SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting, have identified the victim and made an arrest.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting call in the 900 block of East Central in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

At the scene, police located a a 2003 blue Chevy Silverado driven by a 17-year-old identified as Ramiro Valdez.

He had sustained a gunshot wound and was transported to an area hospital where he died, according to Davidson.  There were two other teenagers in the truck who were not injured.

The investigation has revealed the Silverado was eastbound on Central and was followed by a black pickup truck driven by 18-year-old Eduardo Gallardo.

A suspect from the black truck fired multiple times at the Silverado, striking Valdez.

According to Captain Brent Allred, police arrested Gallardo. He was booked just after 12:30a.m. Monday on requested charges of first-degree murder.

This incident was not random and is in reference to an ongoing gang feud, according to Davidson. The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that fatally wounded a 17-year-old boy.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting call in the 900 block of East Central in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

At the scene, police located a blue pickup truck being driven by the 17-year-old. He had sustained a gunshot wound. EMS transported  him to an area hospital where he died, according to Davidson.  There were two other teenagers in the truck who were not injured.

The investigation has revealed the blue truck was traveling eastbound on Central and was followed by a black pickup truck. A suspect from the black truck fired multiple times at the blue truck, striking the driver. Police have not identified the victim.  This is not believed to be a random act, according to Davidson.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two of the country’s largest newspaper companies have agreed to combine in the latest media deal driven by the industry’s struggles with a decline of printed editions.

GateHouse Media, a chain backed by an investment firm, is buying USA Today owner Gannett Co. for $12.06 a share in cash and stock, or about $1.4 billion. The combined company would have more than 260 daily papers in the U.S. along with more than 300 weeklies.

The companies said Monday that the deal will cut up to $300 million in costs annually and help speed up a digital transformation.

Gatehouse owns Kansas newspapers in Hays, Hutchinson, Salina, Topeka, Garden City, Dodge City, McPherson, Newton and El Dorado, among others.

Related: Click HERE for analysis of the ‘megamerger’ from media analyst Ken Doctor.

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Fans turned out in record numbers last weekend at the Kansas City Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph, which included the annual Family Fun Day.

Missouri Western State University reports more than 8,000 fans observed the team practice Sunday, even more than attended the opening day of camp July 27, which was a record.

That came on the heels of the 7,500 fans who turned out for the Saturday practice, which was the annual Family Fun Day.

The Chiefs attracted more than 15,000 fans the first weekend and more than 16,000 this weekend.

Missouri Western State University has been the home of the Chiefs Training Camp for 10 years and though Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has praised the facilities and the hospitality of St. Joseph, he says the team will listen to pitches from other cities to host the training camp.

Chiefs training camp concludes Aug. 15.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday condemned weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as “barbaric” attacks and crimes “against all humanity” as he called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen the nation’s gun laws.

President Trump Delivers Remarks https://t.co/sSVPZM8ypj

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 5, 2019

Trump said he wants legislation providing “strong background checks” for gun users, but he provided scant details and has reneged on previous promises after mass shootings.

“We vow to act with urgent resolve,” Trump said Monday.

Trump spoke Monday from the White House about shootings that left 29 dead and dozens wounded. He suggested early on Twitter that a background check bill could be paired with his long-sought effort to toughen the nation’s immigration system.

But he didn’t say how or why he was connecting the issues. Both shooting suspects were U.S. citizens, and federal officials are investigating anti-immigrant bias as a potential motive for the El Paso, Texas, massacre.

“In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said, adding that he had directed the FBI to examine steps to identify and address domestic terrorism. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America,” he said.

Trump has frequently sought to tie his immigration priorities — a border wall and transforming the legal immigration system to one that prioritizes merit over familial ties — to legislation around which he perceives momentum to be building.

Over the weekend, Trump tried to assure Americans he was dealing with the problem and defended his administration in light of criticism following the latest in a string of mass shootings.

“We have done much more than most administrations,” he said, without elaboration. “We have done actually a lot. But perhaps more has to be done.”

Congress has proven unable to pass substantial gun violence legislation this session, despite the frequency of mass shootings, in large part because of resistance from Republicans, particularly in the GOP-controlled Senate. That political dynamic seems difficult to change.

And Trump himself has reneged on previous pledges to strengthen gun laws.

After other mass shootings he called for strengthening the federal background check system, and in 2018 he signed legislation to increase federal agency data sharing into the system. But he has resisted Democratic calls to toughen other gun control laws.

In February, the House approved bipartisan legislation to require federal background checks for all gun sales and transfers and approved legislation to allow a review period of up to 10 days for background checks on firearms purchases. The White House threatened a presidential veto if those measures passed Congress.

At a February meeting with survivors and family members of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting in which 17 people died, Trump promised to be “very strong on background checks.”

Trump claimed he would stand up to the gun lobby and finally get results in quelling gun violence. But he later retreated, expressing support for modest changes to the federal background check system and for arming teachers.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer tweeted that if Trump is serious about strengthening background checks, he should demand Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “put the bipartisan, House-passed universal background checks bill up for a vote.”

In the El Paso attack, investigators are focusing on whether it was a hate crime after the emergence of a racist, anti-immigrant screed that was posted online shortly beforehand. Detectives sought to determine if it was written by the man who was arrested. The border city has figured prominently in the immigration debate and is home to 680,000 people, most of them Latino.

On Twitter Monday, Trump seemed to deflect from scrutiny over the manifesto, which had language mirroring some of his own. As Democrats have called on Trump to tone down his rhetoric, Trump blamed the news media for the nation’s woes.

“Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years,” he claimed

As Trump weighs trips to the affected communities — the Federal Aviation Administration advised pilots of a presidential visit Wednesday to El Paso and Dayton, Ohio — local lawmakers signaled opposition to his presence.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso, said Trump is “not welcome” to visit the city.

In recent weeks, the president has issued racist tweets about four women of color who serve in Congress, and in rallies has spoken of an “invasion” at the southern border. His reelection strategy has placed racial animus at the forefront in an effort that his aides say is designed to activate his base of conservative voters, an approach not seen by an American president in the modern era.

Trump also has been widely criticized for offering a false equivalency when discussing racial violence, notably when he said there were “very fine people, on both sides,” after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of an anti-racism demonstrator.

On gun control, a majority of Americans have consistently said they support stronger laws, but proposals have stalled repeatedly in Congress, a marked contrast to some countries that have acted swiftly after a mass shooting.

In March, a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found a majority of Americans favor stricter gun laws. The survey was conducted both before and after a mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand. It found that 67 percent of Americans support making US gun laws stricter, while 22 percent say they should be left as they are and 10 percent think they should be made less strict.

Less than a week after the mosque shootings, New Zealand moved to ban “military-style” semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines; similarly, after a mass shooting in 1996, Australia enacted sweeping gun bans within two weeks.

The poll suggested many Americans would support similar measures, but there’s a wide gulf between Democrats and Republicans on banning specific types of guns. Overall, 6 in 10 Americans support a ban on AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic weapons. Roughly 8 in 10 Democrats, but just about 4 in 10 Republicans, support that policy.

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

According to Sedgwick County Lt. Tim Myers, a 2008 Suzuki Forenza driven by Erin R. Farley, 19, Halstead, was northbound on 119th Street West at 109th Street North.

The driver pulled out in front of and was struck by an eastbound Freightliner semi driven by Thelma Vaughn, 56, Wichita.

Farley was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Myers. Vaught was not injured.

The accident is still under investigation, according to Myers.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City police are looking for the driver of a car that hit a 9-year-old boy riding a tricycle.

Police say the boy was hit Sunday evening. First responders found him unconscious in the street after he was thrown from the tricycle.

Capt. Tim Hernandez said the child was in serious but stable condition at a hospital.

The driver of the vehicle left the scene and has not been found by police. The vehicle was described as a silver passenger car.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal data indicates drug overdose deaths in Kansas and Missouri are on the rise even as national drug-related fatalities are in decline.

Provisional data released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows drug-related deaths in the U.S. declined by nearly 5% in 2018 after reaching a historic high of 72,000 in 2017.

But the same data also projects that overdose deaths in Kansas rose from 326 in 2017 to 341 in 2018 and Missouri’s increased from 1,406 deaths in 2017 to 1,635 the following year. The data hasn’t been finalized yet.

Randall Williams, the director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says that more than 1,100 of the state’s overdose deaths in 2018 involved opioids and about half of them occurred in the St. Louis area.

“What we are dealing with in Missouri is an increased presence of (highly concentrated opioids like) fentanyl and carfentanil, which presents an even greater risk for opioid overdose,” Williams said. “We will continue to concentrate on upstream approaches toward prevention of opioid misuse while simultaneously instituting new measures that will prevent fentanyl overdoses.”

In 2017, Kansas and Missouri officials signed orders allowing people to purchase naloxone it at pharmacies without a prescription. Naloxone, known by the brand Narcan, is a drug that can counteract opioid overdoses.

This month, Williams said he signed orders that would provide the medication free to high schools, colleges, YMCAs and libraries through a grant program.

In Kansas, officials created a drug abuse task force, which found that more than 80% of overdoses in the state from 2012 to 2016 involved a prescription medication. One-third of overdose deaths involved methamphetamines.

Margaux Guignon, director of prevention services for First Call KC, noted that data shows Missouri doctors are writing fewer opioid prescriptions, and that this could drive people who are already addicted to try more dangerous street drugs. Guignon’s group provides addiction prevention, education and treatment services.

“They’re using fentanyl and I think that’s because we’re trying to cut back on drug prescriptions, and then what are they going to do?” Guignon said. “We have (addiction treatment) resources in our area but not enough. I believe that we need more treatment.”

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.@GovLauraKelly in accordance with the Presidential Proclamation, has ordered flags throughout Kansas to be flown at half-staff now to sunset on Thursday, August 8, in honor of the victims of the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. pic.twitter.com/DpfV3v1QS2

— Kansas.gov (@ksgovernment) August 5, 2019

SHAWNEE COUNTY —After a four-day trial, a Kansas man was convicted Thursday for a sex crime against a child, according to Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay.

Gabriel Escobar, 39, Topeka, was charged with Aggravated Indecent Liberties of a child under the age of 14, for groping the child’s breasts and pulling her pants down.  The incident took place in the child’s home in March of 2018, according to Kagy.

The child had just turned 13-years-old and the defendant was a month shy of 38 years old at the time.

On Thursday a jury found Escobar guilty as charged.  He is scheduled for sentencing  September 26, 2019. Escobar is facing a presumptive sentence of life in prison, with no possibility for parole until serving a minimum of 25 years, according to Kagy.

 

 

 

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Two men were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for shipping heroin and methamphetamine from Arizona to Kansas via FedEx, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

David Thomas, 34, Kansas City,  was sentenced to 100 months. James Reich, 36, Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced to 51 months.

Both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. The investigation began when a drug dog alerted on a cardboard box at a FedEx facility. Investigators found more than half a pound of heroin in the box.

The investigation led to an address in the 1800 block of South 31st in Kansas City, Kan., where a review of FedEx records showed six similar packages had been delivered. Further investigation tied Thomas and Reich to the address and to one another.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — An 18-year-old Kansas City man has been charged in the shooting death of a 25-year-old woman police describe as an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet Friday night during a fight at a popular monthly arts festival on the edge of downtown.

Deon’te Copkney was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree murder. Officers said they saw Copkney drop a handgun as he was running from the scene and that it was later determined to be the gun used in the shooting that killed Erin Langhofer, of Overland Park, Kansas, as the First Friday event was underway.

Police were called just after 10 p.m. about a fight and say officers arriving on the scene saw people gathered, then heard gunshots. As the crowd cleared, a woman later identified as Langhofer was found with a gunshot wound. She was near a food truck when she was hit, police said. She died at a hospital.

Police spokesman Capt. Tim Hernandez told the Kansas City Star that officers heard numerous shots.

“At this point, they began to take cover, and they tried to identify where the shots were coming from,” Hernandez said. “Of course, when you have thousands of people and you have shots being fired like this, people just started scattering in every direction.”

Police said three people seen running from the area were detained for questioning. Copkney was arrested Saturday and is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He remained jailed Saturday. Online court records did not indicate whether Copkney has an attorney to speak for him.

Friends and family gathered at Langhofer’s family home on Saturday. Langhofer was the daughter of a pastor at the United Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, the largest Methodist congregation in the U.S. She had been attending the First Friday event with her boyfriend when she was killed, said senior pastor Adam Hamilton.

Langhofer graduated in 2016 from the University of Kansas with a degree in social work, and had worked at a domestic violence center, her friends said.

“She was a gift,” said Scott Kormann, a neighbor who knew Langhofer since her birth. “She wanted you to be a better person.”

Kormann’s daughter, 26-year-old Liz Kormann, was preparing to ask Langhofer to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding.

“The world lost a good one,” Liz Kormann’s fiancé, Danny Dolan, said. “We’re lucky to have had her as long as we did.”

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GEARY COUNTY — Just before 1p.m. Sunday, authorities learned of a boat with two occupants who appeared to be in distress on Milford Lake at the mouth of Madison Creek, according to a media release.

The Sheriff’s Department had a marine unit already on the water and responded to the location. They reported that upon arrival Deputies located Armando Matute Jr., Fort RIley, and his 14-year old son floating in the water. Deputies pulled both out of the water and transported them to Milford State Park where they met with Kansas Wildlife and Parks officials

Armando Matute Jr. said they were going along in their boat when they heard a loud pop and their boat started taking on water. He believed they struck something in the water.

The Sheriff’s Department said they were grateful both the father and son were using safe boating practices and were wearing their life jackets or the incident could have had a tragic ending.

No injuries were reported.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it’s concerned about a report that the U.S. military is using high-altitude balloons to conduct surveillance tests in six Midwestern states.

Up to 25 balloons are being launched from South Dakota, and will drift through parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois. The Guardian examined filings with the Federal Communications Commission, which say the balloons are meant to provide persistent surveillance to locate drug trafficking and homeland security threats.

According to KELO, the ACLU says this kind of constant surveillance violates the privacy of citizens, creating what’s a pervasive checkpoint over cities. The ACLU says the military needs to be clear about information it’s collecting.

A spokesman with the U.S. military didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.