KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An man was sentenced Monday to 73 months in federal prison for driving the getaway car in a $53,000 holdup at a Verizon store in Village West, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister. The robbers held store employees at gunpoint and bound them with zip ties.
Terry Curtis, 34, Rockford, Il., pleaded guilty to one count of commercial robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on Sept. 14, 2016, he was involved when four men robbed the Verizon Wireless store at 10621 Village West Parkway. Two of the robbers entered the store, followed two minutes later by the other two. The robbers locked the door and ordered the employees and a customer into a break room. The robbers ordered them to lay face down on the floor and tied their hands behind their backs. The robbers forced an employee to open a safe before they fled the store with phones and cash worth $53,000. Eventually, an employee managed to get loose and call police.
Investigators used surveillance photos from the robbery to tie the Kansas City robbery to a similar robbery weeks earlier at an AT&T Store in Rochester, Minn. They also received an anonymous call that led them to one of the co-defendants who was on parole in Illinois.
During the investigations, agents learned that some of the defendants in the Verizon robbery were part of a group involved in dozens of similar robberies in several states.
Co-defendants who are awaiting trial include:
Mario Lambert, 33, Rockford, Il.
Sir T. Love, 32, Rockford, Il.
Domonique V. Walker, 26, Rockford, Il.
Sharod Pitts, 35, Chicago, Il.
McAllister commended the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their work on the case.
TOPEKA– The Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal’s (OSFM) Investigation Division has closed its investigation of the fatal fire on Jan. 25, 2018, at 211 Austin, in Pratt, KS.
The fire, which resulted in the deaths of 23-year-old Charee Eggleson and her 4 children has been officially classified as undetermined, according to a media release.
Eggleson suffered burns and was flown from Pratt to St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. She died January 27.
Her four children, the youngest a baby, died after being trapped in the home’s basement. Several other adults survived the fire.
The OSFM investigative team, which consisted of five certified fire investigators, worked closely with the Pratt Fire Department and detectives from the Pratt Police Department, as well as a certified fire investigator, an electrical engineer and a fire protection engineer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
photo courtesy GoFundMe
Investigators spent three days on scene, interviewing witnesses, examining the scene, sifting debris and examining evidence. After being unable to eliminate careless smoking or a child playing with a lighter as the cause of the fire, the investigative team classified it as undetermined. The origin of the fire was in the basement of the residence in the central living area of the basement. There were no smoke alarms found in the residence.
WICHITA– A Kansas man was charged Monday in federal court with operating illegal gambling businesses, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Jack Oxler, 41, Wichita, was charged with one count of operating an illegal poker gambling business and one count of operating an illegal sports betting business.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The FBI, the Wichita Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst are prosecuting.
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspicious house fire and have made an arrest.
Location of Sunday morning fire-photo courtesy KAKE
Just after 10 a.m. Sunday, fire crews and police responded to 2152 South Saint Francis in Wichita for report of a fire and standoff at the residence, according to Lt. Jose Ocadiz.
Fire crews waited for police to secure the scene then proceeded to attack the fire. The homeowner evacuated safely. Fire investigators interviewed neighbors and other to determine the blaze was intentionally set by the homeowner, according to Ocadiz. She is facing charges of arson and animal endangerment.
Fire crews found numerous cats inside the residence. They were rescued and taken to the animal shelter. Officials estimated $40,000 damage to the home. Ocadiz did not release the suspect’s name.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas residents are expressing frustration over the state’s strict requirements for a new form of driver’s license.
The licenses adopted by the state last year are intended to comply with the federal “Real ID” law. The law requires state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards to meet specific standards in order to be used for conducting official business with the government.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 78-year-old Gretchen Underwood said Friday she hasn’t been able to get her Real ID license because none of her documents meet the new requirements.
The Kansas Department of Revenue says people must show a valid passport or birth certificate, either an official non-laminated card or a recent pay stub or tax document bearing the person’s full Social Security number, and proof of Kansas residency.
Click below to listen to Tiger Talk with the “Voice of the Tigers” Gerard Wellbrock and Fort Hays State women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson and men’s coach Mark Johnson.
Tiger Talk airs on Monday evening at 6 p.m. on Tiger Radio Mix-103.
BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — A man convicted in Kansas now faces trial in Mississippi over a series of shootings and killings.
Scene of Deaton’s crash in Ellsworth Co.-photo courtesy KHP
Rankin County District Attorney Michael Guest said Monday that authorities have returned Alex Deaton to Mississippi and aim for a summer trial on murder, drive-by shooting and motor vehicle theft indictments.
Deaton is accused of strangling his girlfriend, stealing her SUV, and shooting a jogger in 2017. He’s also indicted for killing a woman near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Police say Deaton then carjacked a New Mexico couple, fled to Kansas, shot a store clerk and stole the clerk’s car.
Deaton pleaded guilty in July in Kansas to attempted first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced there in October to nearly 13 years in prison.
Deaton-photo Rankin Co. MS Sheriff
He faces a possible life sentence if convicted in Mississippi.
Kansas pump price drops three cents on the week to $2.43
TOPEKA – Gas prices in Kansas followed a national trend this week, declining for the first time this year. The average price across Kansas is now $2.43/gallon, which is three cents less than one week ago. After experiencing the fifth largest gas price increase in the nation – 17 cents – over the previous month, Kansas motorists are finally experiencing a reversal of that trend and joining more than three-quarters of the nation in seeing lower prices at the pump.
“After seeing strong gasoline demand and high crude oil prices drive gas prices to an unseasonable winter price increase trend since the start of the year, drivers are finally seeing some relief, at least for now,” said Jennifer Haugh, AAA Kansas spokeswoman. “Despite the recent increases, prices have been rising across the country, so Kansas is still in a good place, with the 15th lowest gas prices in America, 15 cents lower than the national average.”
The 10 Kansas cities regularly highlighted by AAA Kansas (see chart above), only Emporia saw a price increase, rising two cents. Leading the declines were Lawrence (-6 cents) and Pittsburg (-4), while Kansas City, Kan., Manhattan, Topeka and Wichita all fell three cents per gallon.
According to AAA Kansas, this week’s Kansas gas price extremes are:
HIGH: Oberlin (Decatur County) – $2.77
LOW: Goddard (Sedgwick County) – $2.25
National Perspective
At $2.58, the national gas price average has decreased for the first time week-over-week this year. Today’s price is 3 cent less than last week, 6 cents more than a month ago and 30 cents more than a year ago. Motorists can find gas for $2.50 or less at 53 percent of gas stations across the country.
“Gas price averages are less expensive for 78 percent of states compared to last Monday. Motorists filling up in the Midwest, South and East Coast are most likely to see the positive change at the pump,” said AAA Kansas’ Haugh. “Unfortunately, it’s too early to know if this one-week decline is the start of a cheaper gas price trend.”
Consumer gasoline demand and gasoline inventories increased according to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports. Hitting its highest level this year, gasoline demand registered at 9.1 million b/d, a 169,000 b/d increase year-over year. Total U.S. gasoline inventories built by 3.4 million bbl to total 245.5 million bbl, which sits about 1.4 million bbl above the five-year average.
Great Lakes and Central States Report
Gas prices are less expensive on the week across the Great Lakes and Central region, except North Dakota where prices remained stable. Indiana (-14 cents), Michigan (-11 cents), Kentucky (-9 cents), Ohio (-8 cents) and Illinois (-6 cents) saw not only the largest decreases in the region, but in country. In the region, North Dakota ($2.63) and Iowa ($2.60) are selling the most expensive gasoline. At $2.37, Ohio is selling the cheapest gas in the region and the 7th cheapest in the country.
Compared to one month ago, Michigan (-16 cents), Ohio (-13 cents), Illinois (-12 cents), Indiana (-11 cents) and Kentucky (-5 cents) are five of only six states in the country that are paying less at the pump. These states have seen very volatile gas prices since January.
Gasoline inventories in the region have built every week this year according to EIA reports. With a build of nearly 1 million bbl, gasoline inventories total 57 million bbl this week.
Two of three female ceramic torsos created by Dolores Baker of the Great Bend area that depict a women’s journey through breast cancer. The art is on display now at the Hays Arts Council.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Dolores Baker didn’t realize when she created three female figures representing a women’s journey through breast cancer she would soon be touched by the illness.
Baker created the ceramic models of women’s torsos in memory of friends and family members who had fought breast cancer and some who had lost their lives.
This female torso depicts healing, joy and beauty after breast cancer.
Baker had a biopsy once before for suspected cancer, but she thought she was in the clear. At the end of 2015, six months after she finished the cancer pieces, she went in for a routine mammogram, and the cancer was discovered. She was shocked. Breast cancer did not run in her family.
Baker thought she might be able to escape with just a lumpectomy. However, she ended up having radiation treatments and four surgeries, including the removal of both of her breasts.
The Hays Arts Council opened a new exhibit this week featuring artists from the Great Bend area. Baker’s torsos along with a series of masks titled “Faces of Breast Cancer” are part of the exhibit.
Baker is cancer-free now. She said the message she was trying to convey with the torsos has not changed even though her own body has.
“I think the main theme is that the feminine body is beautiful with or without breasts,” she said, noting that this is contrary to what our culture tells us.
Baker said she hopes the art pieces will spark discussion among the people who see them about the subject of breast cancer.
“I am thinking I want the subject of breast cancer to no longer be taboo,” she said. “When I was creating the pieces at the college, young women confided in me about their family members who had suffered from cancer and their own fears of being a gene carrier. I want people to be able to discuss the issue out in the open.”
Baker said after her battle with cancer, her perception of the art pieces changed.
“In some ways, there was a sense of transition and moving from grief to joy and interior growth,” she said.
Dolores Baker of the Great Bend area depicts the journey through breast cancer with her ceramic pieces. Baker, a cancer survivor, said the female form should be viewed as beautiful with or without breasts.
Six months after her surgeries, Baker created “Faces of Cancer,” a series of masks that she said reflected her own journey through breast cancer.
“There was grief and feeling broken. I believe there is a screw in the mouth of one of the faces. There was both fear and the anger and then moving on to just being puzzled and then to joy,” she said.
Baker, 75, has not always been an artist. She retired as elementary school teacher and the height of her artistic creations for many years was drawing stick figures. When she retired, she started doing creative writing, but saw a clay demonstration at Barton County Community College. Twelve years ago, she started taking classes from Bill Forst, making bowls and cups.
But Baker said she wants more, “Now I want to say something with my art.”
The other artists in the exhibit include Virginia Bitter, ceramics; husband and wife Rose Dudek, oils, and Steve Dudek, watercolors; and husband and wife Karole Erikson, photography; and Jay Miller, photography.
Both Erikson and Miller were recently featured in the Hays Arts Council’s Five State Photography Exhibition and have won awards in the past. They have also won placement in the HAC’s annual Smoky Hill Art Exhibition.
You will see wildlife photography from both artists side by side, but you will notice different styles. Miller has a portrait of a squirrel, near an image of taken by Erikson of a kingfisher snatching a fish out of the water. Miller also has a grouping of photos in the exhibit of a Kansas ranch during an annual burn, whereas Erickson’s images include scenes from decaying cemetery.
Steve Dudek is an award-winning watercolor artist and instructor at Barton County Community College.
Rose Dudek helped put together the exhibition. Brenda Meder, HAC executive director, described her art as nonobjective, abstract oils.
Bitter also has ceramics on display at the center, but Meder said the two artists have very different styles.
“There are very perceptible individualities to Virginia’s and Dolores’ ceramics,” she said.
The artists reception will be 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 23. The exhibit will be on display until Friday, March 23.
Police on the scene of the fatal shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have made an arrest.
Just before 9p.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting call in the 900 Block of South Pine Ridge in Wichita, according to Lt. Todd Ojile. Upon arrival, first responders found an 18-year-old inside a residence with multiple gunshot wounds.
He was transported to a local hospital where he died, according to Ojile.
Investigators learned that the 18-year-old was at the residence of a woman and two children, accompanied by three other men. While there, unknown suspects arrived at the residence and were armed with a handgun.
The victim and one of the suspects got into a physical confrontation and shots were fired that hit the victim, according to Ojile.
Early Monday, investigators arrested a 17-year-old suspect in the area of Lincoln and Rock Road in Wichita. The teen is being held in juvenile detention on requested murder charges, according to Ojile. Investigators are still working to identify the other suspects.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 18-year-old man has been killed in a Wichita shooting.
Police say the man wasn’t breathing when officers responded Sunday night to a home in the southern part of the city.
He was rushed to a hospital where he died. The victim’s name wasn’t immediately released and no arrests have been made. Officers are investigating.
Troy L. Waymaster, State Representative, 109th Kansas House
February 12, 2018
State of the State 2.0
On Wednesday, February 7, 2018, Governor Jeff Colyer addressed a joint session of the House and Senate in the chamber of the Kansas House of Representatives. Although this was technically not a second State of the State speech, in essence it was.
The Governor outlined his focus for the remainder of his term. He started with an executive order that he had already signed and four additional orders. The executive order that he had signed requires all cabinet agencies to update their sexual harassment prevention policies. Thursday, the Governor signed the four executive orders that he mentioned during his speech.
The Governor also discussed jobs, stating that job growth and enhancing the quality of life for all Kansans must be our high priority. He mentioned that the current unemployment rate is at 3.4%, although the state has 48,000 unfilled jobs. The Governor said he would be launching his “(Re) Employment Plan,” which will provide, free of charge, a skills assessment, resume, interview and networking assistance, and labor market information highlighting current in-demand jobs. Governor Colyer’s speech was very refreshing and his direction for the state was starkly different than what Governor Brownback released earlier in the session.
Ad Astra Rural Jobs Act Gets Hearing in the Senate
Early on Tuesday morning, I had the pleasure of testifying in front of the Senate Commerce Committee to promote the bill that I introduced during the 2017 Legislative Session. The bill focuses on creating jobs in rural areas of Kansas. I focused on the components of the legislation that allow for capital investors to invest in companies that are wanting to build, relocate, or expand in rural areas. The Ad Astra Rural Jobs Act would definitely boost job creation, and I mentioned how it partners with the Rural Opportunity Zone. However, this was just a hearing on Tuesday morning, I hope, that given the support we had, the Senate Commerce committee will work the bill soon.
Bills Passed Out of the House
On Thursday, February 8, 2018, the Kansas House of Representatives debated and voted on four bills. A couple of those bills are as follows:
The first bill that we debated was Senate Bill 262, introduced by Senator Elaine Bowers, which authorizes the construction of a statue to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the State Capitol grounds. The funds generated to construct the statue will be privately raised and no state general fund dollars will be used for the Eisenhower statue.
This bill passed 123-0.
Another bill that we debated was House Bill 2492, which would increase the maximum local sales tax rate that could be imposed by Thomas County from 1.5% to 1.75%, with all taxes levied above 1% to remain earmarked for financing a courthouse, jail, and law enforcement center. This is subject to a vote by the electorate of Thomas County. This bill now goes to the Senate after passing 109-14.
Appropriations Committee Work
On Thursday February 8, we heard the first report from a Budget Committee. The Committee heard the General Government Budget Committee’s report on the Board of Barbering, Board of Cosmetology, and Judicial Branch Budgets. We will continue to hear budget reports from all the Budget Committees until March 15. This week, the following budgets will be heard in Appropriations:
February 12: General Government: Office of the Governor; Attorney General; Department of Administration;
February 13: Transportation and Public Safety: Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training; Office of the State Fire Marshal; Kansas Bureau of Investigation; Board of Indigents’ Defense Services
February 14: Agriculture and Natural Resources: Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism; Department of Agriculture. Social Services: Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs
February 15: Higher Education: Board of Regents; Emporia State University; University of Kansas Medical Center; Wichita State University
The Kansas Legislative Research Department has produced agency budget summaries. You can access the budgets at the following web addresss:
On Thursday, members of the Kansas House, Kansas Senate, and legislative staff wore red for heart health awareness. Representative Susan Concannon carried House Resolution 6048, which names February as American Heart Month. The resolution provides many facts surrounding women and heart health, including: cardiovascular diseases kill one in three women in the United States, yet 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases may be prevented; an estimated 44 million women in the United States are affected by cardiovascular diseases; 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing a heart disease or a stroke. The Go Red for Women movement encourages women to know and manage total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body mass index. Representative Concannon was joined by Leann Dickson, a cardiac nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and an American Heart Association volunteer. The resolution was adopted without roll call.
Contact Information
As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected]. Also, if you happen to visit the statehouse, please let my office know.
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.
WYANDOTTE COUNTY -A Kansas man died in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Monday in Wyandotte County.
First responders on the scene of Monday’s fatal crash-photo courtesy KCTV
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy passenger car driven by Dennis W. Wager, Lansing, was turning left onto Marxen Road from Southbound Kansas 7.
The Chevy rear-ended a 2013 Freighlinter driven by Brendan R. Shepherd, 29, Cameron, Mo., that was in the turn.
Wagner was pronounced dead at the scene. Shepherd was not injured. Wagner was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
