SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and after asking the public for help to identify and locate two suspects have made two arrests.

Just before 6:00 a.m., Wednesday, police were dispatched to the Kwik Shop located at 1700 SW
Topeka Boulevard in Topeka in reference to an aggravated burglary to a vehicle, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Koenen.

A female suspect reportedly entered the vehicle which was occupied by a passenger. The suspect forced the passenger out of the vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle was located a short time later, unoccupied, near NW Jackson and Crane in Topeka.

On Wednesday, police arrested 28-year-old Samantha R. Stephens and booked her into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery.

The male suspect was interviewed and found to not be related to the case. He was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for multiple felony warrants associated with a separate investigation, according to Koenen.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and asking the public for help to identify and locate two suspects.

Just before 6:00 a.m., Wednesday, police were dispatched to the Kwik Shop located at 1700 SW
Topeka Boulevard in Topeka in reference to an aggravated burglary to a vehicle, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Koenen.

A female suspect reportedly entered the vehicle which was occupied by a passenger. The suspect forced the passenger out of the vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle was located a short time later, unoccupied, near NW Jackson and Crane in Topeka.

Police are attempting to identify two persons of interest in this case and have released security camera images.

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

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A suspect in a Kansas bar shooting that left four dead and five wounded remains on the lam, and authorities are urging witnesses to come forward amid the ongoing manhunt .

Police continued searching Thursday for 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales, more than four days after gunfire erupted early Sunday at the Tequila KC bar in Kansas City, Kansas. Villanueva-Morales and 23-year-old Javier Alatorre are charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Alatorre was arrested hours after the shooting at a home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Alatorre had his first court appearance Thursday in Wyandotte County District Court in Kansas to hear the charges against him, and another hearing was set for Oct. 15. The court clerk’s office said he does not yet have an attorney.

Officer Thomas Tomasic says officers don’t know whether Villanueva-Morales has left the area. He says police are at a “slow point right now as far as information.” Police want to talk to any witnesses who were in the bar but left before officers arrived.

KANSAS CITY(AP) — A Kansas City man has been found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl while recording the crime on her cellphone.

A Platte County jury on Wednesday found 20-year-old Martese Johnson-Winters guilty of first degree rape, first degree sodomy and sexual exploitation of a minor. Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said Johnson-Winters forced the girl to have sex while pointing what she believed to be a gun at her.

Johnson-Winters’ attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on his behalf. Sentencing is set for Dec. 5.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Authorities say a tractor-trailer hauling cattle has overturned on a Kansas City highway, causing several other crashes as more than 40 animals broke free.

The rig flipped around 1 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 29 near the Interstate 635 interchange.

Police say another tractor-trailer and at least one car hit loose cattle. Police say another driver crashed into a police cruiser. No drivers were injured, but traffic was disrupted for hours as crews cleaned up the mess and rounded up the loose cattle.

Police say several head of cattle had to be euthanized at the scene.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man who wore a fake mustache and a hospital mask when he robbed a bank in Overland Park was sentenced today to four years in federal prison, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Steven D. Lavy, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. According to court records, he robbed the Bank of the West at 12080 Blue Valley Parkway in Overland Park on June 21, 2017. During the robbery, he wore a yellow striped polo shirt, khaki pants, a fake mustache, a blue and white hospital mask, a straw hat and sunglasses. He also had his left arm in a sling.

Police spotted his getaway car a few minutes after the robbery and there was a chase during which Lavy drove on sidewalks and twice rammed a police car. Police found the fake mustache on the dashboard of his car when they arrested him.

 

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A 31-year-old Albany, Mo., woman accused of punishing a child by keeping her in a cage and starving her for months has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Jennifer Reed had faced 42 felony charges in the case until she pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

A 52-year-old Albany man, also implicated in the case, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Raymond Burks entered a similar plea deal, getting slightly less than the maximum sentences.

Prosecutors say Reed and Burks abused an 11-year-old girl in their care from July of 2017 through February of last year, handcuffing her to a cage and withholding food as a form of punishment.

A third defendant in the case, Lonnie Johnson, will be sentenced in November.

WICHITA — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a registered sex offender on new charges in Kansas.

According to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, 41-year-old Shawn Richard Seburn of Hutchinson, is charged with one count of transporting child pornography through a Tumblr account via the internet.

The crime is alleged to have occurred in August and September 2018 in Reno County.

Seburn has previous child porn convictions from Illinois in 1999, Missouri in 2007, according to the Kansas offender registry.

If convicted, he could face a sentence of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000, according to McAllister.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —A dog is at a local veterinarian receiving treatment following an incident in which it charged at officers in Topeka, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Koenen.

Just after 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center began receiving reports of a domestic disturbance near SE 10th and Locust.

Police responded to the scene and made contact with an adult male witness. The man had an unleashed dog with him that began to charge at officers. Officers gave multiple commands to stop the charging dog, but it continued. One officer fired his department issued firearm, striking the rear of the dog.

Topeka Police Animal Control officers transported the dog to a local veterinarian for treatment. No officers were injured in the incident. The suspect from the domestic incident has been identified as 18-year-old John B. Bowman III. He was taken into custody at SE 10th and Lawrence and is being booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on domestic battery and criminal damage charges.

HUTCHINSON — The USDA has expanded a recall of chicken, sold at stores nationwide, because of a possible listeria contamination. That includes all Dillons stores in Kansas.

Tip Top Poultry has recalled an undetermined amount of ready-to-eat poultry products that were used in additional products, including possibly being served from a deli counter in grocery stores.

The frozen cooked, diced or shredded, RTE chicken products were produced between Jan. 21 and Sept. 24. The products subject to recall can be found at www.fsis.usda.gov.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions because of consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

By ANDREA TUDHOPE
Kansas News Service

A former high-ranking official of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced Wednesday for misdemeanor battery against a female employee.

Former General Services Director Tib Laughlin faces 12 months of probation, and must attend anger management classes and continued mental health counseling.

After Laughlin’s conviction, UG Public Relations Director Mike Taylor told KCUR that UG officials were surprised by the jury’s verdict, because they had conducted an internal investigation of the incident, and “came to a different conclusion than the jury.”

Waldeck, however, felt that the UG condoned the harassment and physical assault she faced. In August, she sued the Unified Government, saying Laughlin engaged in a pattern and practice of gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and that the UG “failed to discipline” Laughlin, despite Waldeck’s repeated complaints.

Waldeck told KCUR the two years she worked with Laughlin were the “most stressful and heartbreaking of her professional life.” But in her victim impact statement Wednesday, Waldeck said it wasn’t entirely Laughlin’s fault.

“When an animal that hasn’t been trained properly repeatedly has an accident on the carpet, you don’t blame the animal. You blame the owner who didn’t take the time to show the animal there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things,” she said. “The Unified Government failed me. It failed Mr. Laughlin. It failed my family. And it failed our community.”

For his part, Laughlin said in his statement Wednesday that it had become “painfully clear” to him that pushing his employee against a wall was wrong. He made eye contact with and apologized directly to Waldeck, who he called a “valued colleague,” until the judge told him to turn around and address the court.

He called his behavior “stupid, impulsive and obviously wrong.”

“I let down friends, colleagues and myself. They all, especially Maddie, deserve better,” he said.

Waldeck told KCUR after the hearing that she appreciated Laughlin’s apology and that he accepted responsibility for his actions.

“I would like to hope what he said was true,” Waldeck said.

Andrea Tudhope is a reporter in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. Email her at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A computer software engineer accused of plotting cyberattacks on websites criticizing a Wichita attorney’s work has notified the court he plans to change his plea.

A docket notation on Wednesday in U.S. District Court says VIRAL Artificial Intelligence co-founder David Dorsett is set for a change-of-plea hearing on Oct. 21 in Wichita.

Dorsett and Wichita lawyer Bradley Pistotnik pleaded not guilty last year to federal charges of computer fraud and conspiracy. Pistotnik is also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

The indictment alleges that Pistotnik and Dorsett are responsible for cyberattacks on Leagle.com, Ripoffreport.com and JaburgWilk.com in 2014 and 2015. The indictment also accuses Dorsett of filling website inboxes with threats. Court records say one email demands that a webpage be removed or the hackers will target advertisers.

ROELAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A former suburban Kansas City mayor has become the third Republican to kick off a campaign to challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids.

Adrienne Foster announced her campaign this week for the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. Foster served one term as the mayor of Roeland Park, a community of about 6,800, before becoming executive director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission under Republican Govs. Brownback and Jeff Colyer.

During her tenure with the commission, she faced calls for her resignation over comments she made in support of then-candidate Donald Trump.

Also running in the Republican primary is Former National Down Syndrome Society CEO Sarah Hart Weir and Amanda Adkins, a Cerner Corp. executive with political ties to Brownback.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are urging witnesses to a Kansas bar shooting that left four dead and five wounded to come forward as the hunt continues for one of the suspects.

Police continued searching Thursday for Hugo Villanueva-Morales, more than four days after gunfire erupted early Sunday at the Tequila KC bar in Kansas City, Kansas. Villanueva-Morales and 23-year-old Javier Alatorre are charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Alatorre was arrested hours after the shooting at a home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Officer Thomas Tomasic says officers don’t know whether Villanueva-Morales is in the area or has left. He says police are at a “slow point right now as far as information.” Police want to talk to any witnesses who were in the bar but left before officers arrived.