SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery suspect and have released a description and security camera images of the suspect.  On Thursday morning, police responded to report of a robbery at the Walgreens at 37th and SW Topeka Boulevard, according to Lt. Chris Heaven.

A suspect described as a Hispanic male 20-30’s, 5-foot-6, slender build, wearing a grey short sleeved shirt and a knee brace on his right knee entered the business. and took money from the till.

The suspect had a handgun tucked in his waistband and was last seen getting into a dark grey 2000’s Nissan Maxima leaving south from the business. No injuries were reported.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 23-year-old Romanian man in the United States illegally pleaded guilty to placing skimming devices on  ATMs in Kansas and Missouri.

The devices are used to illegally obtain PINS and debit card numbers from people who use the machines. They then transfer the numbers into gift cards.

David Velcu pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of counterfeit or unauthorized access devices.

He was arrested in April after police discovered the devices on ATMs at QuikTrips in Olathe, Kansas, and Riverside, Missouri.

Federal prosecutors said investigators recovered 15 unauthorized access devices, and 78 “re-encoded” magnetic strip gift cards, when Velcu was arrested.

Authorities said Velcu entered the U.S. from Mexico last year.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report shows Kansas plans to spend more than $4.6 million in election grants to tighten cyber-security, modernize voting equipment, audit elections and safeguard voter rolls.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission released on Thursday the Kansas plan for its share of the $380 million allocated by Congress to strengthen voting systems amid ongoing threats from Russia and others.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told the commission that about half of its grant would be spent on cyber-security efforts at all levels of election administration. He said the state will supplement existing staff with outside experts.

Nearly $1.07 million is slated to ensure every voting machine in Kansas has a paper audit trail.

The remaining funds would be used to better secure the voter registration system and audit elections.

MINNEAPOLIS –  A  man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after being convicted by a jury of first degree murder and related crimes, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Robert Willard Colson, 35, of Bucksport, Maine, was sentenced by Judge Rene Young to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

In June, an Ottawa County jury found Colson guilty of one count of first-degree felony murder, two counts of felony theft and one count of burglary. The charges stemmed from the 2017 death of Matthew Miles Schoshke in rural Ottawa County.

The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies in Maine, Colorado and California. Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case with assistance from Ottawa County Attorney Richard Buck.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a Kansas agency of failing to properly investigate complaints that a high-ranking official offered her a job in exchange for sex and sent her a sexually explicit video of him.

Jennifer Gill filed the lawsuit earlier this month against the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services. Gill worked for Equi-Venture Farms, which provides disability services.

The lawsuit accuses Brandt Haehn of soliciting sex from Gill in exchange for a job in 2016 . Haehn was the department’s commissioner of in-home and community services. He’s no longer employed by the state.

Gill alleges she reported Haehn’s actions to the department last year, but the agency never conducted “a prompt and thorough investigation.”

The agency has declined to comment.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Salina woman has pleaded guilty to charges arising from an incident last year when she entered a stranger’s home after using LSD and repeatedly stabbed him.

Amy Ramirez was accused of entering the Salina home of Travis Rathbun on Oct. 18 and stabbing him. Rathbun testified during an April hearing that he was awakened by a woman he didn’t know who was demanding to know what he was doing in her house, and she stabbed him as he called police.

Ramirez was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder but pleaded to attempted second-degree murder and a drug charge. The prosecution and defense agreed to recommend Ramirez receive consecutive sentences totaling about nine years.

Ramirez also will have to register as a violent offender for 15 years.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Overstock.com, an online retailer of surplus and new merchandise, plans to operate a large distribution center in Kansas City, Kansas, and employ more than 100 workers there.

The Utah-based company leased 517,000 square feet at a vacant distribution center. The company says the center will allow it to reach 99 percent of its U.S. customers with two-day shipping.

Overstock.com selected the area because another of several large online retailers that opened fulfillment and distribution centers in the Kansas City area in recent years.

Amazon has two fulfillment centers in Edgerton and Kansas City, Kansas. Pharmacy retailer CVS has a distribution center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, said the Overstock.com facility in KCK would pay better than average industry wages.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Animal Control officials saved two puppies found with rubber bands around their mouths at an apartment in Wichita Wednesday, according to Sarah Coffman, executive director of Wichita Animal Action League.

According to the organization’s Facebook page, a maintenance man entered the apartment after a pipe above it burst, and was flooding the apartment.

The smell overwhelmed him.

Knowing dogs weren’t allowed at the apartment, he looked in the kennel in the corner. Two puppies were huddled in ankle deep feces and urine, completely quiet.

Their mouths were wrapped shut with rubber bands, to keep them quiet so the landlord wouldn’t find out.

A Good Samaritan alerted a foster who alerted Wichita Animal Action League.

A small, bizarre chain of events allowed authorities to rescue them just in time. The doctors do not think they will have any lasting tissue or nerve damage. But it was a very close call, according to Coffman.

They will be available for adoption in a few weeks and you can apply at WAALrescue.org/adoptions if interested.

FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating more fake money in southwest Kansas.

According to the Finney County Sheriff,  deputies found  denominations of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, and $1 bills.

The sheriff’s department reported the bills were obviously not real money and did not feel real.

Authorities discovered that the money was made in China for training purposes for their financial world, and are available on the internet for purchase.

On the left side of each bill are Chinese symbols in red and white, in the upper right hand corner of each bill are black hash marks. On the back of each bill on the right side, are more Chinese symbols in red and white lettering.

The sheriff urged residents to check your money closely and make sure you are not giving by accident or receiving any of these fake bills.

HARPER COUNTY — A small earthquake shook Kansas early Thursday. The quake at 2:43a..m. measured a magnitude 3.1 and was centered approximately 5 miles northwest of Harper, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A series of earthquakes shook the same area September 7 and 8. The quake measured from 2.3- to a magnitude 3.4, according to the USGS.

There are no reports of damage or injury, according to the Harper County Sheriff’s Department.

SHAWNEE COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug and weapons charges.

Just before 10:30p.m. Wednesday, officers from the Community Response Unit conducted a traffic stop in the 400 block of SE Leland in Topeka, according to Lt. Manual Munoz.

During the course of the investigation, the driver identified as 51-year-old Kenneth Fraley found in possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers transported him to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.

Fraley has four previous convictions for drugs and weapons violations, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman already charged with trying to kill her three children is now accused of seeking a hit man to kill her ex-husband.

Therese Irene Roever, 37, Olathe, was charged Wednesday with a second attempted capital murder charge for plotting to have an unnamed person kill John Roever.

Roever was charged in February with attempted capital murder for an alleged attempt on her children’s lives. John Roever had residential custody of the children but they were visiting their mother when she and the children were found to have been drugged.

Court documents say doctors told investigators two of the children would have died if they had been found later.

Court documents containing details of the new allegations are not yet publicly available.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody

Just after 5 a.m. Wednesday, police  responded to a burglary in progress call in the 5900 Block of W. Maple in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival, Officers observed a suspect identified as 33-year-old Carlos Gonzalez, Jr., of Valley Center, fleeing the business in a vehicle.

Police followed and arrested Gonzalez near the intersection of  Julia and University without incident. He was in possession of property and cash from the business Scenic Landscapes.

The investigation revealed damage to the front door of the business. The business was ransacked and approximately $5,000 in tools, supplies and equipment were stacked outside of the business, according to Davidson.

Gonzalez is being held on charges of burglary, theft and four active charges of failure to appear, according to the Sedgwick County Jail records.

He has a previous conviction for theft, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.