BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an investigation.

Just after 1:30p.m. Wednesday, Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant just south of the City of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

Detectives had obtained a search warrant during an investigation of a felon in possession of a firearm and contacted the resident at 180 C South US 281 highway. Upon entering the residence deputies also discovered suspected drugs and paraphernalia. Another search warrant was obtained for the drugs.

Deputies arrested Fred Kopke II, 53 of Great Bend and booked him on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and felon in possession of a firearm.  Kopke is being held in the Barton County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond. Drug and weapon investigations are ongoing. Two Firearms were also seized.

Kopke has seven previous convictions for theft and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

COWLEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for arson and other charges following a standoff in Arkansas City.

Just after 5:30p.m. Wednesday, deputies were dispatched to the 900 block of S. 9th Street in Arkansas City. for the report of a domestic battery, according to Cowley County Sheriff  Dave Falletti.

Initial reports indicated that the suspect 35 year-old Jeffrey “JD” Strange had weapons and had made comments that the incident would end up with a stand-off between he and law enforcement.  Negotiations were being conducted when Strange went into a commercial welding business at 915 S.9th Street.  While inside a fire was started.

Strange came out in front of the business and was sitting on a four-wheeler  and brandished a large knife.

He was tased and taken into custody by deputies and officers with the Arkansas City Police Department, according to Falletti.

No one was injured during the incident.  Strange was also found to be in possession of a loaded firearm upon arrest.  The Arkansas City and Winfield Fire Departments were able to put the fire out and it is believed that the building is a total loss.

Strange was transported to the Cowley County Jail on requested charges of Domestic Battery, Arson, Disorderly Conduct and theft of a firearm.

He is being held without bond, according to Falletti pending an initial court appearance later this week.

TOPEKA—Fiscal year tax collections have exceeded previous year’s totals by $183.49 million according to data from the latest revenue report released Thursday by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Fiscal year 2019 tax collections so far total $2.20 billion, exceeding estimates by $105.60 million.

October tax collections were up $10.71 million, or 2.14 percent over last year. October’s tax collections exceeded expectations for the month by $6.99 million.

Individual income tax collections in October totaled $242.29 million which is $12.88 million or 5.61 percent above the same time last year. October sales tax collections fell short of last October’s collections by $3.88 million.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – A Kansas sheriff’s deputy is out of jail after two arrests on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, Bel Aire police arrested off-duty Sedgwick County deputy Raymond Paredes for alleged domestic battery in connection with an incident at his residence, according to
Col. Greg Pollock during a Wednesday news briefing.

Paredes was placed on administrative suspension and bonded out of jail.

Just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Paredes was back in jail after an arrest for violation of a protection order, according to the Sedgwick County sheriff booking report. Jail records indicate he was out on bond Thursday morning.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican candidate Kris Kobach on Wednesday echoed President Donald Trump’s assertion that Trump can deny U.S. citizenship to babies born to parents living in the country illegally, intensifying a focus on immigration in the final days of a close Kansas governor’s race.

Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, is Trump’s biggest political ally in the state and has advised the White House on homeland security issues. He also has made pursuing tough state measures against illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaign for governor.

But in backing Trump on whether the president can end birthright citizenship without an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Kobach broke with some fellow Republicans, including U.S House Speaker Paul Ryan. Like Trump, Kobach contradicted legal experts who see the issue as long-settled and clear under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

“That’s one of the interesting things about birthright citizenship. There are many people who are under the misimpression that the 14th Amendment commands it,” Kobach said during a Fox News television interview . “It doesn’t.”

He added that Congress could end birthright citizenship or, “The president could do it through a regulation.”

Kobach is in a toss-up race with Democrat Laura Kelly, a veteran state senator from Topeka. She has argued that combating illegal immigration requires comprehensive legislation from Congress and that Kobach’s get-tough approach would damage the state’s economy, particularly in western Kansas and when it comes to agriculture.

Kelly’s campaign declined Wednesday to comment on Kobach’s comments. But Ethan Corson, the Kansas Democratic Party’s executive director said: “As Republicans like Paul Ryan and legal scholars from across the political spectrum have stated, the president obviously has no authority to alter the Constitution by executive order.”

Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas political scientist, said Kobach needs his conservative base to turn out to defeat Kelly. He said raising birthright citizenship as an issue after it’s remained relatively neglected represents “a fresher angle” on immigration issues.

“If you want to kick life into some kind of advertising, whether you’re selling a candidate or toothpaste, having a fresh angle is sometimes good to reignite interest and engagement,” Miller said. “Kobach also likes to push the envelope on a lot of things.”

The 14th Amendment begins: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Kobach, an attorney and former law school professor, argued Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” that immigrants living in the country illegally are not under U.S. jurisdiction, allowing Trump or Congress to deny their U.S-born children automatic citizenship. But a move in line with that thinking would likely spark a legal challenge.

States ratified the 14th Amendment after the Civil War to secure U.S. citizenship for newly freed black slaves. It later was used to guarantee citizenship to all babies born on U.S. soil after court challenges, including one that led to an 1898 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump said in an interview Tuesday that he wants to end birthright citizenship and could do so with an executive order. Ryan responded in a radio interview, saying: “Well you obviously cannot do that.” That drew a tweeted rebuke from the president.

Trump’s comments also were an issue in a debate Tuesday between Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder and Democratic challenger Sharice Davids in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, where immigration has been a major issue. Trump, who narrowly lost the Kansas City-area district in 2016, has endorsed Yoder, the chairman of a House subcommittee on homeland security.

During the debate, neither candidate said directly whether they would support an effort by Congress to end birthright citizenship, though Davids said an executive order by Trump would “violate our Constitution.”

When asked after the debate about ending birthright citizenship, Yoder told reporters that if the U.S. secured its borders adequately, “That’s not an issue then.”

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