have identified the teen victim.

Just before 10p.m. September 6, deputies responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle that had been on fire at Road 160 and Road T in rural Lyon County. When deputies arrived, they located a body inside the vehicle, according to a media release.

The investigation revealed this death to be ruled as a homicide and the victim has been identified as Jesus Avila-Galvin Jr, 19, of Emporia.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office is seeking any and all information related to this homicide and we are currently asking anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 620-341-3205.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Scene Response Team, Investigators with the KBI, the Kansas Fire Marshal’s Office, the Emporia Fire Department, the Emporia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms as well as the Lyon County Coroner, Dr. Erik Mitchell assisted with the investigation.

By Rocky Robinson

SALINE COUNTY —A video published to Facebook of a Saline County traffic stop has racked up nearly 7 million views in a little over a week.

The video shows a man, 25-year-old Jonathan Devan Ayers, of Colorado Springs, refusing to submit identification to a Saline County Sheriff’s deputy. The video, which is a little over 20 minutes long, ends with the deputy and a Salina Police Officer breaking out a car window to arrest Ayers and a female driver.

The stop occurred on Sept. 2 on Interstate 70 in Salina.

Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan said that the initial traffic stop was for failure to maintain a lane. When the deputy approached the passenger side of the vehicle to ask for identification, Ayers refused, saying “you are pulling us over without a crime.”

Sheriff Soldan said that it is common for officers to approach the passenger side of the vehicle while on the interstate, for safety reasons, and the deputy was initially asking for the driver’s information.

Through a small opening in the window, Ayers continued, adding “we are travelers, we don’t need identification.”

By talking over the deputy and not letting him communicate with the driver, Sheriff Soldan said that Ayers was obstructing the deputy from completing the traffic stop.

According to Kansas Statute 21-5904, interference with law enforcement is (2) “concealing, destroying or materially altering evidence with the intent to prevent or hinder the apprehension or prosecution of any person.”

The driver is also required to produce a license according to Kansas Statute 22-2402: “Stopping of suspect. (1) Without making an arrest, a law enforcement officer may stop any person in a public place whom such officer reasonably suspects is committing, has committed or is about to commit a crime and may demand of the name, address of such suspect and an explanation of such suspect’s actions.”

At around the three minute mark, Ayers and the driver, later identified as Tia Lashawn Jones, of Colorado Springs, began praying, repeating “flee from this car right now demon.”

The deputy called for backup as the couple continued praying inside the car for over 14 minutes. At one point, the deputy again knocks on the window, saying “sir, please, provide me with a driver’s license.”

At around the 20 minute mark, a Salina Police Officer can be seen near the front of the vehicle, pointing a weapon at Ayers. The Officer bangs on the hood of the car once before the deputy breaks out the window.

Salina Police say the officer was wielding a ARWEN, less lethal weapon.

Ayers and Jones began to scream as they were placed in custody.

Sheriff Soldan said that Jones was operating the vehicle with a suspended license. She is also facing interference with law enforcement and misdemeanor obstruction charges. Ayers was arrested for interference with law enforcement and obstruction.

Whenever force is used, the case goes through an internal review, according to Sheriff Soldan. “The actions they took were very appropriate,” Soldan said.

The video was picked up by “The People’s Content” Facebook page, posted with the title “Who Is In The Right And Who Is In The Wrong?” on Sept. 3.

According to the page administrator, they received the video from a third party source and did not have any information on the people involved. Since it was posted, it has been viewed 6.9 million times, shared over 63,000 times and has over 25,000 comments.

 

 

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a teen suspect on alleged kidnapping charges.

Just after 2p.m. Monday, a 17-year-old woman was having a conversation with Chasin Arroyo in a vehicle parked in the 2500 block of Simmons Street, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.
When Arroyo wouldn’t leave her vehicle, the woman got out of the car to open his door.

While the woman was out of the car, Arroyo got out and picked her up and carried the woman to a fenced-in-yard, where he tripped.
The confrontation continued into the garage, where Arroyo allegedly blocked the exit, not letting the woman leave.

An unknown party called in the disturbance. A KHP Trooper was first on the scene, walking in on Arroyo holding the victim from behind.

Capt. Forrester said that the woman got into the house after hitting Arroyo with a piece of ceramic art as he continued to block the exit. The object broke, leaving a laceration on Arroyo’s shoulder.

Arroyo was transported to the hospital before being taken into custody. He was booked into the Saline County Jail for battery, criminal restraint and kidnapping.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating after they determined two suspicious devices located on Monday in a third floor hotel room at WoodSpring Suites 725 West Taft in Wichita were pipe bombs and explosive devices, according to Officer Charley Davidson in a media release.

The Wichita Police Department Bomb Unit successfully removed both devices from the room. No other devices were located in the hotel.

On Monday at approximately 10:30 am, WPD officers were called to the west-side hotel where the two pipe bombs were located. The area surrounding the room with the pipe bombs was evacuated, and the WPD Bomb Unit, also known as the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team (EOD) responded.

The latest known occupants of the room checked out of the hotel on Sunday, Sept. 10, according to hotel management.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City prosecutor has found that law enforcement officers were justified in fatally shooting a woman.

KMBC-TV reports that District Attorney Steve Howe made the decision after reviewing the Aug. 23 shooting of 26-year-old Ciara Howard in Olathe. He found that two Olathe police officers and a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy acted reasonably.

Police said deputies and police were trying to serve an arrest warrant at a home when a standoff ensued. When officers and deputies entered the home several hours later, authorities said Howard threatened them with a weapon, and the officers opened fire. No officers or deputies were injured.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A wooden cross on the roof of a church in Lawrence has been found sawed off in a recent act of vandalism.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that church member Esther Harjo found the cross on the ground outside the Lawrence Indian United Methodist Church on Sept. 7. Harjo says the cross and its metal flame punctured the roof, causing damage to a gutter.

Police say the vandalism occurred sometime between the night of Sept. 6 and the morning of Sept. 7. The investigation is ongoing.

The motive behind the destruction is unclear. Although the church serves mostly Native Americans, congregant Frances Gerty thinks the vandalism wasn’t because of hate toward indigenous people but because of religion.

The church says it’s thankful for the support from other Lawrence congregations.