TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old man has been ordered to spend more than two decades in prison in the shooting deaths of a man and woman at a Topeka, Kansas, apartment.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Nicholas Storm Phillips of Topeka pleaded guilty in March to two counts of reckless second-degree murder. Phillips also pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling.

Prosecutors say he fired multiple shots through an apartment door last December, killing 20-year-old Daquhan Jackson and 29-year-old Mary Thomas.

Phillips told a detective he was upset because the victims were stealing his clothes, which had been thrown into a grassy area after he fought with a girlfriend.

As part of his plea agreement, two counts of felony first-degree murder were dismissed.

MONGTOMERY COUNTY – A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 1p.m. on Tuesday in Montgomery County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Mazda Protégé driven by Janice Vineyard, 67, Independence, was westbound on County Road 2800 eight miles north of Coffeyville.

The driver failed to yield at the stop sign and crossed U.S. 169

A northbound semi broadsided the Mazda.

Vineyard was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

The semi driver Gordon, Casey Gordon, 37, Tecumseh, NE., was not injured.

Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Two men prosecutors say stole nearly $2 million worth of merchandise from stores across the U.S. have pleaded guilty.

Federal prosecutors in Connecticut say 40-year-old Alionis Perez, a Cuban citizen who most recently lived in New Jersey, and 30-year-old Yoandrys Cue, a Cuban citizen who most recently lived in Florida, pleaded guilty Monday to burglary charges.

Authorities say in 2013 they stole $250,00 worth of watches from a Fossil store in Clinton, Connecticut; $750,000 in watches from a Fossil store in Hagerstown, Maryland; $500,000 worth of watches and bags from a Michael Kors store in Lee, Massachusetts; and almost $200,000 in watches from a Fossil store in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

Perez also pleaded guilty to burglaries at stores in Missouri, Kansas, and Tennessee.

They’re scheduled to be sentenced in August.

DETROIT (AP) — Muscle cars may look cool, but they don’t offer the best protection in a crash.

The Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger didn’t get the highest ratings in new tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The institute, which is funded by insurers, tested 2016 models.

The Mustang earned the highest rating on four of the five tests, but didn’t do as well on the small overlap test, which simulates what happens when a small portion of the car’s front end hits a pole at 40 miles per hour.

A range of ratings for American muscle cars – IIHS News: https://t.co/VrfQaiuxkQ via @YouTube

— IIHS (@IIHS_autosafety) May 24, 2016

The Camaro did well on that test but had a lower rating for roof strength. The Challenger was the worst performer, with lower ratings for roof strength, seat and headrest strength and the small overlap test.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A veteran who served in Iraq is the latest person to file a lawsuit accusing a former physician assistant at a Veteran’s Administration hospital in Kansas of sexual abuse.

The Kansas City Star reports that the suit filed Monday in federal court is the seventh this year against Mark E. Wisner. He is accused of performing unnecessary and improper genital examinations at the Leavenworth VA Medical Center.

The hospital has said it stopped Wisner from seeing patients and began an investigation after the allegations surfaced.

Wisner surrendered his medical license last year after at least seven patients accused him of abuse. Criminal charges that include sexual battery are pending in Leavenworth County.

Wisner is seeking to have the civil proceedings stayed until the criminal case is resolved.

WICHITA — A 70-year-old Hillsboro man was indicted Tuesday on charges of carrying out a $7.9 million oil and gas fraud scheme, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

David K. Lawson is charged with one count of wire fraud. The indictment alleges the crime occurred while Lawson was the owner and director of Sonstone Trading, LLC.

Lawson made a deal for Sonstone to sell 90 barrels a day of crude oil to Parnon Gathering, Inc. Crude oil is unrefined oil produced from oil wells. What Sonstone provided to Parnon was in fact not crude oil. It was raw gas oil (RGO), which is a mixture of various refined petroleum products with a very low vapor pressure and a lesser commercial value.

For more information on oil and gas fraud from the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, see www.stopfraud.gov/oil-gas-fwg.html.

If convicted, Lawson faces a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000 and restitution. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

SALINA- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating one suspect for breaking into cars and one victim for what was allegedly stolen from his vehicle.

Kalub Rowson, 15, Salina, is accused of entering cars on Beloit Avenue and Sunset Drive in Salina between 8p.m. and 9p.m. Monday evening, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.

Rowson is alleged to have taken some knives, a hatchet, a debit card, a Nintendo DS game system, a Star Wars belt and a video game from the car parked on Beloit Avenue.

Rowson also allegedly took a backpack from the car of 25-year-old Evan Taylor while it was parked on Sunset Drive. The backpack contained personal use marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Rowson who was arrested after police received information on his connection to the burglaries, faces requested charges of burglary and theft. He is currently in the Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Junction City.

Taylor was arrested on requested charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was released from jail late Monday night.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been placed on three years of intensive supervised probation for aiding a man convicted of abducting, drugging and raping an 8-year-old girl.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 24-year-old Michelle Lee Harris, of Topeka, was sentenced Monday for attempted kidnapping and obstruction of a felony.

She testified at the trial of Jeremy James Lindsey. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms for removing a sleeping girl from her Topeka home in 2014 and transporting her in a car trunk. He raped her twice before calling Harris, who gave him and the girl a ride. Lindsey raped the child again before she managed to free herself and escape.

Harris says she didn’t question Lindsey because he sometimes became violent. Lindsey and Harris have a child together.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. House has voted down legislation that would require cellphone carriers to provide call location information to law enforcement in dire situations without a search warrant.

Watch Rep. Yoder’s comments here

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the measure rejected Monday is similar to laws enacted in more than 20 states since the 2007 abduction and murder of 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, of Overland Park, Kansas.

Cellphone signals helped lead police to her body in a wooded area of Missouri four days after her abduction from a Target store parking lot.

Smith’s parents have pointed to a delay in getting their daughter’s cellphone provider to cooperate with police. The couple has said they don’t believe their daughter’s life would have been saved had the information been released quicker, but they say it could help others.

WICHITA -After a 6-month study, Agribusiness giant Cargill announced today they are going to keep their Wichita headquarters.

At a news conference from the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce and attended by Governor Sam Brownback, Cargill Vice President Brian Sikes said the company considered locations in Colorado and Texas but believe they will thrive in Wichita, according to a social media report.

Brian Sikes @Cargill announces that after a 6-month review they are staying in Wichita. pic.twitter.com/zBKObfHBUT

— WichitaMetroChamber (@VentureBoldly) May 24, 2016

The company has 4,000 employees in Kansas.

Wichita is home to the company’s beef business; its turkey and cooked meat business, which includes deli meats; its value-added protein services, including its North American egg business; and its food distribution.

Most of the 900 employees that work in those Wichita-based operations are housed in a 10-story building on North Main Street.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say a man is dead after being run over by his own car outside his home.

Authorities say the man was getting to leave for work shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday when he tried to adjust something with the engine to get the car running. Police say that’s when the vehicle popped into gear and ran over him.

His name was not immediately released.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A white University of Kansas assistant professor who used a racial slur during a class discussion on race will not have her contract renewed after the next academic year.

Andrea Quenette, an assistant professor of communication studies, told The Lawrence Journal-World the university notified her last week that she would not be reappointed to her position at the end of the spring 2017 semester.

Some graduate students complained about Quenette after she used the racial slur in November, a day after the university held a contentious forum on race and discrimination.

Quenette and supporters set up a GoFundMe page for her “academic freedom”

A school review concluded in mid-March that Quenette didn’t violate the university’s nondiscrimination or racial and ethnic harassment policies.

A university spokesman would not confirm or deny Quenette’s employment situation, saying it is a personnel matter.

SALINA  -A preliminary hearing for a Kansas woman accused in the stabbing death of a Salina woman may be delayed due to the length of time it will take to get a completed autopsy report.

A hearing for Thuy Linh Thi Duong, 46, Salina, has been scheduled for June 13.

Details on the autopsy of stabbing victim 43-year-old Loan Nguyen-Lovelace may be available at that time, according to Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell.

Nguyen-Lovelace’s only child is taking her body to Vietnam for burial, and she requested that the preliminary hearing not be scheduled until after she returns, according to Mitchell.

Duong appeared in Saline County District Court Monday. She is accused of stabbing Nguyen-Lovelance to death during the course of an argument at Nguyen-Lovelace’s home on Max Avenue on May 12.

Police investigators quickly identified Doung as a suspect and
she was located in her parked vehicle at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.