SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating Monday’s fatal officer-involved-shooting and have identified the suspect.

Just before 1:30 a.m., police responded to a check shots call at a residence in the 1900 block of South Glenn in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. The 911 caller reported 49-year-old Robert Sabater of Wichita was firing gunshots outside his residence that struck three other surrounding homes.

Upon arrival, WPD officers and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) deputies observed Sabater sporadically firing multiple shots from inside and outside his home. During this time, officers took cover positions, began evacuating homes around the source of gunfire and one SCSO deputy returned fire.  A WPD field supervisor also attempted to contact Sabater by phone, which was unsuccessful.

Sabater continued to fire shots from his home and a short time later ran onto Glenn Street waving a handgun while shouting.  He ran south on Glenn towards officers, and was given commands by the officers to drop the gun.  Sabater did not comply, turned around and ran north on Glenn.

Officers contacted Sabater again the intersection of Dora Street and Glenn Street.  He was still armed with a handgun. Officers again gave multiple orders for Sabater to put the gun down.  He did not comply, pointed his gun at officers and multiple shots were fired by WPD officers and SCSO deputies.  Sabater was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Davidson. No law enforcement officers or citizens were injured.

Five WPD officers and five SCSO deputies discharged their weapons during this incident. The WPD officers involved are seven, three, two year and eight month veterans of the department.  The officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard departmental procedure during officer-involved shootings.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is assisting with investigating the incident to provide transparency and avoid conflicts of interest.

This case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

TOPEKA—  The Kansas boy critically injured after hit by a car while riding a bicycle has died.

The 11-year-old died Monday, according to Gretchen Koenen with the Topeka Police Department.

Just before 7p.m. May 14,  police responded to the intersection of SW 4th and Taylor in Topeka where the vehicle struck the 11-year-old on a bicycle.

EMS transported him to a local hospital with what was determined to be life threatening injuries.

The accident remains under investigation, according to Koenen. Police have not released additional details.

A rural Saline County man got a rude awakening early Sunday morning.

Bradley Lantz, 60, awoke about 2:40 a.m. Sunday upon hearing someone in his residence in the 7400 block of West Water Well Road, Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan said Tuesday. Lantz went downstairs and found Clinton MacDonald, 30, of Lindsborg in the residence, Soldan said. Lantz held MacDonald at gunpoint until deputies could arrive, Soldan added.

Soldan said MacDonald was arrested on suspicion of DUI and trespassing.

 

 

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner talks about the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers. From the Kansas Highway Patrol Troop C Facebook page:

 

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent a man to a hospital.

Just after 9p.m. Monday, officers were dispatched to the intersection of SE 25th and SE Wisconsin on a report of a shooting, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz.

Officers located a male victim suffering from life threatening injuries. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Witnesses report seeing a dark colored Buick leaving the scene at a high rate of speed from the area.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to contact Topeka Police.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Kansas Department of Corrections agents, working in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service, apprehended minimum-custody inmate George Young at a motel on North Broadway Street in Wichita at approximately 11 a.m., Tuesday, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Young, 51, who had been placed on escape status Sunday morning, was apprehended without incident. Currently, he is being held at the Sedgwick County Jail.

Young had been serving time as a parole violator with a new sentence in Sedgwick County. His most recent conviction was for theft in 2018.

The Wichita Work Release Facility, a satellite unit of the Winfield Correctional Facility, is an all-male, minimum-custody state prison with a population of 236.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Authorities are searching for an inmate and asking the public for help locating him.

Just before 4a.m. on Sunday, 51-year-old George Young was declared an escape from the Wichita Work Release Facility. Young has been at Wichita Work Release since March 13, 2019. The facility houses 250 minimum-custody male offenders.

Young is a described as a black male, 6-foot tall, 200 pounds  with black hair. Young is currently serving time at Wichita Work Release Facility as a Parole Violator with a new sentence from Sedgwick County, Kansas. Young’s most recent criminal conviction was in 2018 for Theft.

Anyone with information on George Young can call the Kansas Department of Corrections at 620-221-6660 ext: 56218, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-572-7463, or local law enforcement (911).

 

SALINE COUNTY — One person died in an accident Saturday in Saline County.

A motorcycle driven by 59-year-year-old Henry Riffel of Salina was eastbound on Summit Road in rural southwest Saline County, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan.

He missed the turn onto Forsse Road, traveled into the ditch and rolled the motorcycle. A passerby came upon the accident and called 9-1-1, according to Soldan.

Riffel was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a helmet, according to Soldan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will not take up a challenge to a school district’s policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their sexual identity.

The justices on Tuesday rejected an appeal from students who argued that allowing transgender students to use the same facilities violated their right to privacy.

The court’s order leaves in a place a federal appeals court ruling that held the Boyertown School District, about 45 miles northwest of Philadelphia, could continue to allow transgender students the choice of what facilities to use.

The students are represented by the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.

BARTON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 9p.m. Monday in Barton County.

A 2015 Arctic Cat XR 700 ATV driven by Katie Baker, 34, Great Bend, was southbound on Jackson Street in Great Bend, according to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir. The driver failed to stop at the stop sign at 19th Street.  The ATV collided with an eastbound City of Great Bend trash truck  driven by 55-year-old Roberto Hernandez of Great Bend.

Baker sustained serious injuries in the crash, according to Bellendir.. She was taken to the hospital in Great Bend and later transported by aircraft to a Wichita area hospital. She was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday morning, according to Bellendir. Baker was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. Hernandez was not injured.

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

A veteran United States Senator says farmers deserve a trade deal with China and urges the Trump Administration to get back to the negotiating table.

Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He says farmers deserve trade negotiations with China to continue.

“I mean our farmers and ranchers and growers all across this country deserve that,” Roberts tells KFEQ Farm Director Melissa Gregory in a sit-down interview. “We do not deserve being used as a pawn with regards to the discussion between China and the United States or for that matter any country where we have a tariff. You impose a tariff, you immediately have tariff retaliation. Agriculture is the top target and, boom, there you go.”

Roberts says agriculture wants a consistent and predictable trade policy. He says trade with China could greatly increase commodity prices across the board.

Roberts is urging the Trump Administration to get back to the negotiating table with China. Roberts says the suggestion by some to increase federal aid to offset farm trade losses is misguided.

“I don’t think we can make up with regards to price recovery,” Roberts says. “That’s a noble goal. It’s something we’ll take a look at always, but that’s not going to make up the difference with regards to what farmers have experienced,”

Roberts says increased trade with China, and its population of 1.4 billion people, would make a huge difference for American agriculture, boosting commodity prices across the board.

Robert is not pleased that the two sides broke off talks.

“I’ve been somewhat critical with regards to what is going on now, but in terms of the China situation, that could really make the difference,” according to Roberts. “It could be a giant step toward that goal. It would make a difference with virtually every commodity that we have.”

 

K-State weather specialists say wet pattern will persist

K-State Research and Extension 

MANHATTAN – Rainfall patterns that turned lawns and farm fields into unintended ponds and swelled rivers to capacity and beyond are likely to continue into June, according to weather specialists at Kansas State University.

“The persistent pattern has consisted of back and forth movement of a stationary front across the central Plains. This front is separating cold with below-normal temperatures to the north and west and above-normal temperatures to the south and east,” said Chip Redmond, manager of Kansas Mesonet, a system of weather stations across the state that detect and record weather data. “Where the front sets up daily will be the focus for the heaviest flooding rains.”

Because of already saturated soils, Redmond and his colleague, assistant climatologist Mary Knapp, do not expect flooding issues to end in Kansas anytime soon.

“It is almost a guarantee that water control issues will continue into June, if not worsen,” Redmond said. Areas in the central and eastern part of the state have been hit particularly hard.

Springtime temperatures have also been below normal, said Knapp, who added that it’s a trend likely to continue. That will also be a factor in how quickly the soil can dry out.

Beyond June, Knapp and Redmond expect temperatures to warm seasonably but noted that soil surface moisture may increase evaporation/transpiration rates, injecting moisture into the atmosphere. That in turn may result in above average shower and thunderstorm activity.

With ponds and lakes already near or at capacity in some areas, even without more moisture, it is likely to take months before flows return to normal, Knapp said.

“Every rainfall we get in the process will push back that return, possibly substantially,” she said.

More information is available on the Kansas Mesonet website, Office of the State Climatologistwebsite, and in the latest K-State Agronomy eUpdate weekly newsletter.

By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly this week faces a key test of her power to shape the state budget and keep moderate Republicans on her side as the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature prepares to consider overriding her vetoes of spending and tax relief measures.

Lawmakers are set to convene Wednesday to conclude any final business and adjourn for the year. The day is their only chance to enact a Republican tax relief bill and several budget items over vetoes that reflected Kelly’s belief that the measures would create future budget problems.

Republicans have the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to override vetoes, so Kelly needs at least a few moderate GOP defections. The votes will come only a week after skittish moderate Republicans abandoned a push with Democrats for Medicaid expansion, causing a plan backed by Kelly to fail.

“We have to rely on moderate Republicans,” said House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat. “It is a test, and hopefully they will come down on the side of fiscal sanity.”

The tax bill would reduce taxes for individuals and businesses paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. It has near-universal support among Republicans, but Kelly contends the tax reduction — roughly $240 million over three years — would “decimate” the budget. Republicans say that the tax bill is a matter of fairness, preventing a tax hike that came without legislative action.

Kelly also vetoed an extra $51 million payment to the state pension system for teachers and other state workers. She argued that the state should dump the dollars into its cash reserves as a cushion against a future economic downturn.

Republican leaders argue that a long-term gap in funding for the state pension system remains a cloud over the state’s finances so that an extra payment is worth doing.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a conservative Overland Park Republican, said he also suspects Kelly wants to pad the state’s cash reserves now so that she can tap those dollars to cover extra spending later.

“My assumption is she plans to do a lot of deficit spending going forward,” Denning said.

Even with Kelly’s vetoes of several spending items, the budget for the fiscal year beginning in July is more than $18.3 billion. It includes extra funding for public schools, social services, higher education, prisons and pay raises for state workers.

This year’s budget debate was in sharp contrast to spending debates after lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s urging and saw persistent shortfalls follow. Lawmakers reversed most of the tax cuts in 2017 and Kelly ran successfully for governor last year largely against Brownback’s fiscal legacy.

Kelly has cast top Republicans’ pursuit of tax relief this year as a return to Brownback policies, appealing to GOP moderates who helped reverse the Brownback tax cuts. State Rep. Don Hineman, of Dighton, said he and other moderate Republicans are “happy that we seem to be returning to the days of fiscal stability.”

But Hineman said the tax bill appeals to moderates because the state never intended to collect the extra revenue.

“It was a windfall to the state,” Hineman said. “It’s kind of a correction.”

Kansas could face budget problems whether Republicans override Kelly’s tax relief veto or not. Legislative researchers project a $221 million shortfall at the end of June 2022 without the tax relief and a $466 million shortfall if it is enacted, though changes in the economy could make those numbers better or worse.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Six more fatal shootings in the Kansas City area over the Memorial Day weekend have police concerned about the uptick in violence.

The killings occurred between Friday and Sunday and included one man who was killed after struggling with a Kansas City, Missouri, police officer.

Kansas City, Missouri, has recorded 54 homicides this year, up from 48 at the same time a year ago.

Three of the weekend shootings were in Kansas City, Kansas, one in Grandview, Missouri, and two in Kansas City, Missouri.

A suspect in an armed carjacking was shot and killed early Sunday by a Kansas City officer. Police say 30-year-old Terrance Bridges ran from police then resisted arrest when the officer caught up with him. The officer was unhurt.