SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after a chase through a residential area that sent two women to the hospital.

On November 14, police were called to the 600 block of North 12th  Street in Salina after report of suspicious activity, according to Captain Paul Forrester.

While there, officers observed a 2008  Nissan Altima that had a tag belonging to a vehicle out of Finney County and a registration sticker from Sedgwick County. At that time, police were unable to locate a person associated with the vehicle, according to Forrester.

Just before 11a.m. Sunday, an officer spotted the same vehicle driving on North College Street in Salina. When the officer stopped the vehicle at College and Park, the driver gave a name the officer believed to be false. While the officer was waiting for backup before proceeding, the driver started the car and sped away.

Forrester said that with the police officer in pursuit, the Nissan, traveling at speeds up to 60 mph through 13 streets.

Near the intersection of Broadway and Crawford, the driver attempted to cut through the parking lot of Kansasland Tire and Service to avoid the stoplight. While cutting through the parking lot, the car hit a landscaping boulder, went airborne, and struck a cement pole.

The driver identified as Joanna Deniston, 28, of Salina and a passenger in the vehicle, Sophia Lamas, 33, of Salina, were injured and transported to Salina Regional Health Center, Forrester said. Deniston was then transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Police believed the Nissan belongs to Lamas. Narcotics were found in the vehicle.

Requested charges against Deniston could include felony flee and elude and interference with a law enforcement officer, according to Forrester . Deniston has previous convictions for theft, forgery and criminal use of a financial card.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man convicted of abusing and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son before encasing the boy’s body in concrete in their rental home’s garage was sentenced Monday to more than 100 years in prison.

Judge Steve Ternes sentenced Stephen Bodine to 109 years and six months after telling him during the hearing in Sedgwick County district court: “Your acts were disgusting and cowardly and monstrous.”

Bodine, 41, did not address the court.

Bodine was convicted in October of first-degree murder, child abuse and other charges in the torture and killing of Evan Brewer. Prosecutors say Bodine and Evan’s mother, Miranda Miller, chained the boy in the basement and forced him to stand in a corner for hours in the months before his May 2017 death at their rental home in Wichita.

Evan’s body was found that September by the landlord, after Miller and Bodine moved out.

Miller, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges last month and is due to be sentenced in January. Her plea deal required her to testify against Bodine.

During Bodine’s trial, prosecutors presented a cache of 16,000 photos and video files collected by the couple’s home surveillance system that detailed the boy’s abuse.

Miller testified that Bodine made Evan stand against a wall for hours for not eating on May 19, 2017. When the boy collapsed, Bodine took the screaming boy into the bathroom and later came out with his wet and lifeless body. Miller said Bodine mixed bags of concrete and buried the boy’s body in it.

When Evan’s body was found, it was so badly decomposed that an autopsy couldn’t determine how he had died. He had Benadryl in his system, and Miller said she thinks Bodine sickened him in the days leading up to his death by force-feeding him large amounts of salt.

Evan’s father, Carlo Brewer, said he began seeking custody of his son after noticing signs that he had been abused, and authorities were alerted at least six times that Evan was being abused.

After the sentencing, Carlo Brewer said he was pleased with the sentence.

“We don’t have to worry about him getting out and hurting other people or children. It’s turned into a pretty good day,” he said.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 41-year-old Kansas man has been sentenced to 109 years and six months in prison for abusing and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, whose body was found encased in concrete in the garage of a Wichita rental home they had lived in.

Stephen Bodine was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2017 killing of Evan Brewer. He was sentenced Monday.

Prosecutors say the Bodine and Evan’s mother, 37-year-old Miranda Miller, tortured the boy for months before his death, including chaining him naked in a basement and forcing him to stand in a corner for hours.

Miller pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder and other charges. Her plea deal required her to testify against Bodine. She is due to be sentenced in January.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Medicaid director is reversing a billing change that resulted in pay cuts to pediatricians.

KanCare Director Jon Hamdorf announced Monday that Kansas is fixing the change that went into effect Nov. 1, which split a bundle of services for child checkups into 12 separate codes. Hamdorf says he realized the billing change led to a reduction in reimbursed services after reviewing data submitted by doctors last week.

Pediatricians had reported that checkup rates for children of certain ages had dropped dramatically, including from $70 to $26 for 1-month-olds. Some doctors had said they’d have to cut back on serving KanCare patients.

Hamdorf says $70 will be the lowest rate for future visits, with additional fees for each of the formerly bundled

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary at a Kansas car dealership.

Just after 4a.. Monday,  police were called to Marshall Motors, 3500 S. Ninth in Salina after an alarm was triggered, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

An employee, who was responding to the alarm, discovered that the glass in one of the dealership’s doors had been shattered. Surveillance video showed two people walking around inside the dealership, Forrester said.

According to Forrester, the burglars removed a key belonging to a red 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk valued at $90,000. The vehicle can be seen on surveillance video traveling north from Marshall’s, according to Forrester. Police are reviewing all surveillance video.