BARTON COUNTY — For several months, law enforcement authorities have been investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes, according to Great Bend Police Chief David Bailey.

On Thursday, officers responded to a residence in Great Bend and arrested 24-year-old Austin J. Levingston on a warrant for charges of Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child and Lewd and Lascivious Behavior.

In August 2016, Levingston, a fan of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps become an inspiration on his own after sharing his dream of competing in the Olympics one day on the swimmer’s Facebook page.

Levingston’s Aug. 16, 2016 post received thousands of  likes. In it,  Levingston said he was attending college and hoped to be the first person in his family to get a degree. He also told Phelps, “I’m hoping to swim in the Olympics just like you someday.”

Levingston also is a doppelganger for Phelps. Levingston included a few pictures of himself which show a strong resemblance to the gold medalist.

He told The Baltimore Sun he didn’t know if Phelps saw his post.

The Great Bend Police Department urges anyone with any information regarding Lebingston’s child sex case, to please contact their office.

SEWARD COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities including the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are asking the public for help to locate a woman last seen by her family in Liberal on July 3.

Shaila Schlenz, 24, is a white female, 5-foot-2, weighs approximately 115 pounds with brown or red hair, and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding her disappearance, or the current whereabouts of Schlenz, is asked to call the Liberal Police Department at 620-626-0141, or the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME.

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting, have a third suspect in custody, according to Lt. Andrew Beightel.

On Wednesday, police issued an alert to help locate 23-year-old Isaiah James Calhoun in connection with the August 16 shooting of 20-year-old Gianni Sebastian Noriega in the 400 Block of SW Taylor in Topeka.

On Thursday, police took Calhoun into custody without incident. After an interview with detectives he was transported to the the Shawnee County Department of Corrections with the charges of 1st Degree Murder, according to Beightel.

in the west alley in reference to several gunshots being heard and a man down in the alley, according to Lt. Robert Simmons.

On August 16, offices responding to a shooting found Noriega of Topeka, with several apparent gunshot wounds and he was transported to a local hospital where he died.

On August 19, police arrested Brandon L. Gayer 18, in connection with the shooting. On August 20, police reported a second suspect, 21-year-old John F. Alston, and he booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections as part of the investigation.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence police officer is being charged after shooting a man during what started as a traffic stop.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announced Thursday that he charged officer Brindley Blood with aggravated battery in the May 29 shooting of Akira Lewis.

Lewis is also charged with four counts, including battery on a law enforcement officer.

Lewis was pulled over by officer Ian McCann during a seat-belt enforcement campaign. Branson said Lewis would not cooperate and Blood responded when McCann called for backup.

Lewis allegedly began hitting McCann and during the confrontation, Blood discharged her weapon, hitting Lewis.

Blood is on administrative leave. The Lawrence police department said Thursday it is conducting an internal review to determine if any department policies were violated.

KANSAS CITY– A woman carrying more than five pounds of fentanyl in her suitcase as she traveled through Kansas City was charged in federal court Thursday.

“Synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, are among the deadliest substances being trafficked across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their diligent work to identify and disrupt the distribution networks used by drug traffickers.”

Evelyn C. Sanchez, 33, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Sanchez remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Sanchez was traveling from Los Angeles, Calif., en route to New York, N.Y. Her bus stopped briefly at a Kansas City bus station on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. After Kansas City police detectives interviewed Sanchez at the bus station, they became suspicious that she was not being truthful about her trip and purpose for going to New York. A K-9 alerted to a grey, hard-sided suitcase under one of the seats near where Sanchez had been seated on the bus, and she eventually acknowledged that that suitcase belonged to her.

When detectives searched Sanchez’s suitcase, the affidavit says, they found two bundles wrapped in several layers of plastic, which contained a total of 5.3 pounds or 2.4 kilograms of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide, commonly known as fentanyl.

“I’m proud that the members of the DEA Interdiction Task Force, working collaboratively with the Kansas City Police Department, were able to make a difference by seizing 1.5 million lethal doses of fentanyl from the streets,” DEA St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge William Callahan said. “We task these interdiction groups with an increasingly difficult task … to seize drugs before they hit the streets of our communities. Today, they made an impact. They kept this poison out of our neighborhoods and potentially saved countless lives. We are extremely grateful to our state, local, and federal counterparts who contribute to these interdiction efforts.”

“Our Interdiction Unit did an excellent job,” Kansas City Police Chief Richard C. Smith said. “This was a huge amount of fentanyl capable of killing thousands of people. I’m very proud of our detectives and of how our excellent working relationships with our federal partners are keeping dangerous drugs like this off the streets and holding traffickers accountable.”

The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on businessman Greg Orman’s independent bid for Kansas governor (all times local):

5 p.m.

Independent candidate Greg Orman’s campaign manager says he expects Democrats to file a lawsuit to remove Orman from the ballot in the Kansas governor’s race.

Campaign manager Tim Phillips said Thursday he would be shocked if a lawsuit wasn’t filed after a state board rejected most claims in an objection to Orman’s candidacy filed by a Democratic legislative leader’s chief of staff.

The board’s decision Thursday means Orman remains on the ballot.

Attorney Pedro Irigonegary represented the legislative aide and said a lawsuit is possible but a decision has not been made.

The objection questioned how Orman’s campaign collected at least 4,000 signatures on petitions for his spot on the Nov. 6 ballot. He needed 5,000 from registered voters, and the secretary of state’s office validated more than 7,700.

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4p.m.

A state board in Kansas is keeping independent candidate Greg Orman on the ballot in the governor’s race.

The State Objections Board on Thursday rejected a challenge filed by a Democratic legislative leader’s aide.

The Democrat had argued that questions about how Orman gathered the signatures of registered voters were grave enough to warrant removing him from the Nov. 6 ballot.

Orman needed the signatures of 5,000 registered voters, and counties validated about 7,700. The objection raised questions about how at least 4,000 were collected.

The board was made up of representatives of the secretary of state, the attorney general and the lieutenant governor. All are Republicans and Secretary of State Kris Kobach is the GOP nominee for governor.

Many Democrats fear Orman’s bid will help Kobach.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Court records say a Kansas man sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl with a developmental disability.

The affidavit released this week in the case against 39-year-old Steven Capps says another adult caught Capps in a room with the girl and called police. The affidavit says the girl used anatomical diagrams to explain what happened and “indicated she was not a willing participant.”

The affidavit says Capps admitted to police that he removed the girl’s clothing and touched her inappropriately but denied raping her.

He is jailed on $250,000 bond on two counts of rape and one count of aggravated criminal sodomy.