WICHITA, KAN. – A man found guilty of trying to kill another man on three different occasions will spend a long time in prison.

On Friday, a Sedgwick County District Court Judge sentenced Tremain Shears, 31 of Wichita, to 71-years in prison, according to a media release is from District Attorney Marc Bennet.

During the summer of 2018, a jury found Shears guilty of nine felonies including attempted 1st degree murder and aggravated battery.

In 2016, Shears shot at Marcqual Hightower three times, in April, July and September. The victim was wounded three times in the legs. In July, Hightower was outside his grandmother’s home in Wichita when Shears drove by and fired over a dozen times at the house. No one was hit.

Shears went on trial for the shootings last July. At the end of his trial, Shears had his GPS monitoring bracelet removed and fled to Oklahoma.

The next day, a jury found Shears guilty of the nine charges against him. U.S. Marshalls arrested Shears a few days later in Oklahoma City.

A motive for Shears’ attacks on Hightower was never released in court.
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OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OK —A man wanted for removing his court-ordered ankle monitoring device during his Kansas trial for attempted murder is in an Oklahoma jail.

On Monday, U.S. Marshals arrested 30-year-old Tremain Shears, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.

On July 16, in Sedgwick County District Court, Shears was found guilty of two counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of criminal discharge of a weapon and three counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. On the last day of his trial, Shears left the area. The trial continued despite his absence and a warrant was issued. The jury found Mr. Shears guilty of the nine charges against him.

Shears will be given the opportunity under the interstate extradition act to either contest or waive extradition back to Kansas, according to the District Attorney’s office.

If he waives extradition to Kansas, transportation will be arranged between law enforcement officials in Oklahoma City and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department. If he contests the extradition, the DA’s office and state government officials have 90 days to complete the paperwork needed to obtain a Governor’s warrant to return him to Wichita for sentencing.

BARTON COUNTY—Two people were arrested on drug charges after an early Friday morning arrest at a Great Bend motel.

According to the Great Bend Police Department, officers were dispatched to the Super 8 Hotel just after 4 a.m. Friday morning in regards to suspicious subjects in the area. The caller told 911 that there were three subjects by a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup with Oklahoma license plates parked in the parking lot. While in route, officers were advised that the truck had been stolen in Oklahoma.

When police arrived, all three subjects fled on foot. Two subjects, one male and one female who were later identified as juveniles, were taken into custody while the third indivual, a male has not yet been apprehended.

During the arrest, a large amount of methamphetamine was located on the juvenile male suspect. The juvenile female suspect taken into custody has been reported as a runaway from Colorado. Both juveniles were transported to Juvenile Detention.

The investigation and search for the third individual continues. If you have any information regarding this case call Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300 or the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle is trying to bar Gov. Laura Kelly from nominating a new state Court of Appeals judge after Kelly was forced to withdraw her first choice.

The Senate’s top Republican sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Derek Schmidt asking him to file a lawsuit to keep the Democratic governor from submitting another choice to the Senate for confirmation.

Kelly withdrew her first choice of Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack last month because of political posts on Jack’s Twitter feed in 2017.

Wagle contends that Kelly can’t make another nomination under a 2013 law. Wagle says the power to make the nomination now goes to Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss.

Kelly disagrees. Schmidt has urged legislative action to clarify the law.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a toddler and have made an arrest.

Just after 11:30p.m. Thursday police responded to a domestic disturbance call at a residence in the 4500 Block of South Hydraulic in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Officers found 28-year-old Patrick Javonovich and 22-year-old Brandi Marchant walking back to the residence. Investigators learned that Javonovich and Merchant had been involved in a verbal disturbance with each other and left a 2-year-old boy and a 4-month boy home alone.

Police entered the home and found the 2-year-old unresponsive in a crib, according to Davidson. The child was pronounced dead at the scene. The 4-month-old was found in need of medical attention and taken to an area hospital for treatment and remains hospitalized.

Police arrested Javonovich and Marchant for felony murder in the boy’s death. In addition, both are being held on requested charges that include two counts of aggravated endangering of a child.  Bond for both was set at $200,000 each, according to Sedgwick County online jail records.

An autopsy will be performed on the boy to determine the cause of death, according to Davidson.

Marchant is the biological mother of the 4-month-old. He will be placed into protective custody after released from the hospital.

Javonovich and Marchant are the biological parents of the 2-year-old, according to Davidson.  Police will present the case to the district attorney. 

By STEPHAN BISAHA
Kansas News Service

Cities in Kansas have been adopting a new approach for dealing with feral cats: neutering and vaccinating them, and then allowing the felines to roam free.

That has birdwatchers worried.

“Feral cats can be incredibly destructive to bird populations,” said Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas. “It does concern some of our local Audubon chapters throughout the state and elsewhere in the country.”

Wildlife conservationists accuse local governments that have adopted trap-neuter-return policies of valuing an invasive species over native birds and small mammals that the cats like to hunt.

Advocates say it’s more humane, and that neutering will reduce feral cat populations as the animals die of natural causes.

Wichita has been debating adding its own trap-neuter-return policy, or TNR, for months.

In communities, including Salina, North Newton, and Topeka, that have switched to neutering, the practice has drastically lowered the number of felines euthanized in city shelters. Lawrence is launching its program in May.

Friends of Felines, a group that’s been neutering and releasing feral cats in Wichita ad hoc for years, points to a reduction in euthanizations as proof the approach works.

Wichita euthanized more than 3,000 cats in 2013. Last year the number dropped to fewer than 1,000. Wichita police also credit freelance neutering for the reduction.

But with the animals having a lifespan of about 15 years, opponents of releasing the neutered felines back onto the streets say that’s still a lot of time for hunting.

“I see them sitting underneath my birdfeeder,” said Tom Ewert, president of the Wichita Audubon Society. “I haven’t agreed to having these feral cats running around outside.”

Ewert is wary of being labeled a cat hater — he has his own indoor cat. But he says outdoor cats devastate local wildlife.

A 2013 study estimated that domestic cats kill up to four billion birds a year in the United States, though that figure has been disputed. Cats have also been blamed for the extinction of dozens of species worldwide, including some mammals and reptiles.

While sharing the concerns for wildlife, PETA has also raised red flags about the brutal lives feral cats endure, struggling for adequate food and shelter. The animal rights group argues that care for the cats should include regular veterinary check-ups.

In Kansas cities, volunteers bring theferal cats to a veterinarian to be neutered and vaccinated, usually at the expense of the volunteer. The animals’ ears are clipped to identify that they’ve been neutered and to avoid unnecessary subsequent captures. Then they are let go.

The ordinance Wichita is considering would require the cats also be assigned to a caregiver. That volunteer would be allowed to care for up to eight cats, including their own domesticated felines. They would also have to provide some food and outdoor shelter for the animals.

Topeka’s program — adopted in 2010 — doesn’t designate caretakers but cat lovers usually step in to provide some assistance.

“Almost every colony that we come across or that are referred to us has a caregiver,” said Susan Schmitz, a founder of Topeka Community Cat Fix.

For friendly strays, adoption is one alternative that opponents of neuter-and-return suggest.

But a feral cats by definition aren’t socialized with people, making adoption impossible. For Ewert and other birders that leaves only euthanasia.

“That’s a terrible thing to say but we have a cat overpopulation right now and what are you going to do?” he said.

Stephan Bisaha reports on education for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on @SteveBisaha.