TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state of Kansas will pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the Department of Children and Families failed to intervene to protect an 18-month-old girl who eventually died.

Jayla Haag died in 2012 from blunt-force injuries to the head. The girl lived with her mother, Alyssa Haag, in El Dorado.

The suit filed by the father, Steven Watters, accused the agency of ignoring warning signs that included calls to a child-abuse hotline. He also alleged that a DCF social worker was aware of the mother’s persistent use of illegal drugs.

In addition to her injuries, Jayla tested positive for methamphetamine at birth and prior to her death.

Gov.-elect Laura Kelly, a Democrat, has promised to reform DCF once she takes office in January.

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating five teen in connection with multiple incidents of damage to property in Saline County.

The incidents included 17 confirmed damage to vehicles and one burglary in which a door was broken and liquor allegedly stolen from a home in the 500 block of Beachwood in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.

On Friday, police arrested Wilbert Haines, 19, Dominique Patrick, 15, Kaiden Goldsmith, 15, Silas Walker, 16 and Sam Cheney, 16, all of Salina.

Haines was booked on requested charges of felony damage to property, conspiracy to commit felony damage to property, aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, theft, misdemeanor damage to property, felony contribution to child’s misconduct, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Forrester.

Patrick, Goldsmith, Walker, and Cheney were booked on requested charges of felony damage to property, conspiracy to commit felony damage to property, aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, theft, and misdemeanor damage to property, according to Forrester.

NOTE: Kansas state law allows law enforcement to release the names of juveniles age 14 and older involved in criminal cases

Manhattan, Kan. – Dennis Butler, the current Chief of the Ottawa Police Department, has been selected as the next Director of the Riley County Police Department. Butler was selected after an extensive nationwide search conducted by the Riley County Law Enforcement Agency Board in coordination with McGrath Human Resources Group. 

According to a media release, Butler will begin serving the citizens of Riley County when current Director Brad Schoen retires at the end of December. Butler is the 5th Director since the RCPD was established in 1974.

“I am thrilled to be selected as the next Director of the Riley County Police Department. Once I was offered this position I have remained excited for this day and the years that will follow,” Butler said. “My commitment to the department’s employees and the citizens they serve was strengthened during my interactions with people involved with the selection process. My wife and I wish to express our sincerest gratitude to all of them for their belief in me.”

Butler has served as the Chief of the Ottawa Police Department since 2004. Prior to his current position, Chief Butler served 25 years with the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department, retiring in 2004 at the rank of Captain.

Lawboard Chair Craig Beardsley said he was impressed by Butler when he went through the search and interview process.

“His experience and demonstrated abilities as the Chief of Police in Ottawa, and a Captain at the Alexandria Police Department, were very much in line with what we desire in the next Director,” Beardsley said.  We feel that Chief Butler is an excellent fit for Riley County Police Department and the communities we serve.”

Chief Butler has a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In 2004 he earned a Graduate Certificate in Administration of Justice from the MPA program at George Mason University. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Certificate program for Professional Executive Leadership and the FBI National Academy.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a defense request to bar victim impact statements from Somali immigrants whose mosque and apartment complex was targeted (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

A federal judge says he won’t immediately decide whether to allow testimony from Somali immigrants at the sentencing hearing for three men convicted of plotting to bomb a mosque and a Kansas apartment complex where the immigrants lived.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said during a court hearing Monday that he couldn’t recall ever denying someone the right to be heard. He said he’d issue a decision later.

A defense attorney argued that no one was harmed by the plot and questions the accuracy of the testimony translation. A prosecutor says harm to the community should be considered during sentencing.

Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen were convicted of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiring to violate civil rights. Their attorneys have asked that the Somalis’ victim impact statements be barred.

___

___

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge is due to hear arguments about whether to allow victim impact statements from Somali immigrants at the sentencing hearing for three Kansas militia members convicted of plotting to bomb a mosque and an apartment complex where the immigrants live.

The hearing is scheduled to take place Monday before U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita.

Attorneys for Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen contend that the immigrants aren’t victims because no one was hurt. Prosecutors say the defendants are trying to de-personalize their crimes and that federal law guarantees every victim the right to be heard at sentencing.

The defendants were convicted of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiring to violate civil rights. Wright was also convicted of lying to the FBI.