WICHITA, KAN. – A federal jury Tuesday convicted a Wichita doctor of unlawfully distributing prescription drugs, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Henson-photo Sedgwick Co.
Dr. Steven R. Henson, 57, Wichita, who operated Kansas Men’s Clinic at 3636 N. Ridge Road in Wichita, was convicted on the following counts:Conspiracy to distribute prescription drugs outside the course of medical practice (Counts 1 and 2).Unlawfully distributing oxycodone (Counts 3 through 15)Unlawfully distributing oxycodone, methadone and alprazolam (Count 16).Unlawfully distributing methadone and alprazolam, the use of which resulted in the deathof a victim on July 24, 2015, identified in court records as N.M. (Count 17) Presenting false patient records to investigators (Count 19).Obstruction of justice (Count 20)Money laundering (Counts 26 through 31).
Henson was registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense prescription controlled substances. His registered addresses included the Wichita Men’s Clinic and a location at 1861 N. Rock Road, Suite 201.
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Henson:Wrote prescriptions in return for cash. Post-dated prescriptions. Wrote prescriptions without a medical need. Wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical exam. Wrote prescriptions for people other than the ones who came to see him.
He faces the following penalties:
Counts 1-16: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million on each count.
Count 17: Not less than 20 years and not more than life and a fine up to $1 million.
Count 19: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Count 20: A maximum penalty of one year and a fine up to $100,000.
Counts 26-31: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000 on each count.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced Monday to 110 months in federal prison for prying open a display case and stealing guns from a local store, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Aaron-photo Butler Co.
Chaelyn Nichole Aaron, 28, Wichita, pleaded guilty of one count of theft of firearms. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred March 28, 2018, at an Atwoods store at 6235 N. Broadway in Wichita.
Aaron went into the store and used a small red crowbar to pry open a display case. She took seven handguns from the case and left the store. According to documents filed in court, she gave the guns to a drug dealer to pay off her debt.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and have a suspect in custody.
Kane -photo Shawnee Co.
Just after 2a.m. October 9, officers responded to 2930 SE Highland CT in Topeka on a report of a robbery to an individual, Lt. Manuel Munoz. The victim reported being struck on the head by several subjects and they stole his car keys and then drove away in his gold Honda Accord.
Officers quickly located the car traveling westbound at SE 6th and Lafayette and attempted to stop it. Several occupants took off running from the vehicle and were last seen running east through the neighborhood.
Officers quickly set up a perimeter and a K9 unit was brought in to assist. Officers took a juvenile female into custody at the intersection of SE 6th and Locust. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment with non-life threatening injuries.
Just after 9:30p.m. Monday, officers following up on information from detectives, located 18-year-old Anthony Marquise Kane in connection with the robbery. He was booked into Shawnee County Department of corrections for one count of aggravated robbery.
A woman less than halfway into her five-year prison sentence walked free in Texas on Monday after a federal judge ruled her constitutional rights had been violated when a federal prosecutor at the Leavenworth Detention Center listened to her phone calls with her attorneys.
Michelle Reulet was detained at the Leavenworth Detention Center, pictured here, where her calls with her attorneys were recorded. photo by DAN MARGOLIES
Michelle Reulet, of Montgomery, Texas, was 37 years old when she was sentenced in 2017. She and a co-defendant owned a business, Bully Wholesale, in the Houston area. The government alleged the company illegally sold designer drugs marketed as incense, potpourri and shoe deodorizer.
Reulet was charged with drug-related crimes and pleaded guilty in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, in January 2017 to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. She was expected to be released from the federal prison in Bryan, Texas, in September 2020.
“No words,” said Reulet’s attorney, Melanie Morgan, after speaking to her client following her release. “Just tears of relief and joy.”
In a statement, Stephen McAllister, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said the revelations about one of his prosecutors eavesdropping on Reulet’s conversations with her attorneys “were not previously known to the leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s office.”
“In light of those facts, and given the relatively short time remaining on Ms. Reulet’s sentence, we believed the best choice to serve the ends of justice was not to opposed the public defender’s motion to amend Ms. Reulet’s sentence to time served,” McAllister said.
Reulet’s case is the latest instance of a defendant’s sentence being reduced as a result of evidence that federal prosecutors eavesdropped on recordings of attorney-client phone calls made at the Leavenworth Detention Center. Reulet was detained there after she was indicted and taken into custody.
The owner and operator of the prison, CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) routinely recorded outgoing inmate calls, including calls with their attorneys that were supposed to be off limits.
That disclosure more than two years ago provoked outrage among defense attorneys, who have been pressing ever since to find out whether and to what extent federal prosecutors may have been privy to the calls.
Treadway, who had been subpoenaed to testify by the public defender, did not deny that she had listened in on the recordings. Rather, she said they were not privileged or did not concern Reulet’s drug case or weren’t “important.”
After her testimony, Treadway moved to supplement the record with documents that are currently under seal, claiming they were “necessary for a fair and balanced review” of the issues before the court. Without those documents, Treadway wrote, the issues would be “forever mired in mischaracterization and misunderstanding, untethered to their proper context.”
Since the documents remain sealed – the judge has yet to rule – it’s not known what light they might shed on Treadway’s actions.
After Treadway testified, the Federal Public Defender moved for permission from the court to disclose her handwritten notes “to the appropriate disciplinary authorities.” Although Treadway wasn’t named in the motion, the context made it clear the public defender was referring to her.
Reulet had several attorneys, including a family law practitioner in Texas who represented her in a child custody battle after Reulet was indicted and taken into custody. Treadway appears to have eavesdropped on conversations between Reulet and that attorney in addition to conversations with her other attorneys.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
JACKSON COUNTY — A woman allegedly facing charges for a triple-fatal Kansas crash who skipped a court appearance was captured by U.S. Marshals Tuesday morning in Nebraska, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse.
Perez-Marquez -photo Jackson County
On October 11, Maria Perez-Marquez, 49, Omaha, was charged in Kansas with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and reckless driving for the November 2017 crash near Holton that killed the mother, sister and uncle of two Kansas high school football players shortly after the family watched the boys’ Sabetha team win a state football championship. Two other people were injured.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance from the U.S. Marshals to locate Perez-Marquez. Perez-Marquez who was arrested on a no bond Jackson County District Court warrant, is being transported to the Douglas County Jail in Omaha, Nebraska and will be awaiting an extradition hearing, according to Morse.
Authorities did not released details on the arrest.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for an alleged attack on a woman.
Erives-photo Saline Co.
A Salina woman initially reported a weekend domestic dispute was only verbal, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.
She later reported 39-year-old Abel Erives grabbed her around the neck, lifted her off the floor and attempted to strangle her. She also reported that prior to police arriving for the initial call, Erives told her what to tell police when they arrived, according to Forrester.
A medical evaluation indicated the woman’s injuries were consistent with being strangled, according to Forrester.
Police arrested Ervies on requested charges that include aggravated domestic battery and intimidation of a witness to prevent reporting.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office says an investigation into the shooting death of a 41-year-old woman has been presented to prosecutors.
Investigators at the scene of the fatal shooting in June-photo courtesy KWCH
Lisa Trimmell was shot in June 2018 at her home near Andover. Investigators have said Trimmell’s two sons, ages 14 and 22, were visiting when she was shot. A sheriff’s report says evidence indicates one of the sons shot his mother.
The shooting occurred about a month after her husband filed for divorce.
The sheriff’s office said Monday the case has been turned over to the county prosecutor’s office but no arrests have been made. An autopsy concluded her death was a homicide.
Previous reports indicates that prosecutors are trying to determine whether the shooting was justified or a crime.
TOPEKA– A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to 40 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a stolen gun, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
Glasscox-photo Shawnee Co.
Robert M. Glasscox, 47, Topeka, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a stolen firearm. The investigation began when a Topeka police officer stationed in a parking lot at 2622 S.E. 6th Avenue heard three gunshots nearby.
When he stopped Glasscox’s car, he found two spent shell casings and a box of ammunition in the car. Investigators found a third spent shell casing at the corner of 6th and Golden, which was identical to the spent casings in Glasscox’s car.
Investigators found a 9 mm handgun at S.E. 10th Avenue and California, near where Glasscox was stopped. The ammunition in the gun was identical to the spent shell casings and the ammunition in Glasscox’s car. The gun had been reported stolen.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials say several changes should decrease the time people spend renewing their driver’s licenses.
Starting Tuesday, people ages 21-50 can renew licenses through the Department of Revenue’s iKan mobile app and online here.
The department said in a news release Monday that people who want a Real Id must go into a driver’s license office but the state plans to eventually make that process available through the iKan app.
The department also has updated its KanLicense software program, which should decrease processing time.
And most driver’s license offices in Kansas will be open longer, starting next week. Most offices are adding Monday service and will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Offices will still have the option to open on Saturdays during peak times.
KANSAS CITY (AP) – A man whose excessive flatulence forced a police detective to cut shot an interrogation has pleaded guilty to federal gun and drug charges.
Sykes -photo Mo. Dept. of Corrections
Sean Sykes Jr., 25, entered the plea Monday. The charges stem from a police traffic stop in September in Kansas City, Missouri, in which officers found a backpack with drugs and guns. Sykes was a passenger in the vehicle.
A detective reported that when asked for his address, Sykes “leaned to one side of his chair and released a loud fart before answering.” Court documents say Sykes “continued to be flatulent” and the detective was forced to quickly end the interview.
Sykes will be sentenced at later date, after a pre-sentence report is completed.
GEARY COUNTY —A Kansas man avoided injury in a small plane mishap just after 6:30p.m. Monday in Geary County.
Location of Monday’s airplane mishap-google map
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Zenith 601XL airplane piloted by Mark A. Gorman, 67, Junction City took off from the Junction City Airport.
At approximately 2500 feet elevation the aircraft’s bubble canopy came open. The pilot was not able to maintain flight elevation and landed in the corn stubble just south of the intersection at Crider Road and Old U.S. 40.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A Northern California judge has upheld a jury’s verdict finding Monsanto’s weed killer caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, but she slashed his $289 million award to $78 million.
Roundup, the Monsanto brand name pesticide built on the chemical glyphosate, is used on farm fields and on lawns and gardens. FILE: by GRANT GERLOCK / courtesy HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos ruled Monday
A San Francisco jury’s August verdict included $250 million in punitive damages, which the judge said was too high. She reduced the punitive damages to $39 million, matching the jury’s underlying damage award.
Jurors found Monsanto purposely ignored warnings and evidence that its popular Roundup product caused DeWayne Johnson’s lymphoma.
In a tentative ruling on Oct. 11, Bolanos said she was considering wiping out the punitive damage award because there appeared to be no evidence presented at trial that Monsanto employees ignored evidence that the weed killer caused cancer.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.
Pardue-photo Sedgwick County
Just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday, police responded to an unknown call for EMS at the Relax Inn, 2232 S. Broadway in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival, Officers located a 25-year-old female with a laceration to her neck. Officers also found 26-year old Teka Pardue armed with a knife. She dropped the knife and was taken into custody without incident.
The investigation revealed Pardue and the victim got into a verbal argument, and Pardue stabbed the victim one time. EMS transported the victim to an area hospital in critical, according to Davidson.
Police arrested Pardue on charges of attempted 1st degree murder, aggravated weapons violation and possession of drug paraphernalia. The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office.
Perdue has a previous drug conviction in Harvey County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
