ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — A former Dickinson County sheriff’s lieutenant pleaded guilty to felony theft for stealing evidence from the sheriff’s office.

Two other charges against 49-year-old Greg Swanson were dropped Thursday in exchange for his guilty plea. Swanson also must forfeit his law enforcement credentials for all U.S. states.

Prosecutors accused Swanson of stealing between $1,500 and $25,000 in cash that was seized as evidence between August 2012 and January 2017. He was ordered to pay $6,760 in restitution.

The plea agreement calls for Swanson to receive a suspended seven-month prison sentence and be on supervised probation for two years. He will be required to spend five days in jail.

Swanson began working for Dickinson County in January 2009, after 19 years at the Saline County Sheriff’s Office.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities have found a missing Kansas teen reported missing after he was involved in an injury accident.

According to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department, Just before 7a.m. Saturday, deputies responded to an injury accident in the 7200 Block of SW Wanamaker Road, according to a media release.

The 16-year-old driver Mark Lexow was last seen wearing an air-cast on one of his legs and black shorts.

Due to the extent of the accident, family was concerned for his health and safety.  Just before 1p.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office reported they found Lexow and he was transported for treatment at a local hospital.

The sheriff did not released any additional details on the accident.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis prosecutors on Friday charged Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens with a felony for using a charity donor list for his 2016 political campaign, adding to the woes of the first-term Republican governor who responded by calling it another effort to “smear” him.

The charge of tampering with computer data is in addition to an earlier charge alleging Greitens took and transmitted a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an extramarital affair in 2015. The new charge accuses Greitens of disclosing the donor list from The Mission Continues in 2015 without permission from the St. Louis-based charity that Greitens founded.

The Associated Press first reported in October 2016 that Greitens’ campaign obtained a list of top donors to The Mission Continues and raised nearly $2 million from donors who were on it.

Greitens has been facing increasing pressure to resign — including from fellow Republicans — since a special House investigative committee’s report released April 11 that detailed allegations from the woman with whom he had the affair. She testified that Greitens restrained, slapped, grabbed, shoved and threatened her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.

Greitens has denied committing any crimes and vowed to remain in office, calling the investigations into him a “political witch hunt.” On Friday, he accused Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, of wasting “thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars.”

“Her original case is falling apart — so today, she’s brought a new one,” Greitens said in a statement. “By now, everyone knows what this is: this prosecutor will use any charge she can to smear me.”

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican whose office has been investigating The Mission Continues, announced Tuesday that he had found evidence to support a felony charge against Greitens, but said it was up to the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office to file charges. That office had to move quickly because the statute of limitations was approaching.

A probable cause statement says Greitens directed a person identified as K.T. to disclose the charity’s donor list to a political fundraiser on April 22, 2015. It doesn’t identify the fundraiser. The initials match those of Krystal Taylor, an employee of the Greitens Group who had previously worked at The Mission Continues.

The court filing says Greitens and K.T. knew the charity donor list had been taken without the permission of the charity and used without its consent. Federal law generally prohibits charities such as The Mission Continues from becoming involved in political campaigns, and the charity has repeatedly denied granting permission for Greitens — its former CEO — to use the list for political purposes.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, a Democrat, cited the new charge as additional grounds for lawmakers to try to quickly remove Greitens from office.

“One way or another, Eric Greitens’ short tenure as Missouri governor is about to end. The only person who doesn’t understand that is Eric Greitens,” Beatty said. “Since he will not resign, the House of Representatives must immediately begin impeachment proceedings.”

Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson, who also has called on Greitens to resign, said Thursday that a special House investigatory committee is moving expeditiously toward a recommendation on whether to impeach Greitens. He said a “substantial” number of House Republicans have already signed a petition calling for a special session to consider impeachment.

Hawley’s office has said that its investigation into The Mission Continues began after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in February that it had it had obtained a copy of an email indicating that Taylor had shared the charity donor list in January 2015 with Michael Hafner, who had been working for Greitens’ gubernatorial exploratory committee, and Danny Laub, Greitens’ first campaign manager. But that incident wasn’t cited in the criminal charge, because it was past the three-year statute of limitations.

When the AP first reported about the campaigns’ access to the charity donor list in 2015, Greitens initially denied to the AP that he had used the donor list for his campaign. But in April 2017, Greitens agreed to pay a $100 fine for failing to report that his gubernatorial campaign had, in fact, received the charity’s donor list. Greitens’ campaign filed amended finance reports referring to the list as an in-kind contribution valued at $600 and received March 1, 2015, from Laub.

Greitens’ attorney, Edward L. Dowd Jr., said the new charge “makes no sense at all,” noting that it was Greitens who built the charity and raised millions of dollars for it through “an extraordinary act of public service.”

“Now he’s being accused of stealing an email list from an organization he built? Give me a break,” Dowd said in a statement. “Not only did he create this list donor by donor, friend by friend, but the Mission Continues still has the list.”

The charge intensifies the feud between Greitens and Gardner. He has called her a “reckless liberal prosecutor” for leading the investigation that resulted in the invasion-of-privacy charge. His attorneys, in court hearings and filings, have painted a picture of an incompetent prosecutor who rather than working with police to investigate Greitens hired a private investigator who bungled the investigation, hid evidence and lied to the court.

Gardner’s office began investigating after KMOV-TV in St. Louis first reported on the affair on Jan. 10, the day Greitens was giving his annual State of the State speech. The governor acknowledged the affair but denied allegations that he had threatened to release a compromising photo of the woman if she disclosed the relationship. His trial in that case is scheduled to begin May 14.

Greitens, a former Navy SEAL officer and Rhodes Scholar, and Hawley both won election in 2016 as maverick political outsiders. Hawley is now running to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, and Democrats have been running TV ads linking Hawley to Greitens. Democrats have criticized Hawley’s earlier investigation that found no wrongdoing in Greitens’ use of a text message-destroying app, and claimed he stepped up his investigation of the charity only after it became politically beneficial.

In the Legislature, meanwhile, Senate leaders are considering holding off on sending bills to Greitens amid the multiple investigations. Republican Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and Democratic Minority Floor Leader Gina Walsh have not made a final decision, but Walsh has said she doesn’t believe any bills signed by Greitens should become law.

RENO COUNTY — After a lengthy and at times, very emotional hearing, a Reno County judge sentenced 66-year-old Jane Hart to three years and five months for one count of involuntary manslaughter.

Hart had entered a no contest plea to one count of involuntary manslaughter for being legally drunk when she struck a motorcycle  in January of 2017 killing 62 year-old Charles Caselton of Burrton.

The defense had a number of witnesses who tried to convince the judge that she has changed since that incident, has not had any alcoholic drink since the accident and attends AA meetings on a regular basis.

The state argued that the fact that she hasn’t had a drink since the accident and her other good works is not a substantial and compelling reason to depart from sentencing guidelines. They noted she was more than twice the legal limit to drive at .17 on the day of the accident and the law says she should be sentenced to prison.

Judge Rose agreed and denied the departure even after a plea from Hart’s daughter and from Hart for mercy.

Hart told the court that she prays every day for the family of Caselton and admitted she’s an alcoholic. Judge Rose says she is bound by law and that a crime such as this calls for presumptive prison without bias.

The family of the victim felt differently from Hart and others in the courtroom saying she made the choice to get into her vehicle and drive to the store to get trash bags after she had been drinking. The victim’s wife says “she took my laughter and joy away. She killed my every day.”

One other family member says Hart’s apology during the hearing wasn’t for being sorry for what she did to us or Caselton, it was an apology for her freedom.

The statements Friday were with a packed courtroom with family and friends on both sides of the larger of two courtrooms in the Reno County Courthouse.

This case itself goes back to Jan. 21 of 2017 when Hart pulled in front of a motorcycle at 30th and Prairie Dunes Drive just east of Hutchinson. The collision killed Caselton instantly.

She was eastbound on 30th and made a left turn onto Prairie Dunes Drive and struck the Honda motorcycle, which was traveling westbound.

The autopsy showed Caselton died from multiple blunt force trauma. One family member noted that they were not allowed to even touch the body at the funeral home because of its condition.

Hart will also have to pay restitution of over $24,720, a $400.00 KBI lab fee as well as the court cost. She also has to register as part of the offender registration act and will be on three years post-release supervision after prison.

SEDGWICK COUNTY ‑A Wichita Police Department officer on Wednesday while working off duty as security at the East Regal Cinemas was likely the intended target of an ambush style attack.

Just before 11p.m. at 11611 East 13th Street North, an officer was conducting security related duties and was located in the parking lot inside a security vehicle, according to officer Paul Cruz.

A suspect driving a dark colored Suburban or Tahoe, drove onto an unpaved embankment with the vehicle headlights off.

The suspect positioned behind the officer’s vehicle and fires four to six shots from an unknown caliber firearm towards the officer who was not hit. The suspect continued south on the shoulder of K-96 and left the area.

This investigation is still ongoing.

If anyone has information, please call Crime Stoppers at (316) 267-2111. If your tip leads to an arrest you may be eligible for a cash reward up to $2,500

By DAN MARGOLIES

An Overland Park hospital that specializes in weight-loss surgery is suing government health officials after they cut off its participation in Medicare.

Blue Valley Hospital (BVH), an acute care facility at 129th Street and Metcalf Avenue, claims to perform 35 percent of all Missouri Medicaid bariatric surgeries, the umbrella term for weight-loss operations. If it loses its Medicare funding and has to shut down, “the residents of Kansas and Missouri will lose access to crucial bariatric procedures, which are necessary to prevent a multitude of life-threatening and life-altering conditions,” the suit alleges.

In order to be covered by Medicare, a hospital must “primarily engage” in providing services to inpatients. State health officials conducted an unannounced survey of BVH last November and found it did not have any inpatients at the time. The officials’ subsequent report cited data provided by the hospital showing about 309 outpatient surgeries over a yearlong period, compared with 146 inpatient surgeries.

Although BVH submitted a plan of correction, Medicare officials found the plan was “aspirational only, did not provide specific dates when BVH would be in compliance and therefore is unacceptable.” Last week, they informed BVH that it did not meet the requirements for participation as a Medicare provider.

In its lawsuit, BVH says federal officials’ decision was “arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of their discretion.” BVH is seeking an injunction to restore the status quo, claiming the hospital’s patients will otherwise suffer substantial and irreparable harm.

The lawsuit says that Medicare reimbursements are a crucial part of BVH’s funding and private insurers might also stop paying if the hospital isn’t Medicare-certified. It names Alex Azar II, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); and Jeff Hinson, the regional administrator of CMS.

Julie Brookhart, a spokeswoman for the regional office of CMS, said the agency does not comment on impending lawsuits.

The hospital’s CEO, Chris Dixon, said that none of CMS’ concerns related to patients’ safety or care. He otherwise declined to comment on CMS’ move or the lawsuit.

Dixon said the hospital was owned by private shareholders, but he declined to identify them. The hospital was incorporated in 2009 by Douglas Palzer, who was its original CEO, and opened in 2010. At the time, it primarily offered weight loss surgery, but Dixon said it has since expanded to other areas.

Palzer previously operated an ambulatory surgical center nearby specializing in weight loss. A 2010 release by the hospital said the practice began to move away from the ambulatory surgical environment and “into the hospital facility to help more of its patients obtain insurance approval.”

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor for The Kansas News Service  You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.