DOUGLAS COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 10p.m Wednesday in Douglas County.
A pickup driven by Silvestre Guebara, 52, Wichita, was northbound in the 1200 Block of Iowa Street in Lawrence, according Police Sgt. Amy Rhoads. The pickup exited the road at Stratford, struck a tree and rolled.
Guebara was pronounced dead a the scene.
At this time, it appears as though no other vehicles were involved in the accident. Police released no additional information early Thursday.
GIRARD, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old southeast Kansas man who was a school bus monitor has admitted to sexually abusing an elementary school student.
Jacob Quentin Bryant, of Arma, pleaded guilty Tuesday to rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
Investigators determined that Bryant abused a Northeast Elementary School student on a school bus in November 2018.
Bryant faces up to 19 year in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 31.
Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso said his office worked with the victim’s family on the plea deal and noted it will avoid requiring the child to testify at trial.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue the investigation of Tuesday’s office involved shooting and have another suspect in jail.
After his release from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, police booked 30-year-old Zachary Ausdemore for aggravated robbery and an outstanding warrant out of Nebraska, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.
He was identified as the passenger in a stolen white Jeep Wrangler where the driver attempted to run over a WPD officer at the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of N. Amidon.
After the vehicle wrecked, Ausdemore then fled on foot and robbed an elderly couple of their Honda CR-V in the 2400 block of W. Stauffer.
He led officers on a lengthy vehicle pursuit, which ended in the area of 167th Street West and K-42.
Ausdemore was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting.
Just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to the area of W. 21st Street North and N. Amidon to check for a stolen vehicle, according to officer Paul Cruz.
The owner of a 1999 white Jeep SAW called 911 to report the location of the vehicle. The owner, along with a family member, followed the vehicle to the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of North Amidon.
Officers arrived while the vehicle was at the drive-thru window and attempted to take the three occupants into custody.
The driver then accelerated and attempted to run over an officer. The officer fired his handgun multiple times at the vehicle. The suspect vehicle drove around the building and rear-ended a white Buick Century that was occupied by a 72-year-old woman driver. She was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries, according to Cruz.
The suspect vehicle continued north on Amidon and into a residential area where it crashed into a tree in the 3000 block of N. Halstead. At that location, police took a 30-year-old woman passenger later identified as Daphne Hays into custody while the other suspects ran.
One of the man, a 30-year-old, ran to the 2400 block of W. Stauffer where he threatened an elderly couple and demanded the keys to their green Honda CR-V. The suspect left in their vehicle. The vehicle was located by Sheriff’s Deputies at I-235 and 25th, according to Cruz.
Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended at 167th and K-42. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and was found to have an injury to his arm.
A 27-year-old suspect, who fled on foot at the initial crash scene on N. Halstead, was later located by officers near 29th and Meridian. The suspect was found to have a gunshot wound to his leg and was hospitalized for observation.
The two male suspects remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon. Hays is in custody on requested charges of interference with law enforcement and a fugitive from justice, according to the Sedgwick County booking report.
The officer involved in the shooting has been with the department for almost 2-years, according to Cruz. He has been placed administrative leave per protocol.
Authorities have not released names of the two other suspects.
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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The Shawnee Mission School District will settle a lawsuit that alleged school officials didn’t act when a male student was repeatedly accused of sexual offenses before he assaulted a student in a middle school classroom.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. The lawsuit claimed an eighth-grade student at Westridge Middle School was accused of making unwanted advances toward three students before he assaulted a female student in 2017.
The district says in court documents that it was investigating the reports of unwanted advances when it learned about 2017 assault.
The student was expelled in March 2017 and the school resource officer filed a police report that month.
The boy was convicted in December 2017 of three counts of battery and one count of aggravated liberties with a child.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing nationwide enforcement of a new Trump administration rule that prevents most Central American immigrants from seeking asylum in the United States.
The justices’ order late Wednesday temporarily undoes a lower-court ruling that had blocked the new asylum policy in some states along the southern border. The policy is meant to deny asylum to anyone who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. without seeking protection there.
Most people crossing the southern border are Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty. They are largely ineligible under the new rule, as are asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive regularly at the southern border.
The shift reverses decades of U.S. policy. The administration has said that it wants to close the gap between an initial asylum screening that most people pass and a final decision on asylum that most people do not win.
“BIG United States Supreme Court WIN for the Border on Asylum!” President Donald Trump tweeted.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the high-court’s order. “Once again, the Executive Branch has issued a rule that seeks to upend longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution,” Sotomayor wrote.
The legal challenge to the new policy has a brief but somewhat convoluted history. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco blocked the new policy from taking effect in late July. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed Tigar’s order so that it applied only in Arizona and California, states that are within the 9th Circuit.
That left the administration free to enforce the policy on asylum seekers arriving in New Mexico and Texas. Tigar issued a new order on Monday that reimposed a nationwide hold on asylum policy. The 9th Circuit again narrowed his order on Tuesday.
The high-court action allows the administration to impose the new policy everywhere while the court case against it continues.
It’s not clear how quickly the policy will be rolled out, and how exactly it fits in with the other efforts by the administration to restrict border crossings and tighten asylum rules.
For example, thousands of people are waiting on lists at border crossings in Mexico to claim asylum in the U.S. And more than 30,000 people have been turned back to Mexico to wait out their asylum claims.
Asylum seekers must pass an initial screening called a “credible fear” interview, a hurdle that a vast majority clear. Under the new policy, they would fail the test unless they sought asylum in at least one country they traveled through and were denied. They would be placed in fast-track deportation proceedings and flown to their home countries at U.S. expense.
Lee Gelernt, the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who is representing immigrant advocacy groups in the case, said: “This is just a temporary step, and we’re hopeful we’ll prevail at the end of the day. The lives of thousands of families are at stake.”
Justice Department spokesperson Alexei Woltornist said the agency was “pleased that the Supreme Court intervened in this case,” adding, “This action will assist the Administration in its objectives to bring order to the crisis at the southern border, close loopholes in our immigration system, and discourage frivolous claims.”
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an alleged incident at a Kansas elementary school.
Just after 11:30a.m. Tuesday deputies were dispatched to Wineteer Elementary School 8801 E Ent Drive in Wichita, for report of a suspicious character later identified as Tyler J. Debarea, 38, walking around the school parking lot and playground, according to Lt. Tim Myers with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.
As deputies were getting close, dispatch advised the man was in a truck and tried to ram the McConnell Air Force Base gates leading onto 31st Street south.
The truck hit barricades which were concrete filled pipes in the ground and the truck stopped. Debarea jumped the fence and ran. When deputies arrived, it was determined Debarea had a ten minute lead. The truck was found to have been stolen from McConnell Air Force Base. Deputies searched a mile perimeter diligently.
A deputy went to the school where the school security officer advised he heard, third hand that some children were grabbed, pushed and pulled. Shortly after this, dispatch was contacted with a suspicious character walking on in the 3800 Block of Webb Road where a deputy found and took him into custody, according to Myers.
After the arrest, deputies returned to Wineteer Elementary where he was alleged to have confronted children on the playground. Deputies identified five victims from ages seven to eight who said DeBarea either swatted them on the arm or tried to grab their shirt.
A spokesman for the Derby school district says staff was able to scare him away and move students inside.
Debarea is being held on suspicion of kidnapping, battery and criminal threat, according to online jail records.
KCC
TOPEKA – Access to emergency services and community resources is vital to all Kansans. The Lifeline program offers discounts to help eligible low-income families and individuals connect to voice and broadband networks to call for help in an emergency, access health care, find jobs, take classes and connect with family.
As part of National Lifeline Awareness Week, September 9-13, the Kansas Corporation Commission wants to make residents aware of the assistance the program can offer.
Under the federal Lifeline Program, low-income consumers can receive up to $9.25 per month off their monthly bill for phone (residential or wireless), broadband, or bundled phone and broadband service. Some may also be eligible for the state Lifeline program that provides an additional $7.77 monthly discount.
Lifeline serves more than 10 million Americans, nearly 41 thousand in Kansas. Forty-nine companies currently offer Lifeline services in the state. The program has provided discounted phone service for qualifying consumers since 1985. In 2016, the program was expanded to include broadband.
Residents enrolled in any of the following assistance programs are eligible for the Lifeline program: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FHPA), Veterans Pension & Survivors Pension Benefit, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribally Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Head Start Tribal Programs (only those meeting its income qualifying standard), and the Food Distribution Program on Tribal Lands. Those at 135% of the federal poverty level also qualify. Participants must provide three consecutive months of statements as documentation of income, or provide a copy of their tax return for the previous year. Recertification is required each year.
A Lifeline Awareness Week information sheet is attached. More information on program eligibility, enrollment, and annual recertification is available on the KCC’s website: https://kcc.ks.gov/telecommunications/lifeline. For a list of Kansas providers, go to https://data.usac.org/publicreports/CompaniesNearMe/State/StateOption/KS.
KINGMAN COUNTY — A Kansas man avoided injury in an accident just after 12:30p.m. Wednesday in Kingman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the landing gear on a 1975 Piper aircraft piloted by Daniel Jeremiah Brandt, 42, Wichita,. did not operate.
He conducted a gear-up landing on the Kingman County Airport. Jeremiah was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming says it has reported to police three new credible allegations of child sexual abuse against a retired bishop.
Diocese officials said in a statement Tuesday the new complaints against Bishop Joseph Hart are in addition to three separate allegations previously determined to be credible.
Cheyenne Police Officer David Inman said the department is aware of the new complaints. Police have recommended Laramie County prosecutors file charges over the previous complaints.
The prosecutor has not commented and no charges have been filed against Hart in Laramie County.
Hart, who led the Diocese of Cheyenne from 1976 to 2001, has consistently denied the allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct.
The diocese in Kansas City says it has settled lawsuits in 10 cases involving Hart who served in the diocese from 1964-76.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man accused of beating another man in a Dillons grocery store parking lot has been charged with second-degree murder after the victim died from his injuries two weeks after the attack.
Thirty-five-year-old Steven Speakman made his first appearance Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court. His bond was set at $250,000.
He has been in custody since Aug. 21, when police say a fight broke out between Speakman and 33-year-old Haley Collins, of Bel Aire. When police arrived, Collins was unconscious. He died Sept. 5.
Police say the two men knew each other.
RENO COUNTY— One person died in an accident just a before 11:30a.m. Wednesday in Reno County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Ford Focus driven b Mary M. Rosenberger, 55, Medicine Lodge, was westbound on Kansas 96 at Halstead Road.
The Ford rear-ended a semi that had slowed to make a right turn onto Halstead Road.
Rosenberger was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver Mark Alan Bridges, 56, Garden City was not injured. Rosenberger was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting.
Just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to the area of W. 21st Street North and N. Amidon to check for a stolen vehicle, according to officer Paul Cruz.
The owner of a 1999 white Jeep SAW called 911 to report the location of the vehicle. The owner, along with a family member, followed the vehicle to the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of North Amidon.
Officers arrived while the vehicle was at the drive-thru window and attempted to take the three occupants into custody.
The driver then accelerated and attempted to run over an officer. The officer fired his handgun multiple times at the vehicle. The suspect vehicle drove around the building and rear-ended a white Buick Century that was occupied by a 72-year-old woman driver. She was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries, according to Cruz.
The suspect vehicle continued north on Amidon and into a residential area where it crashed into a tree in the 3000 block of N. Halstead. At that location, police took a 30-year-old woman passenger later identified as Daphne Hays into custody while the other suspects ran.
One of the man, a 30-year-old, ran to the 2400 block of W. Stauffer where he threatened an elderly couple and demanded the keys to their green Honda CR-V. The suspect left in their vehicle. The vehicle was located by Sheriff’s Deputies at I-235 and 25th, according to Cruz.
Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended at 167th and K-42. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and was found to have an injury to his arm.
A 27-year-old suspect, who fled on foot at the initial crash scene on N. Halstead, was later located by officers near 29th and Meridian. The suspect was found to have a gunshot wound to his leg and was hospitalized for observation.
The two male suspects remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon. Hays is in custody on requested charges of interference with law enforcement and a fugitive from justice, according to the Sedgwick County booking report.
The officer involved in the shooting has been with the department for almost 2-years, according to Cruz. He has been placed administrative leave per protocol.
Authorities have not released names of the two other suspects.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting.
Just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to the area of W. 21st Street North and N. Amidon to check for a stolen vehicle, according to officer Paul Cruz.
The owner of a 1999 white Jeep SAW called 911 to report the location of the vehicle. The owner, along with a family member, followed the vehicle to the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of North Amidon.
Officers arrived while the vehicle was at the drive-thru window and attempted to take the three occupants into custody.
The driver then accelerated and attempted to run over an officer. The officer fired his handgun multiple times at the vehicle. The suspect vehicle drove around the building and rear-ended a white Buick Century that was occupied by a 72-year-old woman driver. She was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries, according to Cruz.
The suspect vehicle continued north on Amidon and into a residential area where it crashed into a tree in the 3000 block of N. Halstead. At that location, police took a 30-year-old woman passenger into custody while the other suspects ran.
One of the man, a 30-year-old, ran to the 2400 block of W. Stauffer where he threatened an elderly couple and demanded the keys to their green Honda CR-V. The suspect left in their vehicle. The vehicle was located by Sheriff’s Deputies at I-235 and 25th, according to Cruz. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended at 167th and K-42. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and was found to have an injury to his arm.
A 27-year-old suspect, who fled on foot at the initial crash scene on N. Halstead, was later located by officers near 29th and Meridian. The suspect was found to have a gunshot wound to his leg and was hospitalized for observation.
Authorities have not released names of the suspects.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say three people are in custody after officers fired shots while pursuing a stolen car.
Police spokesman Paul Cruz says when officers tried to arrest people in a stolen Jeep at a McDonald’s drive-thru on Tuesday morning, the driver drove toward officers, who fired several rounds. The Jeep crashed into another vehicle. The driver of that car suffered minor injuries.
Cruz says a woman inside the vehicle was arrested but two male suspects carjacked another vehicle. Sedgwick County deputies pursued the vehicle and one suspect was eventually arrested in a field. Cruz says that driver was hurt but it was unclear what caused the injuries.
The second male suspect was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
No names have been released..
BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an arrest.
On Wednesday, during the course of an ongoing drug investigation, detectives were conducting a surveillance operation and stopped a 2010 Chrysler Sebring at the intersection of 10th and Jefferson in the City of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.
The Sheriff’s office K9 Kia was used at the location and indicated the presence of controlled substances. It was at that point the suspect identified as John P. Stark Jr., 52, Wichita, attempted to run from officers and was captured by Great Bend Police Officers who had later arrived at the scene.
Stark was found to be in possession of approximately ½ pound of methamphetamine, according to Bellendir. Detectives believe Stark has been trafficking methamphetamine between Wichita and Great Bend.
Stark is being held in the Barton County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Stark is being held in lieu of a $300,000 bond. He has previous convictions for theft in Shawnee and Sedgwick County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
