HASKELL COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 3p.m. Tuesday in Haskell County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 International Truck and trailer driven by Louis James Torres, 42, Midland, TX, was eastbound on Road 50 that was temporarily closed at the time. The truck hit power lines that were down.

Torres was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Swaims Funeral Home. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after a Memorial Day standoff.

Just after 2:30p.m. Monday, authorities were notified that Justin Atwood, a known felon, with active warrants was located at 12346 Gookins Road., in rural Wabaunsee County, according to the Sheriff Rob Hoskins.

Atwood is also a known burglar and car thief and had previously been reported to be in possession of firearms, according to the sheriff’s department.

Wabaunsee County Deputies responded to residence, secured the area and requested the assistance from Kansas Highway Patrol Emergency Services Unit.

Negotiations were begun and the individuals inside the residence were not responding to any attempts at communication.

A warrant was secured to search the residence, entry was made and after a complete search of residence using the resources available from the assisting team, K-9s found two subjects in the attic portion of the house and taken into custody. Justin Atwood, 24, Topeka, was jailed without bond on a Lyon County Warrant for Possession of Stolen Property; Possession of Methamphetamine; Possession of Marijuana; and a Wabaunsee County Warrant for Failure to Appear,  Four Counts of Burglary.

Kelsey Nicholle Kaberline,24, Topeka, is being held without bond on a Shawnee County Warrants for Probation Violation, Distribute Heroin/Stimulants, Flee or Attempt to Elude, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, No Liability Insurance, Defective Headlamps on Motor Vehicle, Distribute Heroin/Stimulants, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

 

 

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas inmate alleges in a lawsuit that most of her colon had to be removed because prison officials ignored her requests for medication.

Sarah Loretta Cook, who is 68, filed the lawsuit this month against the Kansas Department of Corrections and its health care provider, Corizon Health. She says she asked for months for her needed medication but Corizon employees ignored evidence of her profuse bleeding and deteriorating medical condition.

Cook has had gastrointestinal conditions for decades. She says condition flared up while she was in the Topeka Correctional but she didn’t receive the medication until days before her release. Her condition eventually required surgeons to remove most of her colon.

The corrections department and Corizon declined to comment on the lawsuit.

SEDGWICK COUNTY‑ One person was injured in a weekend house fire in Sedgwick County.

Just before 10p.m. Saturday, crews responded to a fire at a home in the 1300 Block of North Wilbur in Wichita, according to Lt. Jose Ocadiz.

As crews arrived they found heavy fire and smoke from an attached garage. They were able to quickly control the fire from spreading. Investigators determined the origin of the fire was inside the garage and was caused by misuse of a heat gun or wood burning tool, according to Ocadiz.

The homeowner did suffer second degree burns to his face and upper extramities, according to Ocadiz. The fire was so hot, the homeowner suffered burns as he exited the residence.

He was transported to the burn unit at St. Francis Medical Center code red.  He remained hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday, according to Ocadiz.

The fire caused $35,000 to the residence and $20,000 to the contents.  Officials did not release the victim’s name.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a sometimes brash outsider whose unconventional resume as a Rhodes Scholar and Navy SEAL officer made him a rising star in Republican politics, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday after a scandal involving an affair with his former hairdresser led to a broader investigation by prosecutors and state legislators.

The 44-year-old governor made the announcement nearly 17 months after taking the oath as Missouri’s chief executive with a pledge to root out “corrupt career politicians.” The investigations of him widened to include questions about whether he had violated the law in financing the campaign.

Greitens said his resignation would take effect Friday.

A St. Louis grand jury indicted Greitens on Feb. 22 on one felony count of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a photo of the woman without her consent at his home in 2015, before he was elected governor. The charge was dismissed during jury selection, but a special prosecutor was considering whether to refile charges.

In April, the local St. Louis prosecutor’s office charged Greitens with another felony, alleging that he improperly used the donor list for a charity that he’d founded to raise money for his 2016 campaign.

Less than two weeks ago, the Missouri Legislature began meeting in special session to consider whether to pursue impeachment proceedings to try to oust Greitens from office.

A special House investigatory committee had subpoenaed Greitens to testify next Monday.

Greitens’ brashness alienated some GOP legislators even before his affair became public in January.

The woman’s then-husband released a secretly recorded conversation in which she described the alleged incident. The woman later told a Missouri House investigative committee that Greitens restrained, slapped, shoved and threatened her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.

Greitens said the allegations amounted to a “political witch hunt,” and vowed to stay in office. But the report’s release created a firestorm, with both Republicans and Democrats calling for his resignation.

His departure elevates fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Parson to the governor’s office.

Greitens’ administration was thrown into chaos the night of Jan. 10, when a St. Louis TV station aired a report about Greitens allegedly taking the compromising photo and threatening to blackmail the woman if she ever spoke of their encounter. The report aired shortly after Greitens delivered his State of the State address to lawmakers.

Greitens admitted to having an affair but denied any criminal wrongdoing. He said the criminal case was politically motivated and called St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, a “reckless liberal prosecutor.”

Lawmakers from both parties immediately began questioning whether Greitens could continue to lead the state in the wake of the scandal. The House authorized the legislative investigation a week after the indictment.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley also launched an inquiry into a veterans charity Greitens founded. Federal law bars 501(c)(3) charities such as The Mission Continues from intervening in political campaigns on behalf of candidates.

The Associated Press first reported in October 2016 that Greitens’ campaign had obtained a list of individuals, corporations and other nonprofits that had given at least $1,000 to The Mission Continues. The AP reported that Greitens raised about $2 million from those who had previously given significant amounts to the charity.

Hawley, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, turned evidence over to Gardner, saying April 17 that he believed Greitens had broken the law. Her office charged him with tampering with computer data for allegedly disclosing the donor list without the charity’s permission.

A May 2 report from a special House investigatory committee indicated that Greitens himself received the donor list and later directed aides to work off it to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign. A former campaign aide testified that he was duped into taking the fall when the campaign tried to explain how it had gotten the list.

The invasion-of-privacy indictment stated that on March 21, 2015, Greitens photographed the woman and transmitted the photo “in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”

During her testimony to the House investigative committee, the woman said Greitens invited her to his home and offered to show her “how to do a proper pull-up.” The woman said she initially thought “this is going to be some sort of sexy workout.” But once in his basement, Greitens taped her hands to pull-up rings, blindfolded her, and started kissing and disrobing her without her consent, according to her testimony.

Then she saw a flash and heard a click, like a cellphone picture, she said. The woman testified that Greitens told her: “Don’t even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, I’m going to take these pictures, and I’m going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are.”

Greitens, a married father of two young boys, repeatedly denied blackmailing the woman. He declined to say whether he took a photo.

Greitens, who had also served as a White House fellow and written a best-selling book, entered the 2016 gubernatorial race as a brash outsider. He won an expensive Republican primary, then defeated Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster in the general election to give Republicans control of the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years. Some considered him a potential future presidential contender.

Republicans also controlled the Missouri House and Senate, but there were frequent clashes between lawmakers and Greitens, who compared them to third-graders and labeled them “career politicians.”

He confronted criticism from some educators and lawmakers for working to pack the State Board of Education with members who would fire the education commissioner. Greitens’ use of a secretive app that deletes messages after they’re read also sparked a review by Hawley.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas jails are facing a rising likelihood of births behind bars amid a nationwide increase in women’s incarceration.

The Kansas Department of Corrections saw more than 45 babies delivered by women in its custody in the past four years. That comes as the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has been increasing at a rate 50 percent higher than men since 1980.

Eight states have nursery programs allowing new mothers to raise children while serving time. Columbia University researchers found mothers participating in such programs had lower recidivism rates.

But in Kansas, new mothers behind bars must give up their babies to the Department of Children and Families and can only see them on visitation days. The agency has recently been scrutinized for missing children.