TOPEKA — One person was injured in a fire Monday in Shawnee County.

Just after 3p.m., fire crews responded to a home in the 3200 Block of Skyline Drive in Topeka, according to a media release.

Upon arrival, fire crews found the two-story wooden frame residential structure with smoke showing. Firefighters began an offensive fire attack keeping it confined to the structure of fire origin. All occupants made it outside of the house before firefighters’ arrival.

Firefighters performed a search of the structure and confirmed there was nobody left inside. One infant patient was transported by AMR from the scene to a local hospital for injuries sustained from the fire.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. They reported the fire damage was $40,000 to the structure and $10,000 contents loss. There were no working smoke detectors in the home at the  time of the fire, according to fire officials.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – The search for a missing 5-year-old Kansas boy continues. There are no new leads in the child’s disappearance.

Police said they received a call about 6:15 p.m. Saturday reporting that to report Lucas Hernandez was lost in southeast Wichita. When officers arrived, Lucas’ 26-year-old stepmother said he was last seen Saturday afternoon in his bedroom before she showered and fell asleep.

Police spokesman Charley Davidson said Monday afternoon the search continues but police had little new to report.

Officers and dogs have searched the boy’s home, neighborhood and the 216-acre Chisholm Creek Park. Davidson said police have found no evidence suggesting Lucas was abducted.

An FBI team is assisting police. Lucas has brown hair and eyes and weighs about 60 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt with a bear on it.

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Editor’s note: The story is updated to explain that the child was last seen Saturday. Wichita Police originally reported Friday.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—  Law enforcement authorities are investigating a missing child and asking the public for help to locate him.

The Wichita Police Department (WPD) officials continue working with partnering agencies in search of 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Just after 6:15 p.m. Saturday, officers were dispatched to a lost juvenile call at a residence in the 600 block of South Edgemoor. Upon arrival, officers made contact with a 26-year-old female who is the stepmother of Lucas. She reported she last saw Lucas in his bedroom at approximately 3 p.m., on Saturday, prior to her showering and falling asleep.

The boys has brown hair and brown eyes, approximately 4-feet tall and weighs 60 pounds and was last seen at 3 p.m. in his bedroom wearing black sweats, white socks, a grey shirt with a bear on it.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team is assisting WPD with this investigation. If anyone has any information on this case, please call (316) 383-4661. The case number is 18C010693.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY—  Law enforcement authorities are investigating a missing child and asking the public for help to locate him.

Just after 6:15p.m. Saturday, officers responded to report of a lost juvenile call at a residence in the 600 block of south Edgemoor in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

KANSAS CITY – Two Kansas City men were convicted by a federal trial jury of charges related to the kidnapping and murder of another man, according to Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Raynal King, 26, and Howard R. Ross, III, also known as “Lil’ Howard” and “Shooter,” 23, both of Kansas City, were found guilty of multiple counts related to the carjacking, kidnapping and murder of Jaime Patton on Sept. 6, 2016.

King and Ross were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of aiding and abetting a kidnapping resulting in death, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a kidnapping that resulted in a first degree felony murder, one count of robbery of a motor vehicle (carjacking) resulting in death, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of carjacking that resulted in a first degree felony murder, and one count of aiding and abetting each other as felons in the possession of a firearm.

Patton was returning home from the hospital, where he had been caring for a family member, sometime after 5 a.m. that day when King and Ross kidnapped him and stole his 2014 Jeep Patriot. They held Patton at gunpoint and drove him around in his Jeep to ATM machines, attempting to force him to provide his PIN number for his debit card so they could withdraw cash from his bank account.

Patton was unable to provide a working PIN number to withdraw cash. While held at gunpoint by King and Ross in the Mazuma Credit Union parking lot, he called his wife to obtain the working PIN number, but he was unable to do so. King and Ross became upset with the lack of cooperation from Patton and shot him in his upper thigh to make sure he knew they were not playing around.

King and Ross then drove Patton in his Jeep south on Holmes Road while they discussed what to do with him. At approximately 6:30 a.m., shortly after traveling south on Holmes Road through the intersection with 135th Street and further out of the city, Patton jumped out of his Jeep while it was moving. Patton was shot multiple times while attempting to jump and he fell to the roadway. King and Ross then fled from the area in Patton’s Jeep, leaving him to die on the side of the road.

According to evidence introduced during the trial, King and Ross began planning to commit a robbery a couple of days earlier. King had recently purchased a silver Pontiac Grand Prix but was unable to make his car payments or pay the sales tax fees. Text messages between King and Ross (recovered from their phones) shows that only days before the kidnapping King communicated with Ross about his problems and about a potential robbery.

Ross, who was on state probation for robbery at the time of the crime, was held in the Jackson County Jail after his arrest. While in the Jackson County Jail, Ross made multiple recorded phone calls to others regarding disposing of various items of evidence. Ross discussed with friends and family the location of his iPhone, which led to search warrants and the recovery of Ross’s iPhone and further evidence on his iPhone.

Investigators recovered evidence from Ross’s iPhone that showed weeks before the kidnapping Ross had a Springfield Armory .45-caliber pistol. Patton was murdered with a .45-caliber bullet. Ross took photos of himself carrying the pistol; he messaged those photos to others and posted photos on social media sites. Shortly after the murder, Ross attempted to sell the pistol to an acquaintance.

When forensic examiners were able to search King’s Android phone, several messages, photographs, and relevant Internet searches were recovered as evidence. King took photos of the stolen Jeep and messaged with others in an attempt to sell the Jeep to obtain sufficient money to make his own car payment on his Silver Pontiac Grand Prix before it would be repossessed.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for just under three hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.

Under federal statutes, King and Ross each face mandatory life imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Republican Party has voted to oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity.

The party’s state committee endorsed the statement after a debate on human sexuality at the party’s annual meeting during the weekend.

The resolution says God’s design for gender is determined by biological sex and not by self-perception. It opposes surgical or hormonal efforts to alter a person’s body to conform with gender identity.

Eric Teetsel, president of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, sponsored the statement. He says the resolution was prompted by love and noted it recognizes the dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

LGBT advocates criticized the resolution. Equality Kansas director Tom Witt called it an undignified and crass assault and a cheap election year attack.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — General Motors says it will build a new vehicle at its plant in Kansas City, Kansas.

The company said Monday it will build the Cadillac XT4 crossover sport utility vehicle at its Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant.

GM spokeswoman Mary Padilla says the announcement means the plant will keep about 500 jobs. The assembly plant currently employs 2,235, including about 2,000 hourly workers, making the Chevy Malibu.

The company is spending $265 million to prepare to manufacture the vehicle.

Fairfax lost its third shift last fall after sales of the Malibu slumped. It had employed about 3,000 with the three shifts.

The Cadillac XT4 is a crossover SUV.

By LAURA ZIEGLER

Since its inception over a decade ago, the Department of Homeland Security has had authority over the $1.25 billion National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, or NBAF, under construction on the campus of Kansas State University.

The 2019 federal budget released this week proposes transferring authority over the facility to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The transfer wouldn’t happen until the facility operational, scheduled for 2022. But officials say the USDA will work closely with DHS long before the lab opens.

“USDA would begin (staffing) up the operations of NBAF by learning how to operate the facility during the commissioning process, purchasing equipment and hiring employees,” DHS spokesman John Verrico said in an email.

NBAF is to replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in the Long Island Sound.  For over half a century, the lab was operated by USDA for the study of foreign animal diseases. It was the only place in the country with a large-animal bio-containment facility capable of studying live foot-and-mouth disease virus, which is highly contagious among cattle and sheep. The labs at NBAF will expand research on foot-and-mouth and have the capacity to do experiments on large numbers of livestock at one time.

In 2002, with the passage of the Homeland Security Act, authority of the lab at Plum Island was transferred to the newly- formed DHS.

Lawmakers and some officials are saying it’s too early to know the impact of placing the Plum Island’s replacement back under the oversight of USDA.

U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, whose district includes NBAF, sits on the House Agriculture and Science and Technology committees. He said he’s focused on making sure the facility is built on schedule and has adequate funding.

“While the proposal to move operational control to USDA is new, we have always expected USDA to play a major role in the research underway at the facility,” Marshall said in an email.

But one scientist who’s been intimately involved with biosecurity research says it’s a mistake to move the Level 4 bio-containment lab away from Homeland Security.

Daniel Gerstein oversaw operations at Plum Island while it was under DHS. He says Homeland Security and agriculture officials had a strong working relationship — even developing the first licensed foot-and-mouth vaccine.

But prioritizing homeland security in animal disease research may be more important today than ever, he says.

“If you had some sort of deliberate attack, you’d certainly want to have your Department of Homeland Security involved.”

Laura Ziegler is a community engagement reporter and producer with KUCR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Reach her via Twitter @laurazig