JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating three suspects in connection with a string of thefts.

The first theft occurred on February 9^t, and the second on March 25, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. Two individuals were suspected of stealing a number of electronic devices on both occasions. On Wednesday, March 28, the two returned to the Holton Kansas Walmart where store staff recognized the suspects and alerted law enforcement, according to Morse.

Shortly after deputies stopped a 2018 Nissan passenger car near the store, which was occupied by the suspects. Identified as Raven Neece, 36, and Joshua Thigpen, 31 both of Ferrelview, Missouri, and a third person, Korilynn Laura Barnes, 27, of Kansas City. All three subjects were taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies.

The three are also suspected of an attempted theft at the same Walmart Wednesday.

They are suspected of removing theft detection devices from high-end electronic products, specifically electronic tablets, IPads and video games.

With a search warrant on the vehicle Wednesday, deputies discovered thousands of dollars of high-end electronic products believed to have been stolen from the four-state area of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Other Walmart stores and other department stores are believed to be have been targeted in these thefts. These suspects are suspected to be operating an EBAY business where stolen merchandise was being sold online.

Neece is being held in the Jackson County Jail on 3 counts of aggravated burglary, 3 counts of criminal trespass, felony theft, attempted theft, and 2 counts of tampering with a theft detection device.

Thigpen is being held in the Jackson County Jail on 3 counts of aggravated burglary, 3 counts of criminal trespass, felony theft, attempted theft, and 2 counts of tampering with a theft detection device.

Barnes is being held in the Jackson County Jail on charges of Conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, and tampering with a theft detection device and theft.

Further charges are anticipated.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10:30p.m. Wednesday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority reported a 2000 Honda passenger car driven by Damon Anthony Butler, 40, Topeka, was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of Tonganoxie.

The vehicle drifted onto the right shoulder and the tires left the road. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle crossed two lanes of traffic. It struck the barrier wall head-on, rolled and the driver was ejected.

Butler was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The militia member who tipped off law enforcement to an alleged plan to bomb Somali immigrants in Kansas is expected to take the stand in the case against three men charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

On Thursday, jurors will get a chance to hear for themselves the testimony from Dan Day. He is the paid informant who wore a wire for the FBI, capturing months of profanity-laced recordings key to the prosecution’s case.

Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen are charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Stein also faces a weapons-related charges and Wright faces a charge of lying to the FBI.

The three men, who were indicted in October 2016, have pleaded not guilty.

WICHITA, KAN. – A load of methamphetamine that investigators followed from Amarillo, Texas, to Kansas is sending a Guatemalan man to federal prison, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Jose Adrian Cua-Garcia, 30, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The investigation began when law enforcement officers stopped an SUV near Amarillo, Texas, and found more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a spare tire. Investigators arranged for part of the load to be delivered while they kept it under surveillance.

Co-defendant Jorge Vazquez-Rodriguez, 30, Kansas City, Kan., met the load in a hotel parking lot near I-70 and 78th Street. He took the drugs to a house in Kansas City, Kan., where he met Cua-Garcia. Later, Cua-Garcia left the house carrying the tire in the back of his truck. Investigators pulled him over after a chase and arrested him.

Vazquez-Rodriguez pleaded guilty and sentencing is set for June 4.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Sheriff’s deputies in Sedgwick County rescued an injured eagle Tuesday. According to the department’s Facebook page, ” We go on some pretty cool calls every now and then. Last night was one of those nights! We got a call from a concerned citizen in the south part of the county about a eagle that was hurt down in the Big Ditch.

Deputies responded and found the female, Golden Eagle injured. She could walk but not fly. A deputy called and made contact with a wildlife rescue. The female eagle is expected to make a full recovery and will be release back to the wild when she is healthy.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on charges filed in the death of a 10-year-old boy on a waterslide at a Kansas waterpark (all times local):

5p.m.

The co-owner of a Kansas City, Kansas, water park will not oppose his extradition to Kansas, where a 10-year-old boy died on a water slide in 2016.

For now, Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeffrey Wayne Henry will remain in Cameron County Jail in Brownsville, Texas, without bond. However, Magistrate Judge Luis Sorrola said he’d entertain a request to grant Henry bond if Kansas officials don’t pick him up by Tuesday.

Henry is charged with murder, aggravated battery and child endangerment in an indictment in Kansas. He and water slide designed John Schooley are charged in an indictmen in the decapitation death of 10-yuear-old Caleb Schwab at Schlitterbahn’s the Kansas City, Kansas, water park.

___

11:55 a.m.

Kansas says it will conduct a full audit of the inspection records of a Kansas City water park where a 10-year-old boy died in 2016.

The state Department of Labor said Wednesday that it will conduct the audit before the Schlitterbahn park opens its annual season May 25.

Department spokeswoman Barbara Hersh said the park is required to have qualified inspectors examine its rides daily and to keep reports on those inspections. She said the department will ensure that the inspections have been done.

A grand jury has indicted the park, its former operations director, a Schlitterbahn co-owner, a ride designer and a construction company on multiple criminal charges.

The charges arise from the August 2016 death of Caleb Schwab on the world’s largest waterslide at the park.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Legislation designed to strengthen Kansas schools against gunmen passed in the House Wednesday, though some lawmakers argued the bill is more ploy than policy.

The measure would set aside $5 million for schools to upgrade infrastructure to slow or thwart a potential school shooter. The bill passed on a 119-5 vote and heads next to the Senate for consideration.

The bill won Democratic Rep. Jason Probst’s vote, but not his support.

“This is a nice way for the Republican party to try and control a conversation about school safety without having to address the proliferation of firearms,” Probst said.

Funds included in the legislation would allow schools to purchase equipment like security cameras and metal detectors, or to outfit classrooms with thicker doors and blast-resistant glass.

Probst called the $5 million “a pittance,” and nowhere near what would be required to properly secure schools against armed threats.

The measure would also require school districts to work with local law enforcement and state agencies to develop guidelines to prepare, and respond to, mass shootings.

Bill supporter Rep. Eric Smith, a Republican of Burlington, said there is no cost estimate for securing all Kansas schools, and establishing relationships between law enforcement and school districts is the best way to find out.

Following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, last month, Kansas legislators have been looking for measures to prevent similar shootings. Proposals have ranged from limiting access to firearms to putting guns in the hands of teachers. The bill passed in the House does not directly address the gun issue.

Included in the legislation is a recommendation that schools add the National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle firearm educational video program to their curriculums. While it is not required, many House democrats voiced opposition to the NRA program specifically being included in the bill, seeing it as an attempt to promote the organization and its values.

Kansas National Education Association lobbyist Mark Desetti expressed concern over the measure, arguing that lawmakers should consider gun control and mental health solutions.

“By all means, please do pass this legislation,” he said. “But don’t think this will adequately address the issues of mass murder in our state, our nation, and in our schools.”