SEDGWICK COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Saturday in Sedgwick County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford pickup driven by Ernesto Flores, 26, Wichita, was southbound on Interstate 235 just north of West Street.

The pickup left the roadway into the median and the driver overcorrected.

The pickup  then left the roadway to the right, rolled and the driver was ejected.

Flores was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge who blamed two teenage girls for a sexual encounter with a 67-year-old man spent nearly a decade on the bench overseeing mostly sealed juvenile and child-in-need-of-care cases behind closed doors before taking over the adult criminal cases for a retiring judge last summer.

Since then, Leavenworth County Judge Michael Gibbens’ rulings have drawn more scrutiny and criticism, including his widely panned decision in December in a sex abuse case during which he eased a man’s sentence after saying the victims, ages 13 and 14, were “more an aggressor than a participant.”

It was not the first time Gibbens has substantially departed from Kansas sentencing guidelines in handing down lenient punishments, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press. In July, he sentenced a man to probation for battery of a law enforcement officer. In November, he gave another man probation for bringing contraband into a state prison.

Because Gibbens has not been handling adult cases for long, it’s unclear how he compares with his colleagues on the bench when it comes to following sentencing guidelines. An analysis by the Kansas Sentencing Commission found that state judges handed down sentences within the guideline range in 79 percent of cases in 2017, a number consistent with the prior two years.

Gibbens did not return a call at his court office seeking comment for this story.

Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens said his department was “sort of disappointed” with the probationary sentence Gibbens gave 19-year-old De’Aire McNeal in July for pushing Officer Sarah Moreno when she was attempting to arrest him, causing the officer to suffer a concussion after she was knocked down a flight of stairs.

“We always wish sentencing and punishment for assaulting police officers should be much more severe,” Kitchens said.

In a journal entry of judgment, the judge cited McNeal’s age, an expert’s psychological report, and the availability of treatment as “compelling reasons” for his departure from Kansas sentencing guidelines of 12 to 14 months.

Kitchens demurred when asked whether Gibbens has a history of giving lenient sentences to defendants: “I don’t think we have a full sense, a fair opportunity to make that evaluation.”

Democratic former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appointed Gibbens to the bench in 2008. Like many of Kansas’ district court judges, he is periodically listed on the ballot for retention. Gibbens was up for retention last year and won’t be on the ballot again until 2022.

Kansas voters typically have little information to draw upon when deciding whether to retain a trial judge. A judicial evaluation program that once surveyed attorneys, non-attorneys and appellate judges to come up with individualized ratings for Kansas judges lost its funding in 2011 and was officially discontinued in 2013, Christy Molzen, staff attorney for the Kansas Judicial Council, said in an email. Its only report on Gibbens showed that 93 percent of attorneys and 90 percent of non-attorneys recommended that Gibbens be retained in 2010.

Gibbens also has not faced any disciplinary actions from the Commission on Judicial Qualifications, which reviews complaints against judges to determine whether they have violated the code of judicial conduct. Complaints are confidential, but disciplinary actions are posted on the commission’s website.

Another case where Gibbens diverged from sentencing guidelines involved Charles Newsome, who admitted to bringing marijuana, synthetic marijuana and tobacco into the Lansing Correctional Facility. Gibbens gave Newsome probation despite a plea agreement in which the prosecution and defense had agreed to what was already a below-guideline sentence of two years, according to court documents. The sentencing guidelines called for about four years in prison.

In explaining his decision, Gibbens wrote that the contraband was not weapons or hard drugs; the crime was nonviolent; and “community safety interests are better served” by placing Newsome on probation in conjunction with drug treatment. The judge also cited the increasing population of prisons.

Asked how local attorneys view Gibbens, defense attorney Joseph Osborn, who represented Newsome, said the judge “generally has a decent reputation in this county.” But Osborn said it would be inappropriate for him to offer his own opinion, noting he practices in front of Gibbens.

None of the judge’s cases have generated the scrutiny as that of Raymond Soden. Gibbens sentenced Soden in Decemberto five years, 10 months in prison for soliciting a 13-year-old on Facebook — eight years less than what’s called for in sentencing guidelines.

Gibbens said the teens had voluntarily gone to Soden’s house and taken money for sexual favors. He also questioned the level of harm the victims suffered because they didn’t appear at the sentencing hearing.

The Kansas City Star, which first reported the judge’s comments after obtaining a transcript, wrote in an editorialthat Gibbens “made a serious mistake” and should resign.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A long-awaited agreement among most of airlines that will fly out of a new Kansas City International Airport could result in a reduction of the project’s cost, according to developers and city officials.

The cost for developing the project will be about $1.5 billion rather than a previous estimate of $1.64 billion, developers said Thursday. The news came a day after six of the eight airlines, the Kansas City Aviation Department and developer Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate reached a deal on their costs.

After years of debate, voters in November 2017 overwhelmingly approved replacing the three-terminal Kansas City International Airport with a single-terminal airport. The city has said no taxpayer money will be used on the project, and airlines will be responsible for cost overruns.

The project was delayed since November for negotiations when two smaller airlines, Allegiant and Spirit, balked at the $1.64 billion budget. The airlines also disagreed over how to share the cost of a baggage handling system valued at $20 million a year.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James said having the agreement was a big step after seven years working on the project.

“Folks should understand this is not a negotiation to get on a Lime scooter and ride from one part of town to the other — lots of moving parts, biggest project in the history of this city,” James said.

Aviation Director Pat Klein said he expected six of the eight airlines that serve KCI to sign the agreement by Feb. 25.

Edgemoor managing director Geoffrey Stricker told city council committee members Thursday between 10 and 15 percent of the design work is complete and can find cost savings of $140 million. Under questioning from committee members, Stricker said the design team would consider changes to flooring and lighting systems to reduce costs.

“We don’t view this as cuts to anything,” said Steve Sisneros, managing director of airport affairs for Southwest Airlines. “The savings are going to be in design.”

Some council members were hesitant about the agreement.

“I am not one to generally celebrate victory until I understand what the victory is,” said Councilman Scott Wagner.

He noted the $1.5 billion does not include the costs of financing the project and expressed concern that the council did not yet know what kind of contingency fund the project would have if it goes over the new budget.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Free State High School student who left a hunting gun in his car in the school parking lot will not face charges.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office said Friday no charges would be filed because the student didn’t intend to commit a crime. Trial assistant Dorothy Kliem said the investigation found the student forgot the weapon was in his vehicle after a hunting trip.

The unloaded gun was discovered under the seat of the student’s vehicle in September.

School district officials said the weapon never left the vehicle.

A student at Lawrence High School was arrested Wednesday after a handgun was allegedly discovered in his backpack. That was fourth time in the past year that a gun was reported in possession of a student at a Lawrence high school.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of conservative billionaire Charles Koch isn’t pushing for property damage charges against a man who’s accused of driving through the private gate of a home last month and ramming an officer’s patrol car.

Aron James White, 40, faces charges that include aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer. But a police affidavit for White’s arrest, previously filed in Sedgwick County District Court and publicly released on Thursday, shows that the residents requested that no charges be filed for damage to their property.

Police at the crime scene said White hit a private security vehicle before driving through a $20,000 metal security gate and damaging about $10,000 worth of landscaping. He’s accused of them ramming the patrol vehicle, injuring an officer’s hand.

He’s also charged with the aggravated assault of a panhandler who was a passenger in his car. Court records say White paid the panhandler more than $100 before asking him to ride along.

Authorities hadn’t publicly identified the Kochs as victims in the case, but records show that Chase Koch, the son of Charles Koch, lives at the address listed in police reports.

Billionaire Charles Koch was among the backers of the First Step Act, a federal criminal justice reform law signed by President Donald Trump in December. He has been supportive of such reform for years, shaped in part by his libertarian politics.

Koch Industries spokesman Rob Carlton declined a request for comment.

Investigators aren’t sure why White drove through the gate but did say drugs may have influenced his actions. He has no known connection to the Koch property and doesn’t live in the area. A search of White’s backpack found “syringes and spoons commonly used for preparing and ingesting illegal drugs.”

The affidavit said that White “displayed signs of impairment” the first time investigators attempted to interview him. A second time, White said he “needed his psychological medication and did not feel comfortable giving a statement without it.”

White’s ex-wife contacted police the day after his arrest and said he has been “manic,” ”diagnosed with bipolar,” struggled with addiction and had threatened suicide. Court records show the ex-wife’s divorce from White was finalized Jan. 11, or four days before he was arrested.

___

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of conservative billionaire Charles Koch isn’t pushing for property damage charges against a man who’s accused of driving through the private gate of a home.

40-year-old Aron James White is charged with ramming an officer’s patrol car last month. The collision injured an officer and passenger. But court records show that the residents requested that no charges be filed for damage to their property.

Police at the crime scene said White also rammed a private security vehicle before driving through a security gate. Authorities hadn’t publicly identified the Kochs as victims in the case, but records show that Chase Koch, the son of Charles Koch, lives at the address listed in police reports.

Koch Industries spokesman Rob Carlton declined a request for comment.