JEWELL COUNTY – Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire at a rural property in Jewell County.

Just after 3:30a.m. on Monday three fire crews responded to the blaze at 830 U Road, according to Jewell County Sheriff Don Jacobs.

A large outbuilding housing a semi tractor and tools is considered a total loss. A nearby train boxcar used for storage was also damaged.

A home on the property was not damaged. There were no injuries reported.

The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office assisted with the investigation. The cause remains undetermined, according to Jacobs.

NEWTON – The Awards Committee of the Kansas Sheriffs Association has selected Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton and Wallace County Sheriff Larry Townsend to both receive the Sheriff of the Year Award for 2016, according to a media release.

Sheriff Walton was nominated in part because of the Hesston tragedy at Excel Industries.

As Pratt County Sheriff Vernon Chinn stated in nominating Sheriff Walton “Sheriff Walton conducted himself in the highest traditions of a Kansas Sheriff and lawman exhibiting extreme courage and professionalism in the face of extreme danger and tremendous challenges.”

SEWARD COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are on the scene of an investigation in Seward County.

A portion of Tucker Road from Millwood Circle to Country Estates Road Northeast of Liberal is closed due to the investigation, according to Police Captain Patrick McClurg.

Authorities were not releasing additional details early Wednesday afternoon and there is no timetable to reopen the road, according McClurg.

KANSAS CITY — Law enforcement authorities are looking for two brothers charged in the killing of another man in a strip mall parking lot in Kansas City.

20-year-old D’Adrian Jones and 19-year-old Kavon Jones have been charged in Wyandotte County with first-degree murder in the Sept. 26 killing of 21-year-old Clarence Buford, of Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release.

The two should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is urged to call police or a tips hotline.

FORD COUNTY – Investigators are still working to determine the cause of a fire in a single story rural residence southwest of Dodge City on October 2.

Ford county fire department investigators requested a K-9 from the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office to assist with the investigation.

“Not only can they sniff out the exact location of accelerant at a fire scene, arson dogs can also pick out a suspect from a line-up.

Often the alleged arsonists will still have traces of the accelerant on their clothing,” according to Kevin Doel in an email from the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office.

At this time, the cause of the fire is still undetermined, according to Charles Wheaton who assisted with the investigation from the Ford County Fire Department.

He refused to provide specific details on the exact location of the residence and who may have been at the residence at the time of the fire.

There were no injuries reported and no damage estimate available until the investigation is finished.

GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Hyundai SUV driven by Andrea N. Jackson, 27, Milford, was northbound on U.S. 77 four miles northwest of Junction City.

The SUV traveled off onto the right shoulder, came back onto the road, entered the east ditch and struck a tree sideways.

Jackson was transported to the hospital in Topeka.
She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has taken a step toward allowing the state to enforce its proof-of-citizenship requirement for some new voters.

Late Tuesday, an attorney for Kobach filed a formal answer to a federal lawsuit challenging a 2013 state law requiring new voters to provide papers documenting their U.S. citizenship when registering.

The lack of a formal response on Tuesday prompted a court clerk to enter a default judgment for the prospective voter suing Kobach.

Previous court rulings have temporarily narrowed the rule so it doesn’t apply to people who use a federal registration form or register at state motor vehicle offices.

It’s not clear whether U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson will accept Kobach’s filing, but attorneys challenging the law’s constitutionality said judges often do.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal court clerk has entered a default judgment against Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach for failing to file a timely response to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law requiring prospective voters to prove they are U.S. citizens.

It remains unclear whether U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson will give Kobach more time to respond. Kobach is facing four separate lawsuits challenging aspects of that law.

If Tuesday’s judgment stands it would entirely strike down the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirement. The lawsuit contends it violates the U.S. Constitution’s protections against depriving a person of life, liberty or property without due process.

It also contends the state law discriminates against citizens born outside of Kansas.

Kobach did not immediately return a message, but his spokeswoman says he would comment.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 340,000 gas-electric hybrid Prius cars around the world, 212,000 of them in Japan and 94,000 in North America, for a defect in their parking brakes.

Toyota said Wednesday it has received reports of crashes, injuries and deaths. The Japanese automaker refused to provide details, saying it was still looking into the reports.

Toyota said the parking brake cable can disengage, causing the brakes to stop working properly. So if the car is left in any gear other than park, it could start rolling away, and possibly crash.

Toyota said 17,000 Prius vehicles were recalled in Europe, and the rest in Australia and other regions. The problem models were manufactured from August 2015 through October 2016.

The company said all the vehicles were manufactured in Japan.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a suspect in connect with a weekend road rage killing.

On Tuesday, Daniel Alan Askew, 27, Topeka, was arrested in connection with Saturday’s shooting death, according to a media release.

Just after 12:30 a.m. on Saturday officers with Topeka police responded to a local hospital after report of a gunshot victim who had arrived by personal vehicle, according to a media release.

The victim, Michael Sadler, 28, Topeka, was suffering from critical injuries and died, according to police. They say Sadler was a passenger in a vehicle traveling near the intersection of SW 29th and SW Burlingame Road, and became involved in a road rage argument.

The involved parties did not know each other prior to the incident, according to police.

Askew was booked into the Shawnee County jail for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a suspect for alleged assault and kidnapping.

Just after 10 a.m., on Sunday, Finney County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to 2401 W. Kansas Ave. #321 in reference to a woman that was bleeding and was the possible victim of a battery, according to a media release.

Sheriff’s Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle at VFW and W. Kansas Avenue that had been identified as a possible suspect vehicle in the battery.

Deputies made contact with the driver 26-year-old Francisco Moreno, and discovered that a 26-year-old female passenger was approx. 7 months pregnant and had severe injuries.

EMS transported the female victim to St. Catherine’s Hospital. She was later air lifted to a hospital in Wichita for further treatment of her injuries.

Deputies arrested Moreno on probable cause charges of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Kidnapping, and Aggravated Endangering a Child.

It is alleged that the Moreno forced the victim into his car earlier in the morning at a location in the area of 2401 W. Kansas and battered her inside and outside of the vehicle as they drove around Finney County.

SALINE COUNTY -A Salina teenager, missing since early Monday morning, has been safely located.

According to her family, Leslie Rush, 15, was located in north Salina on Tuesday. She had been missing since 3:45 a.m. Monday.

No other details were immediately available.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a pedestrian accident in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported just after 8p.m. on Tuesday, an unknown vehicle was northbound on Kansas 4 just north of Northeast Seward Avenue when it struck a pedestrian and continued on without stopping.

The victim Daniel Christopher VIning, 38, Lawrence, was transported to Stormont Vail for treatment.

His condition was not released early Wednesday.

WICHITA, KAN. – A Mexican woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful possession of a firearm connected to a homicide case in Salina, according to acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

The woman, Azucena Garcia-Ferniza, 22, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm while unlawfully in the United States. In her plea, she admitted that on May 7, 2015, she unlawfully possessed a Glock model 30 .45 caliber pistol. Her visitor’s visa had expired in February 1998.

In July 2016, Garcia-Ferniza was sentenced in Saline County District Court to18 months on probation for attempting to hide the gun that killed 17-year-old Allie Saum. The gun belonged to her boyfriend, Macio D. Palicio, Jr. Saum was killed by gunfire when Palicio fired at a pickup he mistakenly believed was driven by rival gang members.

Palicio was convicted in Saline County District Court and sentenced to more than 50 years for the killing.

Garcia-Ferniza’s sentencing is set for Jan. 4. She has been in custody since August 2015.