BARBER COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 7p.m. Thursday in Barber County and have identified the victims.
The KHP reported a 2018 Ford Focus driven by James C. Ramey, 44, Mulvane, was eastbound on U.S. 160 one mile west of Medicine Lodge. The vehicle struck two bicyclists from behind.

Thomas M. Foust, 56, West Columbia, South Carolina, was pronounced dead at the scene. Robert W. Christensen, 64, Medicine Lodge, was transported the hospital in Medicine Lodge where he died.

Ramey was properly restrained at the time of the accident and not injured, according to the KHP.
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BARBER COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 7p.m. Thursday in Barber County.

The KHP reported a vehicle was eastbound on U.S. 160 one mile west of Medicine Lodge and struck two bicyclists from behind.

Authorities have not released names or additional details.

SEWARD COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged drug sales and have made an arrest.

Just after 8p.m., Thursday, police responded to a residence in the 1000 block of N. Holly in the city of Liberal for a welfare check of a child at that residence, according to police captain Robert Rogers.

While there, an officer observed signs of narcotics use.  During the search of the residence, police found about 741 grams of suspected marijuana and marijuana oil, about 20 grams of psylocibin mushrooms, a small amount of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a handgun.

Police also arrested a 42-year-old man for possession with the intent to sell marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated endangering a child, no drug tax stamp, and criminal possession of a firearm.  An affidavit was forwarded to the Seward County Attorney’s Office seeking formal charges.  Other family members are taking care of the child, according to Rogers.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for making bogus emergency calls to authorities across the U.S., including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online players over $1.50 bet in the Call of Duty: WWII video game.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Tyler R. Barriss, 26, under a deal in which he pleaded guilty in November to a total of 51 federal charges related to fake calls and threats. The plea agreement called for a sentence of at least 20 years — well over the 10 years recommended under sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors believe it is the longest prison sentence ever imposed for the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address.

Melgren said the case went into “uncharted legal territory,” that the law has not caught up with technology and the charges didn’t address the severity of what happened.

The 2017 death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch drew national attention to swatting. But Barriss had made dozens of such calls before that and was “known as the guy on Twitter that is good at this,” his attorney, Richard Federico, said.

Authorities say an Ohio gamer recruited Barriss to “swat” a Wichita gamer, but that the address they used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the video game or the dispute. Barriss called Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2017, to falsely report a shooting and kidnapping at that Wichita address. Finch answered the door, and an officer shot the unarmed man.

Barriss apologized to Finch’s family on Friday, saying he takes full responsibility for what happened.

“If I could take it back, I would, but there is nothing I can do,” Barriss told the court. “I am so sorry for that.”

Federico described Barriss as a loner who “found solace in the gaming community” as he became a “serial swatter.” His best friend is someone he knows only online, Frederico said, his father died when he was young and his mother abandoned him.

Outside the courthouse, his sister, Dominica Finch, said Barriss got what he deserved, but that she also wants to see police held accountable. Finch’s family has sued the city of Wichita and the officers involved. Police have said the officer who shot Finch thought he was reaching for a gun because he moved a hand toward his waistband. Prosecutors declined to charge the officer.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett defended that decision.

“I am very much sympathetic to the Finch family, but at the end of the day my determination has to be in what the law allows,” Bennett said.

Barriss’ prosecution in Wichita consolidated other federal cases that had been filed against him in California and the District of Columbia involving similar calls and threats. Bennett also said Friday that he would dismiss state charges, including involuntary manslaughter, because Barriss would be getting more prison time from the federal charges than he could get in state court.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized swatting as an emerging threat as early as 2008, noting it had become commonplace among gamers.

“We hope that this will send a strong message about swatting, which is a juvenile and senseless practice,” McAllister, the federal prosecutor, told reporters. “We’d like to put an end to it within the gaming community and in any other contact. Swatting, as I’ve said before, is not a prank.”

The intended target in Wichita, Shane Gaskill, 20, and the man who allegedly recruited Barriss, Casey Viner, 19, of North College Hill, Ohio, are charged as co-conspirators. Authorities say Viner provided Barriss with an address for Gaskill that Gaskill had previously given to Viner. Authorities also say that when Gaskill noticed Barriss was following him on Twitter, he gave Barriss that old address and taunted him to “try something.”

Viner and Gaskill pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and other counts. Viner has notified the court he intends to change that plea at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Gaskill’s trial has been delayed to April 23 amid plea talks with federal prosecutors.

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GEARY COUNTY –The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) arrested  Anthony J. “Tony” Wolf, 44, the Geary County Sheriff, just after 2 p.m. Friday at the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, 826 N. Franklin St. in Junction City.

According to a KBI media release, Wolf was arrested for two new counts of felony theft. The charge alleges Wolf used county funds to purchase items that were then sold for personal profit, or maintained for personal use.

On Friday he appeared at a pre-trial conference regarding the charges he was previously arrested for on Oct. 18 that accuse Wolf of giving a county-owned firearm as a gift to a third party, and for misuse of public funds. The misuse of public funds allegation asserts Wolf used public dollars in a manner not authorized by law.

 Wolf was booked into the Geary County Jail. Dickinson County Attorney Andrea Purvis has been appointed as special prosecutor for this case.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas running back Pooka Williams has agreed to diversion terms for a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.

Court records filed Thursday show the agreement requires him to complete 40 hours of community service by Nov. 30. He also must submit to domestic violence offender assessment. If that assessment doesn’t result in any recommendations, Williams must take an anger management course.

If he successfully completes the diversion, the allegation would be dropped from his record.

Williams was charged in December after an 18-year-old Kansas student he was dating accused him of punching her in the stomach and grabbing her throat.

He was suspended by the football program Dec. 7.

Williams was the Big 12 offensive freshman of the year and a first-team all-Big 12 selection as running back and kick returner last season.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel.

“We need to work toward a clean sweep,” Border Patrol Deputy Chief of Operations Richard Hudson said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press sent to sector chiefs Thursday. “This should be our daily battle rhythm.”

Agents are still doing medical screenings and criminal checks, but the decision means thousands of families will be released without first going through U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, which manages their deportation cases.

The Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas and the Yuma, Arizona, sector earlier announced that agents would begin to release families on their own recognizance. A Border Patrol official not authorized to speak on the matter said Wednesday that El Paso and San Diego planned on doing the same. Some sectors were not part of the change, including Tucson, Arizona and El Centro, California.

Families are typically released with notices to appear in immigration court due to legal restrictions on detaining them and lack of holding space. Until now, Customs and Border Protection has detained them briefly before turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, generally within 72 hours, to be released pending the outcome of their immigration cases.

The move came as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wrote to Congress asking for emergency funding for humanitarian and operational needs, and the ability to detain families together as long as necessary to deport people faster.

“The volume of ‘vulnerable populations’ is unsustainable. Our system has been able to cope with high numbers in the past, but the composition of today’s flows makes them virtually unmanageable,” she wrote.

Arrests all along the southern border have skyrocketed in recent months. Border agents are on track to make 100,000 arrests and denials of entry at the southern border this month, over half of which are families with children. To manage the crush, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reassigning 750 border inspectors from their usual duties at the ports of entry to help Border Patrol keep pace with arrivals in between ports of entry. The head of the agency held a press conference in El Paso on Wednesday to say the breaking point had arrived.

But federal lawmakers have fought over whether there is a “crisis” at the border, particularly amid President Donald Trump’s push for a border wall that he claimed will solve all the immigration problems. Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday the evidence shows the immigration system is cracking under the strain.

“The sad reality is that we now have a virtual open border for any migrant who crosses with a minor, and our border security enforcement has been reduced to a mere speed bump for migrants on their path to long-term occupancy in the United States,” he said, adding border officers are being asked to perform an impossible task with no help from Congress.

And along the border, officials were working to manage the families that had been suddenly released. Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls said was city is working with various non-governmental organizations to make sure families released by the Border Patrol have temporary housing, food, medical care and help with traveling to their intended destinations.

Most immigrant families coming to the U.S. don’t plan on staying in the border towns they cross through, but rather to meet up with family throughout the country.

“Focusing on the humanitarian effort is the most important focus for the city, Nicholls.

The Yuma Sector has over the last two years seen an extraordinary spike in the number of immigrant families who turn themselves in. Yuma Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Carl E. Landrum said Thursday that agents have arrested 30,000 people in the relatively small sector since October 1.

The facility in Yuma has the capacity to temporarily hold 410 people. Until Thursday, ICE had been picking all of these families up and taking them to Phoenix and Tucson to be processed. But the numbers have swelled so much now that ICE doesn’t have enough resources to pick everybody up, so Border Patrol agents themselves are releasing families in Yuma.

“It is overwhelming us locally, as well as overwhelming the system nationally,” Landrum said.

“The sheer volume of family units crossing the border has overwhelmed ICE’s limited transportation resources; combined with a requirement to detain these individuals for no more than 20 days, the agency has no option but to expeditiously arrange for their release,” ICE spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez said in a statement.

The agency makes “every attempt to coordinate the release of these individuals with NGOs that provide assistance with basic needs, but the heavy influx in recent months has inundated these organizations as well,” Rodriguez said.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 9:30a.m. Thursday in Sedgwick County.

A 28-year-old woman was driving a GMC Denali merging from Interstate135 to eastbound Kellogg, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

The vehicle stalled out partially in the merging lane. The driver called 911 to report that her vehicle was stalled. A Honda Accord driven by Quinton Bonham, 33, Wichita, rear-ended the SUV.

EMS transported him to a local hospital where he died, according to Wheeler.

The driver and two children in the SUV were not injured according to Wheeler.