LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police say a 16-year-old boy is in custody after his grandmother was found dead in her home.
Police Sgt. Trent McKinley says officers went to the woman’s home Monday night after the boy reported that he found his grandmother dead in her home.
McKinley says officers found obvious signs of traumatic injuries on the woman when they arrived. The boy was arrested after a police interview.
The identities of the victim and suspect have not been released.
BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Heavy rain has caused flooding in southeast Kansas, where several roadways have been closed because of high water.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man was sentenced to more than two years in prison for helping the man who killed a Topeka police officer in 2014.
Randy Allen Ridens Jr., was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in prison for obstructing justice and possession of stolen property.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Ridens helped Ross Preston Lane escape after Lane shot Cpl. Jason Harwood in Topeka during a traffic stop.
Prosecutors say Ridens picked up Lane after the shooting and drove him away from the scene. He was arrested in Lawrence.
Lane was sentenced to life in prison without parole for capital murder in Harwood’s death. Lane was found dead in his cell on Dec. 24. The death is being investigated.
HUTCHINSON- Fire Crews and Reno County EMS responded to a house fire just after 8a.m. on Tuesday in the 700 block of West 25th in Hutchinson.
When crews arrived, they found smoke coming from the rear of the home. Fire crews entered the residence and were met with high heat, according to a media release from Hutchinson Fire Department. The fire was located near the rear of the home next to a fireplace and the fire was controlled in 20 minutes.
One person who sustained burns to her chest, back, hands, and feet occupied the structure. She made it out and to a neighbor’s house prior to fire crews arrived.
Cause of fire is under investigation with probable cause as combustibles too close to the fireplace. Damage estimates are $75,000.
The woman whose name has not been released was airlifted to a Wichita hospital.
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HUTCHINSON – Fire Crews and Reno County EMS responded to a house fire in the 700 block of West 25th in Hutchinson on Tuesday morning.
No flames were seen coming from the single story home, however smoke was coming from the front door and also out some windows.
An elderly woman was transported to a Wichita hospital for treatment of burns, according to Reno County law enforcement officials. Her name has not been released.
Cause of the fire is under investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amtrak says its Kansas ridership this year improved but slid by more than 5 percent in neighboring Missouri.
McClatchy Newspapers says the Amtrak’s Chicago-to-Los Angeles Southwest Chief served a record number of passengers, numbering more than 367,000.
That service stops at six Kansas cities, with Kansas accounting for more than 49,000 of the passengers last year, up slightly over 2014.
Missouri’s state-supported River Runner between St. Louis and Kansas City had 10,000 fewer riders this year. That ridership totaled roughly 179,000 for the year that ended Sept. 30.
Nationwide, Amtrak carried 30.8 million passengers in 2015.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in Sedgwick County are asking for the public’s help in finding the person they say stabbed a Wichita man whose body was found in a sport utility vehicle on Christmas Eve.
The Wichita Eagle reports that a Park City police officer found 42-year-old Moises Arias-Aranda dead in a maroon, 1994 Ford Explorer shortly before 7 p.m. Dec. 24.
Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Pollock says someone in the Wichita-Sedgwick County area knows what happened to Aranda, and that that person needs to come forward to investigators.
TOPEKA— Friends and family of a Kansas teen who died in an ATV accident have established a GoFundMe page to help cover costs of final arrangements, medical expenses and memorial.
Justin Branham, 16, was killed when the all-terrain vehicle he was riding hit a tree near Topeka last week, according to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.
Branham died at a hospital shortly after the accident Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff Herman Jones said Branham was wearing a helmet when the three-wheel ATV he was riding went into a ditch and hit the tree.
EDMUND, OK -A pair of earthquakes early Tuesday rattled residents in Kansas.
The USGS reported a 3.4 quake hit at 5:44 a.m. near Edmund, Oklahoma. Ten minutes earlier, a 4.3 quake also shook the same area.
@kfor Tile damage, Edmond, OK. That’s all we have noticed thus far. That was a HUGE quake. pic.twitter.com/LfzEtSjHtq
— Gerald Whalen™ (@GLWhalen) December 29, 2015
There are reports of minor damage but no injuries. The quake is also blamed for power outages affecting hundreds of people. Edmond city officials say about 4,400 homes and businesses lost power because of the quake but electricity was restored quickly.
On Monday, the USGS reported earthquakes measuring a magnitude 3.4 and 3.5 hit Perry, Oklahoma, just 90 minutes south of Wichita.
SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are mourning the loss of K-9 officer Riddik.
Riddik was a fantastic partner for Officer J. Vaughan. Riddik apprehended many suspects in his career and was the recipient of several awards, according to a social media report from Salina Police.
K-9 Officer Riddik served the citizens of Salina for over nine years.
HUTCHINSON — The motion to suppress hearing in the murder case of a Kansas teen which started last week resumed Monday, and is in recess again.
The defense for Sam Vonachen, accused of two counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson for the death of his mom and sister, want a number of pieces of evidence suppressed.
During the hearing Monday, the defense questioned Hutchinson Police Detective Scott Carlton over a taped interview with the defendant’s father after the deadly fire.
They played audio of a 911 call made by the defendant and detectives asked the father of the teen if that was his son on the tape. The father confirmed it was.
The defense also asked Carlton why they questioned the father about his son taking a blanket and guitar from the home prior to the fire starting.
Carlton testified they were conducting the investigation as to what happened?
The defense also asked the father how his son would react if they were to ask difficult questions about the fire.
The defense wants to call one more witness prior to the hearing concluding.
Judge Trish Rose agreed to recess the hearing till Jan. 4.
Vonachen is accused of setting fire to the family home killing his mother and sister in September of 2013. His father was able to escape.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Historic Mount Oread Friends has kicked off a crowdfunding effort for the University of Kansas’ Prairie Acre restoration project with a $2,500 donation.
The Prairie Acre is a swath of grass that was designated in 1932 to remain undeveloped and protected by the university. The Historic Mount Oread Friends is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving historic architecture and open spaces of the university’s campus.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that school hopes to raise a total of $10,000 by Jan. 13 to help start the first phase of the Prairie Acre project. Jeff Severin, director of the school’s Center for Sustainability, says that the total cost for phase one is about $22,500.
Restoration plans include replanting native species and repairing the rock wall around the area.
WABAUNSEE COUNTY- One person was injured in a 3-vehicle accident just before 5p.m. on Monday in Wabaunsee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport driven by Jin Song, 37, Pike, AL., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of Spring Hill Road.
The Hyundai spun out and struck a 2008 BMW Series 3 driven by Rui Kong, 20, Columbia, MO, that was stopped on the side of the road and a 2005 Chevy Malibu driven by Nicholas Tidwell, 25, Wamego, that had spun out and come to rest by the BMW.
A passenger in the Chevy Annika Luna, 25, El Paso, TX, was transported to the hospital in Manhattan. Song and Kong, Tidwell and passengers in the Hyundai were not injured.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado bank for marijuana businesses had a simple request for a federal judge Monday when it went to court to seek access to the nation’s banking system.
“What do you want us to do with the money?” a lawyer for the pot bank asked.
Colorado chartered a special marijuana credit union last year. That’s because larger banks frequently shut down accounts tied to an industry that is still illegal under federal law.
But the U.S. Federal Reserve has kept the Colorado pot bank from being able to access the nation’s banking system. That’s because the Federal Reserve says the pot bank is too risky.
The judge grilled both sides but kept saying he has no power to make pot legal under federal law. He has no deadline to rule.
