SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating what was initially believed to be an aggravated battery.

Just after 7 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a residence in the 300 block of SW Harrison in Topeka on the report of an aggravated battery, according to Lt. John Trimble.

Upon arrival, officers located one victim who suffered what appears to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. Late Saturday, investigators determine the shooting was an accidental, self-inflicted discharge of a firearm by the victim, according to Major Scott Gilchrist with Topeka Police. Name of the victim has not been released.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas man who fatally shot an argumentative robbery victim has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Twenty-seven-year-old Danzel Reese of Kansas City was sentenced Thursday for involuntary manslaughter and first-degree robbery in the 2010 fatal shooting of Lance Rutter.

One witness told police the original plan was to rob a drug dealer. But when the dealer didn’t show up, the witness returned to a vehicle, where he got a call from Reese saying he was “just gonna rob anybody.”

The witness says he then saw Reese point a handgun at two people on a porch and fire once.

The surviving victim told police that he handed his wallet to one suspect, who then took off running. The man said Rutter was shot when he argued with the other suspect.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend vehicle crash that may have been a suicide attempt.

Just after 11:15 a.m., police responded to a rollover accident at Kellogg and Edwards in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

A 2010 white Ford F250 was westbound on Kellogg in the center lane being driven by a 19-year-old woman and occupied by a 15-year-old male passenger.

Without warning or reason, the truck veered hard to the right and crashed into the concrete barrier over Edwards, causing the truck to flip on its side and slide to a stop. EMS transported both occupants to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

When medical crews contacted the occupants, the woman was unconscious, and the boy made comments of wanting to harm himself. Through further investigation, it was learned the boy and woman grabbed the steering wheel of the truck together and turned it abruptly, in an apparent suicide attempt.

RENO COUNTY — For the second day in a row, the Hutchinson Fire Department was on the scene of a grass fire.

On Sunday, crews responded to the 3300 block of 95th for a grass fire. According to HFD, all units were on the scene and battling strong northerly winds.

There is no word yet on any damage or evacuations.

On Saturday firefighters battled a large fire that started in the 5200 block of East 4th Avenue. The fire spread quickly and passed 17th Avenue before being brought under control. Crews worked to save several homes in the East 17th Avenue area, but an out building was lost in the fire.

Officials did not report any injuries. More than 30 fire units were called to help fight the fire.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The head of a giant private prison company says his firm is prepared for the “worst case scenario” should a Democratic presidential candidate win the 2020 election and attempt to abolish private involvement in the prison sector.

CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger addressed such a potential scenario in the company’s latest earnings conference call last week when asked about the number of top Democratic presidential candidates who favor ending federal private prisons. He said Tennessee-based CoreCivic remains upbeat that the company would continue to earn money in such a scenario and noted the federal government currently does not have the infrastructure to house inmates without relying on private facilities.

“In worst case scenario, knowing half our business is with the states, nothing is going to change,” Hininger later said in a Friday phone interview with The Associated Press, echoing comments he made on the earnings call.

On the call, he said CoreCivic had reported $509 million in earnings for the third quarter.

He said that CoreCivic would still earn money should the federal government ever end its contract, saying his company would be able to sell or lease its real estate if that were to occur — stressing that such an effort would likely take years to phase-out and approval from Congress on appropriating enough funding to build new facilities and resources.

The company operates 51 correctional and detention facilities including the Leavenworth Detention Center in northeast Kansas. They own 44 with a total capacity of roughly 73,000 beds. This has resulted in the company becoming the largest private owner of real estate used by U.S. government agencies.

“We think that an option could be if there is a big push not only at federal but at state level to eliminate use of the private sector to provide real estate and services,” Hininger said. “That maybe the option that they ask us to consider is to either buy our existing assets or capacity or lease our facilities.”

Top private prison firms across the country have been closely watching the growing backlash from the top Democratic presidential contenders — ranging from former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who strongly favor ending federal private prisons.

These companies recently formed an advocacy group known as the Day 1 Alliance to rebut the criticism. Meanwhile, unease in the industry continues to linger about negative public opinion on private prisons.

For example, in a recent SEC filing, Florida-based GEO Group noted that resistance to private prisons “could result in our inability to obtain new contracts or the loss of existing contracts, impact our ability to obtain or refinance debt financing or enter into commercial arrangements.”

Hininger also added on the call that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals do not own or operate any detention centers, making them reliant on private companies like CoreCivic to house detainees. But even if the federal government became opposed to privatization, Hininerg said state governments are increasingly showing more interest in the area.

“In the last two years, we’ve had contracts with Ohio, Vermont, Wyoming, South Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky. These are states with both Democratic and Republican governors, both ends of the spectrum,” Hininerg told AP on Friday. “They’ve engaged us with solutions and I don’t see that changing.”

CoreCivic’s involvement with ICE, however, has come under fire from the left as one of two private companies that operate migrant detention centers for ICE. According to CoreCivic’s financial statements, ICE detention accounted for 25 percent of the company’s $1.8 billion in total revenue in 2018.

CoreCivic has defended contracting with ICE by countering that it doesn’t run facilities for immigrant children separated from parents, but it does have ones that detain adult immigrants, as well as one center that houses migrant mothers and their children together.

In 2016, then President Barack Obama’s administration announced the Federal Bureau of Prisons would no longer use private prisons and unveiled a plan to phase-out of the contracts. That decision was quickly overturned after President Donald Trump took office.

KANSAS CITY  (AP) — The University of Missouri-Kansas City says the removal of a controversial work of art from the school’s fine arts building display was long planned and not a response to complaints.

The work is a statement on the current unrest in Hong Kong and features a depiction of an altered, torn Chinese flag, with yellow stars arranged to form a swastika. On the image is written “#CHINAZI.” The other half of the image depicts a yellow raincoat and gas mask with the words “FREE HONG KONG.”

Chinese students complained Thursday to the art department and asked that the piece be removed.

It was removed, but the university said Friday in a statement that student artwork is displayed on three-week cycles, and the piece had already been set for removal on Thursday.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 43-year-old Kansas City man previously freed from prison in a case of mistaken identity is facing a possible return to confinement after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm.

Richard Anthony Jones pleaded guilty Thursday. He wasn’t allowed to have weapons because of prior felony convictions for burglary and robbery.

Jones was released from prison in 2017 after his conviction for snatching a woman’s purse at a Kansas Walmart in 1999 was overturned, in what became known as the “ doppelganger case.” Supporters said another man, who looked like Jones, was the likely robber. Kansas paid Jones $1 million in 2018 for his wrongful imprisonment.

Prosecutors say officers found handguns on Jones during two confrontations in February and March. Jones faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

BY DAN MARGOLIES
Kansas News Service

The two operators of about a dozen well-known Kansas City restaurants sought bankruptcy protection within days of one another, with both saying the restaurants will remain open for business.

On Saturday, Bread & Butter Concepts LLC, which owns and operates Gram & Dun on the Country Club Plaza, Urban Table in Prairie Village and the Stock Hill steak restaurant just south of the Plaza, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Kansas. And on Thursday, HRI Holding Corp., which owns Leawood-based Houlihan’s Restaurants Inc., a casual dining chain, filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware.

Houlihan’s operates 47 restaurants, including Houlihan’s, J. Gilbert’s and Bristol Seafood Grill, in Kansas, Missouri and 12 other states. The company was founded in 1992 and is owned by affiliates of York Capital Management, an investment management company that bought Houlihan’s about three years ago.

Houlihan’s plans to sell its assets to Landry’s LLC, a Houston-based restaurant group, for $40 million, according to its bankruptcy filing. Landry’s made a “stalking horse” bid for Houlihan’s, establishing a floor for other offers that might emerge.

In a court filing, Houlihan’s chief restructuring officer, Matthew Manning, attributed the filing to “various industry headwinds,” including senior management changes, expensive leases and a tight labor market.

Coincidentally, the founder and CEO of Bread & Butter Concepts, Alan L. Gaylin, is a former Houlihan’s executive. The two bankruptcy filings were unrelated, although the same industry headwinds may have been a factor in Bread & Butter’s filing.

Bread & Butter ran into lease problems recently with The Oliver, another restaurant it operated on the Plaza. After negotiations for a new lease with the Plaza’s owner fell apart, the restaurant closed earlier this year.

The company’s bankruptcy attorney, Sharon Stolte, said Bread & Butter’s current restaurants, along with its separate catering service, event venue and Happy Belly Food Truck, will remain open while Bread & Butter seeks to restructure its debts.

“Our plans are to reorganize and to do it as quickly as possible,” she said.

Bread & Butter got its start nearly a decade ago when it opened BRGR Kitchen + Bar in Prairie Village. It recently sold its various BRGR restaurants, as well as its Taco Republic restaurant, to the parent company of Louie’s Wine Dive.

In a declaration filed with the bankruptcy court, Gaylin said two of his business partners, both Texas residents, suffered financial reverses in the oil industry and were no longer able to fund Bread & Butter’s losses or underwrite its losses.

Bread & Butter listed about $4.1 million in assets and $5.1 million in liabilities.

In a statement, the company said, “We have every intention of coming out on the other side a much stronger company, and one that will be in Kansas City for another ten years and beyond. We will continue to operate as usual with no interruptions to our service, or our continuing commitment to our customers.”

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

BROWN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after midnight Saturday in Brown County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Toyota Corolla driven by Andrew O. Kreek, 17, Hiawatha, was traveling at a high rate of speed on Horned Owl Road at U.S. 36. The driver lost control of the vehicle. It left the roadway on the left side, traveled into the ditch, went airborne, made one rotation across U.S. 36 into the ditch and landed on its top.

Passenger Ian M. Miller 16, Hiawatha, was pronounced dead at the scene.

EMS transported Kreek and passengers Navaeh Dishmang, 15 and Gabriel Corbett, 18, both of Hiawatha, to KU Medical Center. EMS transported passenger Andrew Timothy Woods, 19, to the Hiawatha Hospital.

They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a carjacking that left one man dead and have a suspect in custody.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a carjacking call in the area of Lincoln and Woodlawn in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival, officers contacted 40-year-old Travis Shaw who had called 911. Police then located a 42-year-old male victim in the front yard of a residence in the 900 block of South Mission, underneath a 2006 white Chrysler 300 in critical condition. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Davidson.

Officers and investigators begin speaking with witnesses and reviewing evidence, which led them to arrest Shaw for one count of 2nd-degree murder.

This was not a random incident, and Shaw and the victim know each other, according to Davidson. Police have not released the victim’s name.

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

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 20-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a man was thrown from his pickup truck while it swerved on Interstate 435.

Skylar Waddell is also charged with leaving the scene of an accident after the Wednesday death of 48-year-old Steven Norris.

Norris’ wife told police her husband’s truck was on the shoulder of the interstate because it had a flat tire. When a man took off in the truck, Norris clung to the bed rail. He fell from the truck when it swerved into the median, struck the cable barrier and crashed.

The truck driver, later identified by witnesses as Waddell, fled on foot and was later taken into custody.

Court records don’t name an attorney for Waddell.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City-area lawmaker who made headlines by switching to the Democratic Party last year is seeking the state Senate seat of another lawmaker who did the same thing.

Four-term state Rep. Stephanie Clayton of Overland Park announced Friday that she would run next year for the seat held by Democratic state Sen. Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills.

Bollier is Democrats’ leading candidate for the U.S. Senate next year and is not seeking re-election to the Legislature.

Both Clayton and Bollier were elected as state lawmakers as moderate Republicans but switched parties in December. Clayton cited her dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump as a factor.

Clayton’s decision sets up a Democratic primary in Bollier’s district. Former Kansas Democratic Party Executive Director Ethan Corson of Fairway announced his candidacy in October.

KANSAS CITY,(AP) — President Donald Trump has announced plans to nominate the executive director the Kansas City Public Library to lead a little-known independent federal agency that the White House has tried to shutter.

Crosby Kemper III will become director of the Institute of Museum of Library Sciences, pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Trump’s federal budget proposals for the last three years have sought to close the agency, which has an annual budget of about $242 million. The agency is tasked with supporting the nation’s museums and libraries with research, policy and grants.

On Thursday, Kemper said he was under orders from the White House not to comment. The American Library Association and Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt have praised Kemper’s nomination in written statements.