GARDEN CITY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating an alleged false kidnapping.

Just after 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, officers of the Garden City Police Department received a call of a possible kidnapping in progress, according to a media release.

It was reported by a family member that a 33 year old woman was being held against her will at an unknown location in Garden City and there was a request for an undisclosed amount of money for the her safe return.

The Garden City Police Department and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office conducted a joint operation in an attempt to locate the alleged victim.

A predetermined location and meeting was set up with the suspect surreptitiously, according to police

When the suspect and alleged victim arrived on scene they were taken into custody by police. There were no injuries.

Further investigation revealed that the alleged victim was never in any danger and that this was a scheme in an attempt to receive money from a family member.

Casey Corter, 33, Johnson, and Michael Fink, 32, Garden City both face a charge of Falsely Reporting a Crime. They are being held in the Finney County jail.

MCPHERSON – One person was injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Friday in McPherson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Dodge Charger driven by Dylan J. Frantz, 24, McPherson, and a 2005 Chrysler 300 driven by Larry W. Decker, 78, Galva, were involved in the crash at
Centennial and East Kansas Ave in McPherson.

Decker was transported to the hospital in McPherson. Frantz was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Missouri man has filed a civil lawsuit accusing a Kansas City, Kansas, area Catholic priest of abusing him three decades ago.

The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Wyandotte County court, also claims authorities at the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, knew of the abuse and failed to do anything to stop it. The lawsuit does not name the victim and identifies the accused priest with initials.

The lawsuit claims the sexual abuse occurred at a lake house in the 1980s when the alleged victim, who is now in his 40s, was between 15 and 17 years old.

The archdiocese said Friday in a statement that when it was told about allegations against the priest in 2012, the archdiocese investigated, notified law enforcement and removed the priest from ministry.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters during the first half of the school’s upcoming men’s basketball game.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the attempt will happen during Saturday’s game. University officials say the current record belongs to Loughborough University in Loughborough, England. They say 1,175 people gathered in holiday sweaters on Dec. 10, 2014.

Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony says he and his colleagues on the marketing staff came up with the plan during a brainstorming session last summer.

To join the record attempt, participants must wear a holiday sweater, which has been defined as having long sleeves and at least one holiday-themed motif.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Members of the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board are pulling back from proposals they discussed last week to either change the agency’s mission or dissolve it.

On Thursday, Ellen Janoski became chairwoman of CURB. She says the agency should focus on making internal changes to become efficient.

CURB’s main mission is to represent residential and small-business utility customers in Kansas Corporation Commission rate cases.

The Wichita Eagle reports (https://bit.ly/1Idrrjh ) the board last week discussed focusing instead on fighting new federal clean air regulations.

On Thursday, board members said last week’s comments were “hypothetical” discussions about the agency’s effectiveness.

Janoski says it’s not realistic for CURB to take on federal regulations but the agency should educate consumers about the affect of those rules on electric bills.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is commuting the sentences of 95 offenders and pardoning two more in a year-end spree.

 

See the complete list here

Almost all of those receiving commuted sentences are non-violent drug offenders. Many were convicted of distributing or possessing cocaine or crack-cocaine. The commutations are the most that Obama has issued at once time.

Obama is also pardoning an Ohio man sentenced to probation in a counterfeiting case and a Virginia woman sentenced to home detention and supervised release in a bank fraud case.

The commutations aim to build momentum for Obama’s broader push on criminal justice reform. Obama has sought to alleviate overcrowding in U.S. prisons by easing steep punishments for non-violent offenders. The White House has been working with lawmakers from both parties in an effort to overhaul U.S. sentencing.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita woman has been named the new executive director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.

The appointment of Kenya Cox, the president of the Wichita branch of the NAACP, was announced Friday. She will take office on Jan. 11.

Cox serves on several boards and organizations in Sedgwick County and was the assistant regional director for community service for the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

The announcement came a day after The Wichita Eagle reported  that former members of the commission were criticizing Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration for letting partisan politics delay the appointment of the commission’s executive director.

The commission’s last executive director, Mildred Edwards, resigned in May.

KANSAS CITY – Samantha C. Elmer, 33, Lawrence, is charged with one count of international parental kidnapping, one count of making a false statement on a passport, and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Elmer initially was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Dec. 9 that alleged she took her two daughters to Europe to prevent her former husband from lawfully taking custody of the children.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the parental kidnapping charge, a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of making a false statement on a passport, and a mandatory two years (consecutive to other counts) on the identity theft charge. The following agencies worked on the investigation: the Lawrence Police Department, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, the Eudora Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department and the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect in connection with a stolen vehicle.

Randy Shelinbarger, 59, was stopped in the 800 block of East Crawford Street was stopped just before 9a.m. on Thursday after a check of the tag on the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica he was driving came back as a stolen tag, according to police.

The car had been reported stolen in Wichita. It is valued at $5,000. The key had been left in the car.

Shelinbarger was then arrested and booked into the Saline County Jail.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 4 percent last month — the lowest level in 14 years.

Kansas Department of Labor figures released Friday show that November’s jobless rate compared with 4.1 percent the previous month and 4.2 percent in November of last year.

The department says that the adjusted figures show that while the state last 2,800 private-sector jobs from October through November, the year-to-year number actually rose by 10,000, or nine-tenths of a percentage point.

The state’s jobless rate when not seasonally adjusted was 3.5 percent in November. That’s down from 3.7 percent in October and 3.9 percent in November of last year.

Nationwide, the federal Labor Department says jobless rates fell in 27 states and rose in 11.

Update 1:45 p.m. – According to the Riley County Police Department, the suspect pictures has been identified and additional details are expected to be released.

——————–

MANHATTAN– Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating numerous lewd and lascivious behavior reports involving an unknown suspect, according to a media release.

Kansas State University Police Department and Riley County Police Department have say the suspect has approached female victims and either touched himself or exposed himself inappropriately.

The man is described as a medium in complexion black male of average height and weight, has short braid style hair and may have a light beard.

The individual in the photo has been identified as a person of interest in these incidents and police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

Officers are currently seeking information about these crimes and ask that anyone with tips or information on the suspect’s identity contact the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers at 785-539-7777 or online

WICHITA -City Manager Robert Layton on Friday announced Gordon Ramsay as Wichita’s next Chief of Police. Ramsay is currently the chief in Duluth, Minnesota.

 

Here's a quick message from the next Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay. #ICTChief pic.twitter.com/b65LaTkqe4

— City of Wichita (@CityofWichita) December 18, 2015

 During a morning news conference at City Hall, Layton cited Ramsay’s almost 10 years of experience as a chief, his leadership and vision, his commitment to community policing, his work implementing body cameras, and his strategic planning background among other professional accomplishments. Ramsay, who will earn $170,000 annually, starts on Jan. 28. He will manage a nearly $82 million budget and supervise 836 employees in the state’s largest police department. “We needed the right leader for the future, and I believe we have achieved that with Gordon,” Layton said at the news conference, which was attended by Mayor Jeff Longwell, other City Council Members and several stakeholders who participated in the search. Ramsay has been the chief in Duluth since 2006. He’s been a police officer there for 22 years. He has extensive experience in community policing. He has worked with diverse groups including NAACP, American Indian Commission, Native Alliance, and African-American Men’s Group to create Duluth’s first police civilian review board. Under Ramsay’s leadership, Duluth has received high marks from residents in recent surveys, as well as recognition from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in 2012 and 2013 for community policing efforts. He is past President of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and immediate past General Chair of the Mid-Size Agency Section of IACP. He has a master’s degree in management from the College of St. Scholastica (2004) and a bachelor’s degree in criminology and sociology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth (1994). He graduated from the FBI National Academy (2005). “I am humbled and beyond excited to have been chosen for this position and can’t wait to begin working with department and community members as their police chief,” Ramsay said. “The potential to make a difference seems limitless. Ramsay was one of two finalists for WPD Chief along with Jeffery Spivey, Assistant Chief of Police in Irving, Texas since 2011. The search process produced 62 applicants and seven semifinalists, part of an extensive community engagement process that grew out of an organizational assessment conducted by Wichita State University’s Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. The City’s top law enforcement job has been open since September 2014 when Norman Williams retired after nearly 40 years in the department. Nelson Mosley has served as WPD’s Interim Chief the past 15 months.

WASHINGTON – Today Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01) voted against the omnibus spending bill because it continues the federal government’s overspending, authorizes new infringements on our liberty, and fails to address critical national security, life, and regulation concerns.

The $1.14 trillion spending bill will fund the government through next September. The 316-113 vote sent the bill to the Senate where it also passed easily.

“Once again, Washington passes a massive last-minute bill negotiated by a small group of insiders behind closed doors. The result is 2,009 pages that continue the long history of Washington’s overspending, adds another $57 billion to the deficit, and surrenders the Congressional power over the purse,” said Huelskamp.”

“Whether it is the failure to stop Obama’s radical global warming agenda, his executive orders or the WOTUS rule; or the full funding of Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare; or failing to stop his plan to allow stealth terrorists posing as Syrian refugees – this bill was a major victory for the president. Additionally, this bill includes massive policy changes, including allowing tens of thousands of new low-skilled immigrants to enter America and permitting the Administration to expand their spying on law-abiding Americans, that were not even debated. While the legislation does provide things good for Kansas, particularly ending the 40-year ban on oil exports, it is business-as-usual in our nation’s capital.”

Friday’s action promises to finish up a surprisingly productive, bipartisan burst of late-session legislation in a divided Congress.

President Obama has promised to sign the massive measure.

It gives him many of the spending increases he’s demanded all year. GOP victories include a big boost for the military and the end of a four-decade ban of exporting U.S. crude oil.