RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man arrested after he led police on a short foot-chase is facing numerous charges.
Crider -photo Reno Co.
William Crider, 29, is jailed on a $17,000 bond for theft of property or services. Police say he has stolen mail from as many as 100 homes since March.
Crider is also facing a potential charge of criminal use of a financial card for allegedly using a stolen Home Depot Credit Card to order a security system online. He’s also accused of using a Visa debit card to buy miscellaneous items in Hutchinson.
Cider has a number of other cases pending in connection to the theft of a $4,000 piece of equipment from Oz Chiropractic and several cases of buying merchandise with counterfeit $100 bills.
In those cases, he faces potential charges of making false writings, theft by deception and failure to appear. He’s also in violation of his parole in two similar cases.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Loyalty runs deep for Selam Ball.
Inspired by a dentist who helped her as an orphan in a faraway land when she was just 10 years old, Ball vowed to become a dentist when she grew up so she could help others in much the same way.
That dream will come true in four years when Ball graduates from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry in Lincoln.
But, first things first.
Even before attending her first class in dental school in August, Ball will complete her time at Fort Hays State University with a busy summer schedule. She will serve as the director of camps for the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science before heading to Lincoln to begin a new venture.
Juggling busy schedules is nothing new for Ball. During a nine-day stretch in May, she set the school record in women’s pole vault, got engaged to her college sweetheart, Elliott Carlson; and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in modern languages and minors in biology and chemistry.
Oh, and two weeks before that, Ball was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after receiving a full-ride scholarship from the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP).
After graduating debt-free as a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) in 2022, Ball will serve for at least four years practicing dentistry in the Army.
All this might sound like life has been somewhat easy for Ball, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Prior to her adoption by Mark and Krista Ball of Great Bend when she was 14, Ball faced many a challenge in making her way from an orphanage in Ethiopia to America. After arriving in Kansas, Ball – whose only language was Amharic, the native language of Ethiopia – tested at the third-grade reading level.
After working with tutor Pat Hood, a retired reading specialist, for about five months, Ball had improved so rapidly she was able to start school with her eighth-grade class that fall.
While she read at the eighth-grade level at the time, she continued to improve and was an honor student all through high school and college. She now fluently speaks both English and Amharic and has taken numerous courses in Spanish.
“I was very amazed at how fast she progressed,” Hood said. “She had a motivation and a determination and a desire to learn. She was a very rapid learner and a very eager learner.”
Ball carried that determination into high school, where she excelled both academically and athletically.
The 5-foot, 2-inch, 108-pound Ball set the Great Bend High School record of 11 feet, 6 inches in girls’ pole vault, then decided to pursue her education at Fort Hays State, just an hour away from her family.
“My dad and my grandpa both went to Fort Hays State, so they were always talking it up,” Ball said.
Nonetheless, independent woman that she is, Ball said she “wasn’t going to decide anything until I saw it myself.”
“I visited the Chemistry Department, and I felt really confident about the education level,” she said. “Then I visited with the track coaches. I didn’t go visit another school after that. I knew Fort Hays State was the place for me. It has turned out to be the best decision of my life.”
Well, one of the best anyway.
Another major decision for Ball back in those early teen years made her think she would be living in an underdeveloped country the rest of her life. She had been placed in an orphanage at age 6 after her father died when she was 2, and her mother and other relatives were not able to care for Ball and her sister.
When she was 12, good grades in school helped earn Ball a spot with a group of students traveling to America for an adoption youth camp sponsored by the Gladney Center for Adoption.
The students were paired with prospective adoptive parents, and Ball was placed with a single woman who lived in a rural area. Ball said she was “so lonely” while experiencing a drastically different lifestyle from the orphanage.
“There were always people around at the orphanage,” she explained. “Even if it was noisy sometimes, there was always someone to talk to.”
Ball declined the offer of adoption, well aware that it might be her only chance to escape poverty.
“I thought I would never get another chance to come back to America,” she said. “But at the same time, I had peace of mind.” Ball was pleasantly surprised two weeks later when the agency contacted her again.
“They said they had found me a family,” she said, a smile spreading across her face. “You will not be lonely, they told me, because this family has seven kids.”
The Balls, who have four biological children of their own, had adopted three others before Selam. The rest, as they say, is history.
A major part of her history is the reason Ball decided to pursue a medical career in dentistry.
When she was 10, she got a pomegranate seed stuck between two of her molars and couldn’t get it out. One of her teeth began to rot, causing a lot of pain.
Ball said she heard through the grapevine about a dental ministry in a nearby town. So she walked 4 miles to stand in line at 2 a.m., and the dentist removed her rotted tooth.
“I remember wondering why he would want to help people like that,” she said. “It made a big impact on me, and I’ll never forget it.”
Last summer, Ball went on a mission trip with a friend to Honduras with dentists and hygienists.
“That solidified what I wanted to do with my life,” Ball said.
As she neared the end of her college career at FHSU, Ball began seeking ways to pay for dental school.
“I didn’t want to be dependent on my family anymore,” she said. “They have done so much for me, and I wanted to do it on my own.” So calling on the determination those close to her have to come to know so well, Ball began the rigorous application process for the U.S. Army scholarship.
“If she gets her mind set on something, that’s what she’s going to do,” said Randy Stanley, assistant FHSU track coach in charge of pole vaulters.
Ball’s mother agreed.
“She’s the most driven child I’ve ever seen,” Krista Ball said. “At home, we would have to go into her room late at night and say, ‘You have to stop studying and get some sleep.’ What parents have to say that to their children?”
Only 64 students around the U.S. received the Army scholarship, including Ball – the lone Kansas recipient.
That did not surprise anyone who knows Ball, including Maggie Denning, coordinator of academic success programs at the Kelly Center at Fort Hays State. Ball worked as a tutor at the Kelly Center for three years while on campus.
“She is so focused, a hard worker, a self-starter,” Denning said. “She’s a brilliant student and a hard, hard worker. I like to say I hire the best of the best, and I like to hire athletes. They have the best time management skills – having to balance school with practice and competing – so they make awesome, awesome tutors.”
Ball said working as a tutor was a perfect fit for her.
“I loved it at the Kelly Center,” she said. “I loved it when people walk out saying, ‘I understand it so much better now.’ It’s such a sense of accomplishment.”
That’s a feeling the future Dr. Selam Ball surely will never get tired of, either.
Ball hopes for that same sense of accomplishment this week.
Her school-record pole vault height of 3.87 meters (12 feet, 8.25 inches) at the MIAA meet in Kearney, Mo., on May 4 earned her a qualifying spot in the NCAA Division II National Championships Thursday through Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. Ball is scheduled to compete this afternoon.
After three years of trying to qualify for nationals, Ball made it this year with her school-record performance.
She is ranked 17th among the qualifiers but is just 0.10 meters out of eighth place. The top eight finishers at nationals earn All-America honors.
“I think if she can clear 3.93 meters, she could get in the top eight,” Stanley said. “I really think she can do it.”
He didn’t say it, but you get the feeling Stanley was implying, “Don’t bet against Selam Ball.”
The city of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Thu., May 24, in the area of General Custer Rd. to Commerce Parkway between 8th St. and Highway 40 and the Hays Regional Airport.
This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants and flush all water mains annually.
This Saturday will be the big bike giveaway at RPM Speedway in Hays.
Kids ages 5 to 12 will have a chance to win a new bike. General admission for kids 12 and under will be free thanks to Golden Plains Trucking & D & L Body Shop of Hays. General Admission for adults 13 and up will be $10. Tickets for VIP seating will be $25. General admission gate will open at 5pm with the bike registration held from 5pm to 7pm. During the intermission of the races the bikes will be given away and kids must be present to win.
Over the past seven years 394 bikes have been donated by the community and given away to area kids.
This year over 70 bikes have been donated from the following sponsors:
Checkered Flag Sponsor
Golden Plains Trucking, Max Blakely, Neal & Carolyn Younger & Paula & Mark Rathun-Rock Ridge Ranch.
White Flag Sponsor
Harold Hitschmann-H & H Trucking, Heim Body Shop, Heim Racing-Chris & Colin Heim, Greg Patterson-Greg’s Place, Freedom Claims Management, Simpson Farm Enterprises, Stan Dreiling-James Motor Co., Sherfick Motorsports & Taco Shop.
Green Flag Sponsor
Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, CPA’s, Dreiling Field Service, Doctors Without Delay-Rooks Co Health Center, Emprise Bank, First Care Clinic, GB Fireworks, Gib’s Auto Supply, Global Oilfield Services, HaysMed-The University of Kansas Health System, J.D. Heninger-Farm and Ranch Realty, KansasLand and Tire, Ken Pfeifer Salvage, Lifetime Dental Care, Lewis Automotive Group, Lone Wolf Services, Marty Clark Racing, Midwest Energy, Radke Implement & Walgreens of Hays.
The bikes were assembled by NCK Tech College, Dean Sandy Gottschalk and Instructors Mark Rathbun, Brett Pfannenstiel, Richard Cox and staff members at their annual give back to the community Martin Luther King service day.
IMCA Mods, Stocks, SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts plus the Cruisers will be on the racing program Saturday night. The Pits will open at 4pm, hot laps at 6pm with racing to follow. Pit pass for adults 13 and up will be $25 and kids 12 and under with parent or guardian $10.
For more news, events and results from the speedway like them on Facebook at Rollingplainsmotor.speedway or find them on the web at www.rpmspeedway.net.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration launched an investigation into whether tariffs are needed on the imports of automobiles into the United States, moving swiftly as talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled. President Donald Trump predicted earlier that U.S. automakers and auto workers would be “very happy” with the outcome of the NAFTA talks.
President Trump attended a discussion on Immigration Wednesday-image courtesy The White House
The White House said in a statement Wednesday that the president had asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to consider whether the imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts threaten U.S. national security. The president said in the statement that “core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation.”
The U.S. remains far apart on the talks over rewriting the trade pact with Canada and Mexico, with the discussions at an impasse over rules for car production. The initiation of the trade investigation could be seen as an attempt to gain leverage in the talks with the two U.S. neighbors. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that efforts to renegotiate the trade agreement could spill into next year.
Nearly half of the vehicles sold in the U.S. are imported, with many coming from assembly plants in Mexico and Canada. During a meeting with auto executives earlier this month, Trump said he would push for an increase in the production of vehicles built at U.S. plants. He has also criticized European Union auto imports and tariffs and earlier this year threatened a “tax” on European imports.
A person familiar with the discussions said the president has suggested seeking new tariffs of 20 to 25 percent on automobile imports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to speak about private deliberations.
Trump brought a little-used weapon to his fight to protect auto workers: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The provision authorizes the president to restrict imports and impose unlimited tariffs on national security grounds.
The Trump administration used that authority in March to slap tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports. Until then, the United States had pursued only two such investigations since joining the World Trade Organization in 1995. Both times — in a 1999 case involving oil imports and a 2001 case involving iron ore and steel imports — the Commerce Department refused to recommend sanctions.
Critics fear that other countries will retaliate or use national security as a pretext to impose trade sanctions of their own.
Daniel Ujczo, a trade lawyer with Dickinson Wright PLLC, said the tariff threat is likely meant to pressure Mexico into accepting U.S. demands for NAFTA changes that would shift more auto production to the U.S. from Mexico. But he questioned whether it would work.
“I do not believe that it will have the desired effect,” Ujczo said. “Everyone knows that (the investigation) will take too long and has no chance of surviving any legal challenge.”
Trump offered a hint about the move earlier in the day on the South Lawn, telling reporters that “you’ll be seeing very soon what I’m talking about.” He noted that both Mexico and Canada have been “very difficult to deal with” during the negotiations.
“I am not happy with their requests. But I will tell you in the end we win, we will win and will win big,” Trump said before departing for New York. He said America’s neighbors have been “very spoiled because nobody’s done this but I will tell you that what they ask for is not fair. Our auto workers are going to be extremely happy.”
Mexico has so far resisted U.S. attempts to get higher regional content rules in the auto industry and move production to higher-wage U.S. and Canadian factories. The U.S. has also sought to change NAFTA’s dispute-resolution system, and include a sunset clause that would allow countries to exit after five years.
The Trump administration has already missed an informal deadline that had been set by House Speaker Paul Ryan to get a revamped deal to Congress in time for lawmakers to vote on it in a midterm election year. Mexico, meanwhile, will hold presidential elections on July 1 and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the leftist candidate who has led in polls, has said the re-negotiation shouldn’t be rushed through and should be left to the winner of the election.
If the negotiators fail to agree to a revamped version of NAFTA, the discussions could be extended into 2019. Trump could also carry out his threat to abandon the agreement that he has long railed against, throwing commerce among the three countries into disarray.
Trump has sought to overhaul NAFTA in an effort to return auto production to the United States and reduce America’s trade deficit. The U.S. has been demanding that a percentage of a car’s content of auto parts originate in a country — the U.S. or Canada — with average auto worker wages of about $15 an hour to qualify for NAFTA’s duty-free status.
But companies have built supply chains that straddle NAFTA borders and changing the rules could disrupt their operations, raise costs and potentially put them at a competitive disadvantage with manufacturers in Asia and Europe.
MANHATTAN— Fire investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Manhattan Fire Department, have determined the fire that occurred at Hale Library was accidental due to the roofing operations that were being conducted.
A damage estimate has not been created due to the unknown amount of smoke and water damage throughout the structure. Assistance from Kansas State University will be needed to determine an accurate loss amount once an assessment of the building and contents is complete.
The building has been turned back over to Kansas State University. Hale Library will remain closed until further notice.
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MANHATTAN — Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Manhattan Fire Department are continuing their work to determine the cause of Tuesday’s fire at Hale Library.
Crews fighting Tuesday fire-photo courtesy Manhattan Fire Department
According to Ryan Almes with the Manhattan Fire Department, at 4:10 p.m, Fire crews were dispatched to 1117 Mid-Campus Drive, Hale Library, on the Kansas State University campus for a report of smoke on the fourth floor. Upon arrival, crews found a four-story section of the building with smoke showing from the roof. The fire reached a third alarm before it was contained in approximately two hours and controlled in four hours. A total of 70 firefighters responded on 12 fire apparatus with the last units still on scene Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported to occupants or firefighters. Hale Library will be closed until further notice.
Hale Library is the main Kansas State University library. It was dedicated in 1997 after a multiyear renovation and expansion project of the original campus library building, Farrell Library, which opened in 1927. Hale Library has more than 400,000 square feet of space and has more than two million books in its collection. The fire occurred in the roof of the original Farrell Library, in an area containing several large air handling units and proved very difficult for firefighters to gain access to extinguish the fire. Damage estimates are not available at this time. Fire damage was limited to a portion of the roof, with extensive water and smoke damage throughout the structure.
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MANHATTAN —Crews remained on the scene overnight of the fire at the Hale Library on the Kansas State University campus.
Fire official are working to determine the extent of damage and what caused the blaze.
The university said on its website that smoke was reported around 4 p.m. in the library, which had been undergoing repairs.
Manhattan Assistant Fire Chief Mike Kaus says 70 firefighters from four agencies responded to the fire in the roof of the oldest part of the four-story building. The fire was contained by around 6 p.m. Tuesday but crews continued working to extinguish it.
No injuries have been reported. The 400,000-square-foot building was evacuated, and the university said it will remain closed until further notice.
Due to the fire the university also brought down their online systems including HRIS, KSIS and Canvas.
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MANHATTAN —Crews have contained the fire at Hale Library on the Kansas State University campus. The building will remain closed until further notice. The university also must bring down online systems including HRIS, KSIS and Canvas due to the fire.
Crews on the scene of Tuesday’s fire at KSU’s Hale Library
Seventy firefighters and emergency personnel combined were on the scene from multiple departments battling the fire at the library Tuesday.
They included Fort Riley, and Manhattan Fire Department. No injuries have been reported. The building was evacauted.
Firefighters were focused on extinguishing the top of the blaze at the northeast corner of the building.
There is no word on what caused the fire.
The library was built in the 1920s and underwent a massive remodel and addition in the 1990s.
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Fire crews from Manhattan and Fort Riley are at the scene of a fire at Hale Library on the K-State campus in Manhattan.
No injuries have been reported. The building was evacuated late Tuesday afternoon.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — More than $8 million was awarded Wednesday to a woman who alleged that the spiritual leader of a cult forced her to work without pay for a decade.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree of Kansas wrote in the order that Royall Jenkins and his organization, The Value Creators, exploited Kendra Ross’ vulnerability, “knowing that she was unfamiliar with the world outside the cult, had received no standard education, was constantly moved from place to place, and had no money.” Ross alleged in the lawsuit that from the age of 11 until 2012, when she “gathered her courage and strength to escape,” she was forced to work without pay in restaurants and as a maid, cook and childcare provider in Kansas City, Kansas; Atlanta; Dayton, Ohio; Newark, New Jersey; and New York City.
Crabtree said Jenkins and his group, formerly known as the United Nation of Islam, controlled Ross’ romantic relationships, imposed strict discipline and that she became “severely malnourished” because of the treatment she received. Crabtree said Ross was led to “believe that if she did not continue to work for them, she would suffer serious harm.” She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to her lawsuit.
No attorney is listed for Jenkins, and he doesn’t have a listed phone number. Jenkins was a member of the Nation of Islam until 1978 when he formed the separate United Nation of Islam after he said that “angels and/or scientists” abducted him and escorted him through the galaxy on a spaceship and instructed him on how to govern earth. He established a small community of followers and business in economically depressed areas. The group, which taught that black males were superior to women and men of other races, changed its name to The Value Creators after Ross escaped.
Ross’ attorney, Betsy Hutson, said her client, whose location is being kept confidential, is “thrilled” and described the judgment as a “powerful tool for the anti-trafficking movement.” Hutson said that there were “no chains but an immense amount of psychological damage.” Hutson said the “next big challenge” is to collect on the settlement but adds there is reason to believe that the group has “significant properties.”
“This has been a really long process,” Hutson said. “It is a result of a lot of years of hard work. We see that she has made incredible progress, coming out of this cult and facing her perpetrators.”
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. South wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Tonight A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 8pm and 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South southeast wind 13 to 18 mph decreasing to 7 to 12 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 93. South southwest wind around 7 mph becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 62. East wind around 6 mph becoming south after midnight.
SaturdaySunny, with a high near 95. Light south wind becoming southeast 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Saturday NightMostly clear, with a low around 66.
SundayA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies – today applauded Senate passage of S.2372, The John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks, or VA MISSION Act, of 2018, by a vote of 92-5.
Following passage, Sen. Moran released the following statement:
“I’m proud the Senate overwhelmingly supported this legislation that empowers our veterans and provides our nation’s heroes with the timely and quality healthcare they deserve. It has been an honor to work alongside my friend and colleague Senator John McCain to reform access to community care in the VA and to provide greater choice for veterans. Named after Senator McCain, the VA MISSION Act includes provisions we have both pursued to establish access and quality standards for veteran eligibility to care in the community and strategic planning to improve the VA’s integrated healthcare system. I look forward to the president signing this bill as we celebrate Memorial Day.”
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas City man who used his smart phone to pass a note to a teller was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in federal prison for robbing a bank, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Cothern-photo Johnson Co.
Ryan Michael Cothern, 41, Kansas City, pleaded guilty to committing a robbery Oct. 3, 2017, at US Bank at 9900 W. 87th Street in Overland Park.
Cothern reportedly robbed the bank because he was thousands of dollars in debt from a drunken driving case. The robbery netted just $615.
Prosecutors said Cothern handed a teller his cell phone with a message that read, “Put the 100s, 50s and 20s in the bag.” When the teller hesitated, Cothern said, “Don’t do anything you shouldn’t do.” The teller put cash and a GPS monitoring device in the bag before pulling the alarm. Cothern was arrested near the 8300 block of Melrose Street.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors are alleging that two Topeka businessmen and a Kansas City-area man operated a $352 million business fraud scheme that involved using minority or disabled military veterans to obtain federal business contracts.
Google image
In a civil action filed in Kansas City, federal prosecutors allege Matt Torgeson, president of Torgeson Electric Co., and Matthew McPherson, president of McPherson Contractors, both based in Topeka, worked with Michael Patrick Dingle to create what are sometimes called “Rent-A-Vet” companies. They allege they received more than 60 fraudulent small-business government contracts beginning in 2009.
According to court documents, the men set up businesses called Zieson Construction and Simcon Corp. to obtain contracts meant for minority or disabled veterans and then used the money for themselves or their businesses, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported .
Under federal law, minority or disabled veterans are to manage the daily operations of businesses that receive “set aside” contracts for small minority-run businesses. Torgeson, McPherson and Dingle are not disabled or minorities and prosecutors say Dingle managed two of the fraudulent businesses.
A third front company, Onsite, was formed after Zieson was growing too large to qualify for the small business contracts, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors are asking that properties and bank accounts owned the co-conspirators be forfeited because they were proceeds of the alleged fraud.
In the court filing, federal prosecutors contend millions of federal dollars were paid to Zieson and Simcon and then funneled to Torgeson, McPherson and Dingle. Prosecutors allege that between April 2010 and January 2018, the government paid about more than $300 million in “illicit funds” to Zieson, Simcon and Onsite, and others associated with the alleged fraud.
The lawsuit also names veterans or minority individuals whose names were used to set up the front company and who signed paperwork contending they were managing the companies. No criminal charges have been filed.
In an emailed statement, McPherson Contractors said it was working with authorities on the investigation. Matt Torgeson told KSNT-TV that his company also is cooperating with the investigation. A phone number listed for Dingle went unanswered.
Sioux Falls, SD – A Kansas man accused of selling large quantities of methamphetamine throughout South Dakota has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, according to United States Attorney Ron Parsons.
Morales -photo KDOC
Justin Morales, also knows as Speedy, 36, Wichita, who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison
Morales’s three decades in prison will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victim’s Fund.
Federal law enforcement officials learned that Morales was selling methamphetamine in early 2016. During a controlled purchase for five ounces of methamphetamine between Morales and a cooperating witness, Morales was recorded telling the cooperator that he and others sold methamphetamine in several South Dakota cities, and at least one Indian reservation within the state.
Morales said that his plan was to get a house in Sioux Falls that could be used exclusively to store methamphetamine for distribution.
In September 2016, the cooperator met with Morales again, and Morales was recorded telling the cooperator he was preparing to ship 20 pounds of methamphetamine to Sioux Falls, and that he had rented a small house on the west side of Sioux Falls to store the methamphetamine. That same day, law enforcement was able to recover three pounds of marijuana, two pounds of methamphetamine, and a semi-automatic pistol that was connected to Morales and his co-conspirators, Chase Guzman and Daniel Guzman. All three men were arrested in Sioux Falls.
Morales and both Guzmans were indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2016. Both Chase Guzman and Daniel Guzman pleaded guilty. Chase Guzman was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and Daniel Guzman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Morales was found guilty by a federal jury in Sioux Falls on February 7, 2018.
This is Morales’s second felony drug conviction. He has many other arrests and convictions in a criminal career spanning nearly 24 years, including a domestic battery charge that is still pending in Wichita.
Morales has been in custody since his arrest, and was returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following the sentencing.
