SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a series of drive-by shootings and asking the public for help with information.

Just after 12:15 a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 2200 Block of North Minnesota, according to officer Paul Cruz.

Officers at the scene located a 19-year-old with a gunshot wound to his face. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Cruz.

During the investigation, police located numerous locations on various streets struck by gunfire. The suspects were using random weapons and shooting from vehicles.

Investigators are not getting much cooperation in attempting to solve the case, according to Cruz. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police.

Cruz did not release the victim’s name.

KANSAS CITY, (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two more employees of a company that owns a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake last summer, killing 17 people.

Curtis Lanham, the general manager at Ride the Ducks Branson, and Charles Baltzell, the operations supervisor, were charged with misconduct and neglect in a 47-count indictment that was unsealed and made public Thursday following their initial court appearances, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The boat’s captain, Kenneth Scott McKee, of Verona, was indicted previously on charges alleging that he failed to properly asses the weather and failed to tell passengers to don flotation devices as conditions worsened. The amphibious vehicle the 51-year-old was piloting sank July 19, 2018, at Table Rock Lake near Branson after it entered the lake despite severe weather warnings. Riders from Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas were killed; 14 people survived the sinking.

According to the indictment, Baltzell, 76, of Kirbyville, got onto the duck boat before it departed and directed McKee to conduct the water portion of the excursion before the land tour because of the approaching storm. At no point after that did Baltzell or Lanham communicate with McKee about the growing intensity of the storm, including that wind gusts of 70 mph were predicted, the indictment said. Rules barred the boat from operating on the water when winds exceeded 35 mph.

Baltzell, who was responsible for dispatching to the boat while tours were underway, wasn’t even on the same floor as the weather radar viewing screens are located because he was conducting closing duties, the indictment said. At one point Baltzell communicated with Lanham, who was himself on a tour, about the fact that McKee’s Stretch Duck 7 tour was conducting the water portion of the tour first. Lanham, 36, of Galena, replied, “Good it’s dark right now,” the indictment said.

Lanham also is accused in the indictment of failing to establish training and policies for monitoring for severe weather and allowed others responsible for monitoring weather to be distracted by other duties. The indictment said Lanham helped create “a work atmosphere on Stretch Duck 7 and other duck boats where the concern for profit overshadowed the concern for safety.”

Phone and email messages seeking comment from attorneys for Lanham and Baltzell were not immediately returned.

Ripley Entertainment spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts said the Orlando, Florida-based company is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s office and other agencies investigating the incident. The company suspended operation of the boats after the sinking and opened a replacement entertainment attraction this year.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to help and support the community of Branson and those impacted by this accident,” Smagala-Potts said in a statement. “While the United States Attorney has decided to bring criminal charges as a result of the accident, all persons charged are entitled to a strong presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We have and will continue to offer support for all of our employees as this process moves forward.”

Smagala-Potts said Ripley continues to work with the surviving victims and relatives of those killed “and have reached settlement agreements with many individuals and families, and we continue to work with others.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man has pleaded no contest to charges related to exchanging gunfire with Topeka police officers.

Trevon Lorenzo Brown entered the plea Wednesday to two counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said in a news release that Brown fired at police while fleeing from officers patrolling an area with an increase in vehicle burglaries in October 2018 . Several hours later, officers encountered Brown again while conducting a search and they exchanged another round of gunfire. He shot at five officers in the two incidents.

Brown was shot twice and then arrested. No officers were injured.

Kagay determined the officers’ use of force was justified as self-defense.

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced in Sedgwick County District Court for stealing more than $21,000 from his mother in a nursing home.

On Tuesday, John M. Queen, 53, Wichita, was placed on probation for five years and ordered to pay back the money in monthly payments, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney.

Judge Kevin O’Connor told Queen he could serve five months in a Kansas prison if he violates his probation. Queen pleaded no contest to felony theft in April. As part of the plea negotiations, prosecutors dismissed related charges. According to information released at the sentencing hearing,

Queen was the durable power of attorney for his mother in 2015 and 2016. He was responsible for paying her bill at a Wichita nursing home. The Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) launched an investigation after the nursing home reported the victim’s bill was not being paid, putting her at risk of being evicted. DCF then referred the case to the District Attorney’s office for criminal charges. Investigator Andrea Riedel of the District Attorney’s office testified that bank records showed Queen withdrew thousands in cash from his mother’s account and made dozens of charges at restaurants and stores.

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Johnson County authorities say a couple is charged with child abuse and endangerment after they brought a 5-year-old boy to a hospital weighing only 28 pounds.

Court documents say investigators were called to Children’s Mercy Hospital in December. Doctors said the boy suffered malnutrition from starvation, a distended stomach and a perforated bowel caused by blunt force trauma. He also had bruises on most of his body.

He was taken into protective custody after hospital staff told investigators the child had lost 10 pounds since he had been to the hospital in September.

Francis and Carter are each jailed on $100,000 bond.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran has broken with most other Republican senators in voting to block President Donald Trump’s administration from selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

Congress has an important role in the oversight and approval of arms sales to foreign countries. Today’s vote was to retain that power by preventing the bypassing of Congress, and ensure that partners who receive American weapons will respect American interests.

— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) June 20, 2019

Moran supported two resolutions Thursday disapproving of Trump’s use of emergency authority to make the sales.

Moran was among seven Republicans to vote for the two measures. Fellow Kansas Republican Pat Roberts voted against them.

One resolution objected to arm sales based on the Saudi regime’s involvement in a civil war in Yemen and evidence of a role in the murder of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Moran said the resolutions prevent Congress from being bypassed on arm sales.

Trump is expected to veto the measures. They passed 53-45, well short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An early morning shooting led to a six-hour standoff that ended with one of two subjects exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.

Authorities arrived at the 300 block of West 8th around 3 a.m. and found 19-year-old Jacob Foley with a gunshot wound to the leg. Questioning various subjects gave officers an idea of who they were looking for. Later in the morning, police got word that the main subject in the shooting, 21-year-old Brendan Jones, was in the 300 block of West 16th. At that time the Emergency Response Team was activated. Just after 11 a.m., the second of the two suspects, 18-year-old Tyson Samuels, gave himself up and was taken into custody.

Several minutes later, Jones indicated he too would give up. However, when he got to the door, Jones started shooting at officers. Ten officers returned fire, striking Jones. He was taken by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center before being transferred to a Wichita hospital where he was in surgery as of late Thursday afternoon. Foley was treated and released. None of the officers were hit, although at least one patrol vehicle was struck by gunfire.

The 10 officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is protocol for such events, and the KBI has been brought in to help with the investigation.

16th Street from Jefferson to Madison was blocked off and Jefferson was closed between 15th and 17th during the standoff. Residents in the entire block were asked to evacuate but were allowed to return to their homes late in the afternoon.

Police and the Reno County Sheriff’s Office were assisted by the Department of Corrections K-9 units and Harvey County Sheriff’s Department.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced Thursday to five years in federal prison for possession of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Kayla Michelle Simpson, 24, Junction City, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.

On Sept. 20, 2016, law enforcement seized Simpson’s iPhone. In her plea, Simpson admitted that her phone contained images of her having sex with a juvenile female.

The case was prosecuted as part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for an armed robbery.

Just after 11p.m. Wednesday police responded to report of a highway robbery in the 1900 Block of West Anita in Wichita, according to officer Paul Cruz. A 39-year-old delivery driver told police he went to deliver a pizza on West Anita at an address that does not exist. The driver contacted the customer by phone who told the driver to go to a different location. When he arrived, the suspect identified as 20-year-old Javonte Terrell, met him and was armed with a handgun, according to Cruz. He took cash and the pizza.

The driver returned to the restaurant and called police. Officers had received a suspicious character call. The witness told police he had spoken to someone who had just robbed a pizza delivery driver. He provided a description of the suspect and officers located Terrell and arrested him in the 1500 Block of West Pawnee. They also found a bb gun in his possession, according to Cruz.

Terrell is being held on requested charges of aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —One person died in an accident Thursday in Shawnee County.

Just before 9a.m., first responders were called to the 3700 block of NW Humphrey Road where an employee of Capital City Tree Care was involved in a tree trimming accident, according to Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.

Cory B Harr, 31, of Topeka, died as a result of the accident. Soldier Township Fire Department assisted at the scene.

The sheriff’s department released no additional details. The incident is still under investigation.