HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson farm implement dealer has been sold along with the company’s four other locations.

KanEquip announced Wednesday that it has acquired Straub International. Straub also has locations in Pratt, Wichita, Salina and Great Bend. With this agreement Case IH authorizes KanEquip to assume responsibility for these markets.

“Straub International has been a reputable supplier in central Kansas for several years.” stated Craig Goff, General Manager, KanEquip. “We are extremely happy to have the Straub employees join our team and to continue and enhance the customer experience they have driven.

Expanding the KanEquip Case IH footprint into central Kansas will be beneficial for all stakeholders: KanEquip, Case IH, Straub’s employees, and our new customers.

Larry Straub, CEO of Straub International, noted that they are excited to pass on their legacy as well as the care and support of their customers to the KanEquip organization.

He stated, “While we remain excited about the prospects for agriculture, we feel this is a very good time for us to move aside with recent industry changes and developments. It was very important for us that we transitioned our operations to a quality organization with a past history of success and a proven track record.

We are confident this will be a good transition for our employees, suppliers and customers. We would like to thank everyone that has supported the Straub organization(s) for the past 50 years and we hope you will give your full support to KanEquip moving forward.”

COWLEY COUNTY — A Kansas woman injured in a mower accident is recovering in a  Wichita hospital.

Just before 1:30p.m. Sunday, sheriff’s deputies and Winfield EMS were dispatched to the 4000 block of 307th Road in Cowley County for the report of a woman trapped under a tractor-mower, according to Sheriff Dave Falletti.

When first responders arrived the woman later identified as 59-year-old Virginia Emmons had been freed from under a large mower and CPR was started.  Eagle Med transported her to Wesley Hospital in Wichita.

The investigation has so far revealed that the mower had become stuck in the mud and another individual used a truck with a chain to pull the mower out.

At some point the mower flipped and Emmons became pinned under it. The sheriff released no update on her condition Wednesday morning.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A former employee of a Kansas mechanical contracting company was sentenced to probation for stealing more than $300,000 in copper piping from work and then selling it to scrap yards.

Matthew Belshe, 42,  Wichita, a former employee of Kruse Corporation, entered a plea to two counts of felony theft, according to a media release from Sedgwick County District Attorney Mark Bennett,

Belshe was accused of unlawfully using funds from his employer to order copper piping, which he then sold to scrap yards. Belshe sold copper piping to the scrap yards for almost four years, from April, 2014 to November, 2017, before the theft was discovered and prosecuted.

Judge Bruce Brown told Belshe on Friday that he could serve 26 months in prison if he failed to be successful on probation, which requires him to make regular payments on the restitution.

Representatives of the Kruse Corporation agreed to probation in the case. The total loss in the case was $338,778.58.

As part of his probation, Belshe must not consume alcohol or drugs. He also was ordered not to participate in gambling and enter into and remain on the Kansas Voluntary Exclusion Program for people with gambling problems through the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has given initial approval to legislation that would block developers of a high-voltage power line from using eminent domain to string it across Missouri.

The bill endorsed Tuesday targets the proposed Grain Belt Express — a 750-mile transmission line that would carry wind power from Kansas across the Midwest to a power grid serving eastern states. A portion of the power also would be sold to municipal utilities in Missouri.

The $2.3 billion project recently received approval from Missouri regulators. That decision could allow developers to use eminent domain to acquire easement rights from landowners unwilling to sell. The legislation seeks to block that.

Chicago-based Invenergy is in the process of trying to acquire the project from Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison in a deadly shooting near Washburn University in Topeka.

Zachary Buck-Schrag likely won’t be eligible for parole until he is at least 71 under the sentence imposed Monday. He was convicted in February of first-degree murder and several other counts in the January 2018 killing of 37-year-old Travis Larsen. The shooting briefly prompted the university to issue an alert asking students to shelter in place.

Buck-Schrag argued the shooting was self-defense. He contended that Larsen and another man threatened him and a friend by flashing an ammunition clip and making unfriendly remarks. Larsen was found suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to the head in a vehicle that had left the roadway.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a Wichita couple whose 3-year-old son was found dead at their mobile home (all times local):

5 p.m.

Prosecutors have filed murder charges against a Wichita couple whose 3-year-old had been dead for days when his body was found in a crib in their mobile home.

The parents of Zaiden Javonovich made their first court appearances Tuesday. His 22-year-old mother, Brandi Kai Marchant, and 28-year-old father, Patrick Janovich, both face five charges.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the charges include first-degree murder with underlying felonies of neglect and abuse, two counts of abuse of a child and aggravated endangerment of a child.

Police last week responding to a domestic disturbance between the parents found the parents walking outside their Wichita home before checking on the children inside where the found the older boy’s body. A 4-month-old boy who was taken from their home Thursday in critical condition is improving.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Child welfare authorities had received abuse reports about a Wichita couple whose 3-year-old son was found dead in a crib at their mobile home where a baby also was found in critical condition, according to police.

Capt. Brent Allred provided no details Monday on the Kansas Department for Children and Families’ involvement with the family of Zaiden Javonovich, whom investigators believe had been dead for days before his body was found. The welfare agency, which has been under fire after other child deaths, declined to comment while it’s investigating the case.

Although welfare officials had received reports, police officers hadn’t received such reports before finding the child’s body Thursday while responding to a domestic disturbance at the home. Police encountered Zaiden’s parents — 28-year-old Patrick Javonovich and 22-year-old Brandi Marchant — as they walked back to the home.

Inside, officers found Zaiden’s body wrapped in a blanket in a crib. Allred said Zaiden suffered “obvious injuries,” but he didn’t elaborate.

Officers also found an injured 4-month-old boy, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Allred said the baby is improving.

“It’s shocking to see adults treat their kids in the way these two were treated,” Allred said. “It’s, I say, pathetic, because that’s what it is.”

The parents are jailed on $200,000 bonds on suspicion of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. Sedgwick County prosecutor’s office spokesman Dan Dillon said he expects a judge would appoint the couple an attorney when they make a first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

The home, where the family had lived for a couple months, had food and no signs of drug use, police said. Allred said Marchant has two other children but doesn’t have custody of them. Javonovich has one other child who sometimes visits on weekends.

The Wichita area has seen several child abuse homicides. The victims include 3-year-old Evan Brewer, whose body was found encased in concrete, and 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez, whose body was found under a rural bridge months after he went missing.

The agency had extensive involvement with both children before their deaths. While campaigning last year, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly repeatedly described problems in the child welfare system as among the most pressing the state faces. Lawmakers now are consideringincreasing funding to add more child welfare workers

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say child welfare authorities had received abuse reports about a Wichita couple whose 3-year-old had been dead for days when his body was found in a crib in their mobile home.

Capt. Brent Allred says an autopsy will determine the cause of death for Zaiden Javonovich, whose parents Patrick Javonovich and Brandi Machant were booked into jail last week on suspicion of murder.

Police also say a 4-month-old boy who was taken from their home Thursday in critical condition is improving.

Police responding to a domestic disturbance first encountered the parents as they walked back to the home. Police said they hadn’t received abuse reports and provided no details on the Kansas Department for Children and Families’ involvement with the family.

The agency won’t release additional details while it’s investigating.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two men have been charged in an 11-year-old home invasion killing in Kansas City, Kansas.

Prosecutors announced Monday that 29-year-old Corey Mason, of Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with first-degree murder and 35-year-old Daniel Kidwell, of Kansas City, Missouri, with second-degree murder in the death of Jeff Rogers. The 25-year-old victim called 911 after the April 2008 home invasion.

The Kansas City Star reports that Rogers was suffering from gunshot and knife wounds when officers arrived and died later at a hospital. Police said at the time that four or five men had broken into his home and beat, shot and stabbed him.

The filing of charges comes shortly after officials asked for tips in the cold case.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just after 1:30p.m. Tuesday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Dodge passenger vehicle driven by Snell, SaraKay Snell, 36, Lansing, was southbound on Kansas 5 just north of Marxen Road.

The vehicle traveled off the roadway to the right. The driver overcorrected, traveled southbound in the northbound lane, lost control of the vehicle and struck and tree to the west of the road.

Snell and a passenger Calob Crow, 19, Lansing, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has rejected a move by Spirit Boeing Employees Association seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed by a Muslim aerospace engineer alleging discrimination stemming from a party at a Kansas lake.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled Tuesday that there remains a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Munir Zanial’s rights were violated on the basis of race, religion or national origin.

The Malaysian national of Indian ancestry rented a pavilion at the group’s lake in 2017 to celebrate Malaysian Independence Day. The lawsuit alleges the association suspended his rental privileges and reported him to authorities.

It alleged an American flag had been desecrated by Islamic State group symbols. But the flag was actually a Malaysian flag and the guests included people of Malaysian Indian ancestry, some wearing hijabs.

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By TOM SHINE

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of a Wichita man who said he was targeted because he is Muslim and was falsely accused of flying a terrorist flag.

The ACLU said in a news release Monday that it filed a complaint against the Spirit/Boeing Employees’ Association, or SBEA, on behalf of Munir Zanial, who works at Spirit AeroSystems.

SBEA is a member-owned nonprofit open to current or former Spirit and Boeing employees, according to its website. It is not affiliated with Spirit AeroSystems.

The complaint says an SBEA employee reported to Spirit’s security team that Zanial and people in “Muslim garb” had held an ISIS meeting in September 2017 on SBEA property. SBEA later revoked Zainal’s right to use the group’s property.

Zanial said the gathering was to celebrate an Islamic holiday and Malaysia’s independence day.

Trish Pulliam, SBEA’s executive director, said Monday the group had not received any paperwork regarding the complaint. She said without knowing the details outlined in the complaint, she could not comment.

Zanial has lived in Wichita since 2011, according to the court filing. He earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Wichita State University and is a senior stress engineer at Spirit.

He is a native of Malaysia and a permanent resident of the United States.

“To label someone a terrorist due to their appearance and their celebration of their heritage is shameful, but to continue to use that mislabel as grounds for blatant discrimination — even after it had been discredited by the FBI — is downright reprehensible,” Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in a statement.

In the complaint filed in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., Zanial alleges the following took place:

He had rented SBEA’s recreational lake in south Wichita on Sept. 2, 2017, to celebrate Eid-Al Adhara — a Muslim holy day — and Malaysian independence day with about 45 guests.

An SBEA employee reported the gathering to Spirit’s security team, saying Zanial may be affiliated with radical Islamic terrorism and used the property to hold an ISIS meeting.

The employee also reported that an American flag had been “desecrated by ISIS insignia” and that people at the property were wearing “Muslim garb.”

Spirit forwarded the report to the FBI, which determined the desecrated flag actually was the national flag of Malaysia. After talking with Zanial, the FBI closed its investigation shortly after receiving the complaint.

Zanial said he continued to pay membership dues to SBEA — about $14 a month — but was told in January 2018 when he tried to rent a pavilion that his membership rights had been restricted.

Zanial is seeking to have his membership restored. He also is seeking damages from SBEA and payment of his attorneys’ fees.

Tom Shine is the director of news and public affairs KMUW, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @thomaspshine.  Stephan Bisaha contributed to this report.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 52-year-old Wyandotte County Sheriff’s deputy has been charged with sexual crimes involving a victim under 14.

District Attorney Mark Dupree said Wednesday that Michael Mastel is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count each of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy.

Dupree says the investigation began last year when the child came forward. He says Mastel knew the child but not through his work as a deputy.

Sheriff Donald Ash said Mastel is on leave without pay. Mastel has worked at the sheriff’s office since 2010.

The sodomy is alleged to have occurred in 2011 or 2012. The rape and the sexual exploitation allegedly occurred between March and June of 2018.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Mastel has an attorney.

PAWNEE COUNTY —On MondayAnthony Ruiz-Hernandez, 22 of Topeka, appeared in the Pawnee County District Court for sentencing and entered a guilty plea to one count of attempted first-degree murder in exchange for the State’s dismissal of two counts of conspiracy to commit first degree murder and one count of aggravated battery, according to a media release.

The charge stems from two patient-on-patient attacks on October 22, 2018, that occurred at the Isaac Ray Building on the campus of Larned State Hospital (LSH). Two patients sustained great bodily harm requiring transport to outside medical facilities. One of the patient’s injuries were life-threatening at the time due to severe head trauma. All individuals involved were at LSH at the time for forensic evaluations related to out of county criminal charges. Ruiz-Hernandez told investigators the attacks were done in part to gain standing in a prison gang.

Following statements by counsel, District Judge Bruce Gatterman sentenced Ruiz-Hernandez to the standard sentence of 620 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections and further ordered the defendant to register for a period of 15 years as a violent offender following his release from custody. By law he can earn up to 15% good-time credit.

Ruiz-Hernandez is currently being housed in the Shawnee County Adult Detention Center awaiting sentencing on four counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement with a deadly weapon.

Co-defendant Andres Gustavo Barrientos, 24 of Leavenworth, plead not guilty on March 14, 2019. He is being housed in the Leavenworth County Jail on local charges.

BARBER COUNTY — Five people were injured in an accident just before 7a.m. Tuesday in Barber County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Shawn Edwin Read, 44, Hazleton, was northbound on Tri-City Road at Crooked Post Road five and a half miles south of U.S.160.

The vehicle traveled off the road to the right as it rotated counterclockwise, crossed both lanes, entered the west ditch and rolled.

Read and passengers Victoria Alize Roberts, 4; Trinity Leeann Roberts, 9; Gerald Henry Constantine, 13 and Alexander Michael Constantine, 11, all of Hazleton, were transported to the hospital in Medicine Lodge. None of the occupants of the pickup were wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

OFFICE OF GOV.

TOPEKA – In an effort to expand and improve voting opportunities in Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly signed House Substitute for Senate Bill 130 Monday afternoon, amending the law concerning advance ballots, signature requirements and polling places.

“Over the past decade, we have seen countless efforts aimed at making voting more difficult in this state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I hope this will be the first of many laws that help ensure that every voice is heard in our democratic process and that every vote is counted.”

House Substitute for Senate Bill 130 will give county election officials the discretion to allow all registered voters to cast their ballot at any polling place in their county on election day. It also requires county election officers to attempt to contact each voter who submitted an advance voting ballot without a signature or with a signature that does not match the signature on file. The voter will be allowed to correct their signature before the commencement of the final tallying of votes in that county.

“This law is about local control and protecting every vote,” Kelly said. “I applaud all of the local and state officials who worked together to make this law a reality, especially those in Sedgwick County who were the driving force behind it.”

This brings the total number of bills signed in the 2019 Legislative Session to 37, with one being vetoed. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign bills into law, veto bills or allow bills to become law without her signature.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill that requires election officials to notify voters before their mail-in ballots are thrown out because of signature problems.

An Associated Press analysis of rejected ballots in the 2018 primary in the state’s most populous county found that 153 mail-in ballots were not counted because of signatures that didn’t match county voting records.

Then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach defeated then-Gov. Jeff Colyer for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in that race by only 343 votes. The close Republican primaryhighlighted differences in how Kansas counties handled mail-in ballots.

The legislationKelly signed Monday gives voters an additional week or longer to provide a signature.