LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A woman charged with intentionally driving into the Kansas River, killing one of her children and injuring another, will undergo a mental evaluation.

An attorney for 26-year-old Scharron Dingledine, of Columbia, Missouri, said during a brief court hearing Tuesday that she wants an evaluation of Dingledine’s competency.

Dingledine is charged with first-degree murder after her car went into the river near Lawrence on Friday. She and her 1-year-old son survived but the body of her 5-year-old daughter, Amiyah Bradley, was pulled from the river on Saturday. Dingledine is also charged with attempted first-degree murder for injuring her son, who remains in intensive care.

Dingledine’s next hearing was scheduled for Aug. 28 to allow time for an evaluation.

Dingledine is being held on $1 million bond.

KANSAS CITY- A Mexican man was sentenced Monday to 12 years in federal prison for his role in smuggling more than 1,000 pounds of liquid methamphetamine into Kansas, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Fernando Chavez-Rodriguez, 43, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

He was arrested Jan. 13, 2017. Federal agents watched him and others at a business in Kansas City, Kan., unload liquid methamphetamine from a fuel tank on a semi-truck into five-gallon buckets. They loaded the buckets into a white Dodge Caravan.

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Officials with a manufacturing plant in Garden City say the business is planning an expansion that could create several new jobs.

Palmer Manufacturing and Tank plans to invest $16 million in its Garden City plant. The company makes steel and fiberglass tanks and processing equipment for the oil and gas industry.

The plant has been re-acquired by its original owner, Cecil O’Brate. Plans are to employ about 200 people within three years of opening.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer stopped in Garden City to help announce the expansion.

The Kansas Department of Commerce and Finney County Economic Development Corporation helped make the expansion possible.

WASHINGTON – Adam W. Purinton, of Olathe, Kansas, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the February 2017 killing of Indian national Srinivas Kuchibhotla, and shooting of two other men – Indian national Alok Madasani and Kansas resident Ian Grillot – at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas, and FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Darrin Jones.

In March, Purinton pleaded guilty in federal court to hate crime and firearm offenses arising out of the shooting. At his federal guilty-plea hearing, Purinton admitted in open court that he targeted and shot Kuchibhotla and Madasani because of their race, color, and national origin, and that he shot Grillot during an attempt to flee the scene of the crime. Purinton has also pleaded guilty in state court to charges of murder and attempted murder, and has been sentenced to a term of life imprisonment in state prison.

Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, addressed Purinton in her victim-impact statement: “My husband was more than what you chose to address him as. Always kind, caring, and respectful to others. Srinu and I came to the United States of America full of dreams and aspirations. . . . Now, my American Dream – and that of Srinu’s – is broken. If you could have kept your anger inside and spoke to my husband softly, Srinu would have been more than happy to share his background and help you understand that not every brown skinned person is suspicious or evil, but kind, smart and contributing to America. Instead you chose to rage and bully in anger and when you were stopped, you decided to take their lives. . . . [U]se the time that is being given to you to educate yourself and inform others who are still out in the open and stop them from killing innocent people as you did – choosing violence over kindness.”

“The crimes at issue in this case are detestable,” Attorney General Sessions said. “The defendant acted with clear premeditation in murdering one man, and attempting to murder a second man, simply because of their race, religion, and national origin. As a result, a promising young life has been tragically cut short, and other lives have been filled with suffering. Securing this sentence is important not only to the victims and their loved ones, but also to our justice system and our nation as a whole. I want to thank the FBI, our fabulous DOJ attorneys Tris Hunt, David Zabel, and Christopher Perras, as well as our partners at the Olathe Police Department for their hard work on this case. While we cannot undo the irreparable harm that this defendant has done, some measure of justice for the victims’ families has been achieved. Such hateful crimes will remain a priority for the Department of Justice.”

“No matter who you are, what you believe, or how you worship, you should be able to live without fear of becoming a victim of hate crimes. We hope today’s sentencing brings some closure for the victims and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister for the District of Kansas.

“Today’s sentencing speaks to the gravity of this senseless crime and reaffirms the FBI’s continued commitment to bring those responsible to justice,” said FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Darrin Jones.

ST. LOUIS, MO- The National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday released a preliminary report on the Thursday, July 19, fatal duck boat accident.  

NTSB issues preliminary report on the July 19, Duck Boat accident near Branson, MO: https://t.co/wbdqU1dweC

— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) August 7, 2018

Seventeen people died including 9 from one family when the boat sank.

The tourist boat was on the lake despite wind speeds far exceeding allowable limits, according to a Coast Guard report issued last week.

BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged aggravated assault.

Just before noon Sunday, the Ellinwood Police Department and Ellinwood Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire in the 300 block of east 4th street in Ellinwood, according to a media release.

They found a 1999 Chevy 2500 pickup found fully engulfed in flames parked near the alley.

The owner of the vehicle was uncooperative with commands from Firefighters and Law Enforcement to get away from the vehicle for safety concerns.

The owner then entered a second pickup that was parked close by and rapidly backed up towards the responders, nearly striking several Fire Department Personnel and one Ellinwood Police Officer. The driver then fled the scene driving erratically to the front of his residence and barricaded himself inside.

The driver came out of the residence a short time later where he was taken into custody by the Ellinwood Police Department.

The driver, Samuel Freeman, 62, Ellinwood, was transported to the Barton County Jail where he was booked in on four counts of Aggravated Assault, one count of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, and Felony Interference with Law Enforcement.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Submitted

Boots to Business Reboot is a program offered through the United States Small Business Administration.

The program is delivered by the Wichita chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to prospective and established small business owners.

Designed for Veterans of all eras and their spouses or children, including members of the National Guard, Boots to Business Reboot is a two-step entrepreneurial training program. The curriculum provides assistance to those interested in starting a business or exploring other self-employment opportunities. The course will present the key steps for evaluating business concepts and developing a business plan. In addition, participants are introduced to resources available to them from the Small Business Administration, including start-up capital, technical assistance and contracting opportunities.

Veterans are nearly 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans. Almost 2.4 million, or one in 10, small businesses are veteran-owned.

The first step of the Boots to Business Reboot program is attending a one-day workshop covering the Introduction to Entrepreneurship, being offered four times in four locations in NW Kansas:

August 25 – SALINA – Salina Chamber of Commerce, 120 West Ash St.  Hosted by the Salina Community Economic Development Association.

September 22 – COLBY – Thomas County Complex, 350 South Range Street 

October 13 – HAYS – Sternberg Museum, 3000 Sternberg Drive

November 10 – PHILLIPSBURG – The Fischer Building, 205 F Street.

Workshops will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. Lunch will be served. They will be facilitated by SCORE representatives, in partnership with the SBA.

Step two, for those interested in continuing the process, is an eight-week online course titled Foundations of Entrepreneurship. Instruction for the online courses is by a consortium of professors and practitioners led by Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.

SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, with more than 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters. As a resource partner of the SBA, SCORE has helped more than 10 million entrepreneurs through mentoring, workshops and educational resources since 1964.

The workshops are supported by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required.

To register for a workshop, visit Wichita.score.org. Click on: Boots to Business and follow the registration link. For more information, call Wichita SCORE at 316-269-6273, or email them at [email protected].

WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a laser was intentionally pointed at one of its aircraft in violation of federal law as authorities searched for an escaped inmate.

Last night one of our aircraft was hit with an intentional laser strike. The pilot was able to locate an address and will follow up. Just a reminder that it is a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft.

— KHP Aircraft (@KHPAircraft) August 5, 2018

No one has been arrested for pointing the laser. But Lt. Adam Winters said Monday that troopers have an address and are going to follow up on what happened Saturday night as authorities searched for the escaped inmate in Winfield.

Winters say that when a laser is pointed at a plane, it can cause temporary blindness to the pilots which can cause “a very dangerous situation.”