KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Chinese national who lived in Manhattan, Kansas, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to steal proprietary rice seeds developed in the U.S. and giving them to visitors from China.
Zhang-photo USDA
Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that 51-year-old Weiqiang Zhang was sentenced for two counts of conspiracy and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. He was convicted in February 2017.
Zhang was a rice breeder for Ventria Bioscience in Junction City, Kansas, which developed genetically engineered rice for therapeutic and medical fields.
Prosecutors said Zhang stored hundreds of seeds from Ventria at his home. In 2013, Zhang toured facilities in the Midwest with officials from a crop research institute in China. Federal officials found Ventria seeds in the visitors’ luggage as they prepared to return to China.
SALINE COUNTY —A woman from Wichita had been following the news about the miniature horse fatally shot in Saline County and has offered to match the original reward that leads to the arrest of the suspect responsible. This doubles the amount of the reward to $1000.
Misty the horse was shot in the cheek and the neck sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning on private property.
Owners Ronda and Randy Russell own “A Little Hors’n Around Petting Zoo.” The horse was in a pasture close to the owners’ home, but they heard no shots.
The Russell’s are also opening a Crime Stoppers Account to collect any funds donated by other kind and caring individuals.
Ronda Russell said, “I am very appreciative for any and all measures that will help catch the criminal and prevent this horrific deed from reoccurring.”
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SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the shooting death of a miniature horse in Saline County.
A Little Hors’n Around Petting Zoo- courtesy photo
The owners of a small petting zoo have offered a $500 reward for information that leads to an arrest of the suspect responsible for shooting and killing one of their horses, according to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.
Randy and Ronda Russell found the horse ‘Misty’ had been shot in the neck and the cheek sometime between late Friday March 30 or the morning of Saturday March 31 in their pasture in the 4200 Block of East K4 Highway, according to Soldan.
The Russell’s home is near the pasture. They did not hear any shots fired, according to Soldan.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a Tuesday traffic stop.
Torrecillas -photo Shawnee Co.
Just after 11:45 a.m., a Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputy with the Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 70, near the MacVicar Avenue exit, according to a media release.
The deputy stopped a 2007 Toyota 4 Runner that was displaying a suspended license plate out of Nevada.
Through the investigation process, multiple bundles of narcotics were located within a manmade, non-factory compartment underneath the vehicle.
The narcotics seized included 18.5 pounds of cocaine, 1.3 pounds of methamphetamine, 17 Prescription Pills – Oxycodone
Molina-photo Shawnee Co.
The following individuals were booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Sell and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell, Jesus A. Gonzales-Molina, 28, of Pomona, CA; Alejandro P. Torrecillas, 28, of La Puente, CA;
The Drug Enforcement Administration assisted at the scene with the case.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Kansas man.
Leonardo Velasquez-photo Saline Co.
Leonardo Velasquez, 39, was sentenced Monday in the death of 52-year-old Raul Lopez-Vargas. The judge also ordered him to pay about $365 in trial preparation costs, $193 in court costs and an $800 Kansas Bureau of Investigation lab fee.
Velasquez must also register as a violent offender for 15 years after his release.
Police found Lopez-Vargas dead in the back seat of his vehicle on Sept. 10.
Police found the body Lopez-Vargas in this car in Salina
A probable cause affidavit says the Solomon man was stabbed about 100 times. The affidavit says that DNA evidence and shoe prints connect the crime to Velasquez.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a teen suspect after an alleged assault on a police officer.
Police on the scene of the alleged aggravated assault-photo courtesy KWCH
Just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, a Wichita Police officer was on bicycle patrol traveling southbound on Main Street at Skinner, according to officer Charley Davidson.
A 19-year-old man was walking east bound on Skinner from Main. The officer observed the man brandish a handgun, point it at him then flee on foot.
Officers were able to locate the man in front of a residence in the 1800 block of south Market Street and took him into custody without incident.
Police also recovered a handgun, according to Davidson. The suspect is facing charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
RUSSELL — Approximately 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, Russell County Dispatch received a report of a suspicious vehicle containing two male occupants north of Russell in the area of the 4900 block of Canyon Road.
At 9:57 a.m., a Russell County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the described vehicle traveling south on Canyon Road. Upon spotting the deputy, the driver of the vehicle immediately increased his speed to over 80 mph and began to flee, according to a news release. In the area of 181st and 15th streets, the passenger of the vehicle jumped out of the vehicle while it was still in motion. This individual later identified as Phillip S. Ledesma, Russell, was taken into custody without further incident by another responding deputy.
The driver of the vehicle continued to flee west into the Gorham area where he drove through numerous fences and fields in western Russell County and eastern Ellis County in his attempt to avoid law enforcement officers.
After an exhausting chase, Chad M. Niles, Hays, was taken into custody northwest of Gorham. Charges for both individuals will include possession of controlled substance and felon in possession of a firearm. Charges on Niles will include felony flee and elude, aggravated assault on law enforcement, aggravated battery on law enforcement and criminal damage to property as well as numerous traffic violations.
“The Russell County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Russell City Police Department for their assistance in bringing this situation to an end. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the original caller for reporting these individuals as well as the citizens of Gorham for their patience and assistance,” the department stated in a news release. “Investigations are ongoing as to the property damage caused by Niles, and we urge anyone who has not spoken with one of our officers about damaged fence to contact our office.”
Hays firefighters train to requalify as airport firefighters.
HFD
City of Hays firefighters conducted practical fire attack training April 3 to requalify as airport firefighters.
The practical firefighting training was presented by the University of Missouri Fire & Rescue Training Institute and conducted at the Hays Regional Airport.
The University of Missouri’s mobile aircraft fire trainer was used to simulate various aircraft firefighting and rescue situations.
University of Missouri’s mobile aircraft fire trainer
To support airport operations, city of Hays firefighters are required to complete a comprehensive airport firefighter training program meeting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards. This includes a 30-hour airport firefighter refresher course each year for firefighters to remain qualified for airport firefighter duty.
GRAY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 10a.m. Wednesday in Gray County.
First responders at the scene of Wednesday’s crash -photo courtesy Gray Co. Sheriff
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Ram truck driven by Ashton James David Line, 17, was westbound on U.S. 50 at County Road 4. The truck rear-ended a 2012 Kenworth semi driven by Cory Loewen, 22, Garden City, that had slowed to turn southbound.
Line was transported by helicopter to a Wichita Hospital. Loewen was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Roads in the area were closed to allow first responders to work the accident. A crew of BNSF workers with heavy equipment along with a loader from Royal Dairy and a tractor and an operator that were in the area assisted with the accident scene, according to the Gray County Sheriff’s Department.
DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Lawrence.
Just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, a man later identified as Trevor J. Mohawk, 32, arrived at a residence in the 1100 block of Connecticut Street in Lawrence. The home owners, a 45-year-old woman and 44-year-old man, were awoken by the sounds of Mohawk on their porch.
Google map
The male home owner armed himself with a firearm then exited the residence and made contact with Mohawk. The subsequent contact between the two men escalated into a physical confrontation, which resulted in Mohawk suffering fatal gunshot wounds, and the home owner suffering injuries consistent with a violent confrontation.
No arrests have been made in this incident. Once the investigation is completed, it will be turned over to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for charging consideration.
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DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Lawrence.
Just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to a residence in the 1100 block of Connecticut Street for reports of a shooting, according to police spokesman Andrew Fennelley.
Responding Officers located a 32-year-old Lawrence man with apparent gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries, according to Fennelley.
Preliminary information indicates that the home owner was asleep when awoken by knocking on the front door of the residence. The home owner went outside to see who was on the front porch when a physical altercation ensued between the home owner and the man.
During the altercation, shots were fired and struck the subject. The home owner and the man did not know each other. The home owner was interviewed and taken to a local hospital to be examined for non-life threatening injuries and was later released.
Police are not looking for any other individuals at this time. Police did not release the victim’s name or any additional details.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a bill granting National Guard members free, full college tuition in response to a dwindling number of recruits.
The new law will take effect in July after Colyer signed it Wednesday, but legislators still need to allocate funding for the program.
Bill author and Republican Rep. Diana Dierks of Salina said the Guard has shrunk by 16 percent over the last 10 years.
She said offering to cover the entire tuition expense may increase the appeal of joining the branch and bolster recruitment. The Guard previously would cover only a portion of tuition costs.
Dierks in the Army, Air Force and other branches of the military, it is known that the Kansas National Guard has had more difficulty recruiting.
SALINE COUNTY — A Kansas man is back in jail after he was hospitalized from injuries from an altercation after falling through the ceiling of his ex-girlfriend’s home last week.
Bergkamp-photo Saline Co.
While receiving treatment, Tyler Bergkamp fled the hospital Tuesday, according to Captain Paul Forrester.
The police did receive communication from a victim that requested a protection order against Bergkamp in late March. The victim reported that she had received several calls from Bergkamp while he was in the hospital.
Just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to the 400 block of S. 9th Street. A female victim reported that when she returned home she found a medical gown on her bed and some of her clothes and other items in her home disturbed and or missing, according to Forrester.
At 5:40 p.m. a medical emergency call was made concerning Tyler Bergkamp near the 200 block of S. Phillips.
Police made contact with Bergkamp and took him back to the hospital to receive treatment. Bergkamp was wearing some of the missing clothing items reported by one of the victims.
Berkamp is facing charged including violation of protection from abuse order, stalking, burglary and theft, in addition to charges from hiding in his ex-girlfriend’s home.
