JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after two pursuits in two Kansas counties.
Dorsch photo Jackson Co.
Just after 1a.m. Sunday the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was notified that the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office had terminated a pursuit near 86th and Topeka Blvd., according to Sheriff Tim Morse.
It was indicated that the suspect was allegedly involved in vehicle burglaries in Shawnee County.
A short time later, a Shawnee County deputy observed the suspect vehicle northbound on S. Road from the county line in Jackson County.
A Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy located the 2002 Toyota Camry reported stolen from Silver Lake had wrecked, but was still running in the ditch just north of 102nd and S. Road with no one around.
While deputies were on scene at approximately 2 am a dark colored 2017 Volkswagen passenger car approached the area. Deputies believed the vehicle was in the area to pick up the driver of the Camry.
A pursuit ensued westbound on 102nd Road. The vehicle allegedly failed to stop at stop signs at US Highway 75 and continued westbound. The suspect vehicle headed north on P4 Road where the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled due to excessive speeds and icy conditions, according to Morse.
Two passengers in the vehicle were evaluated at area hospitals. It was determined the 2017 Volkswagen had been reported stolen out of Lawrence, and the tag on the vehicle was stolen from a residence in Shawnee County.
Deputies arrested the driver, Michael Francis Dorsch, 34, of Horton. He was booked into the Jackson County Jail on a series of requested charges including Felony possession of stolen property, possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, interference with law enforcement, 2 counts of aggravated battery and fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer.
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — An off-duty Kansas police officer who was sentenced to probation for drunkenly threatening to shoot a bar server was initially allowed to keep his service weapon after a responding officer urged witnesses not to press charges, according to court records.
The Kansas City Star obtained the records after a state agency revoked former Kansas City police officer Robert Ward’s law enforcement license last month.
Ward, 41, was sentenced to one year of probation for assault and possession of a firearm while under the influence after other officers raised concerns about his conduct at The Peanut bar in Mission in August 2018. Court records say Ward told the server: “I have my gun on me. I’ll shoot you.”
According to court records, Ward had been drinking and arguing with a woman at the bar.
Bar employees called police because they worried that he would start shooting. Ward told bar employees that he was a police officer, which meant he could “do whatever he wanted.”
Chief Ben Hadley said the officer who tried to cut Ward a break no longer works for the Mission Police Department, but he declined to say if that officer quit or was fired, calling it a personnel matter.
Three law enforcement officers responded to the scene. Court records show that one of them repeatedly told bar managers and the other officers that he “did not want to ruin the career of a police officer over a drunken mistake.”
According to charging documents, that officer encouraged the managers not to press charges and asked the woman if Ward could just go home. That night, Ward was simply given a trespass warning for all The Peanut locations.
According to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, the other responding officers in Mission and Fairway were uncomfortable and reported the other officer’s conduct to their superiors, which he said is a “testament to how well law enforcement agencies in our county are run.”
The Mission chief agreed.
“My expectation is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a police officer or not. All calls will be treated the same,” Hadley said.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Court records say an off-duty Kansas police officer who told a bar server that “I have my gun on me. I’ll shoot you” was initially allowed to keep his service weapon after a responding officer urged witnesses not to press charges.
The media obtained the records after a state agency revoked the law enforcement license for former Kansas City, Kansas, police officer Robert Ward.
The 41-year-old eventually was sentenced to one year of probation for assault and possession of a firearm while under the influence after other officers raised concerns about his conduct last year at The Peanut bar in Mission.
The officer who initially tried to cover for Ward no longer works for the Mission police department. Police didn’t say whether that officer quit or was fired.
OSAGE COUNTY— One person died in a three-vehicle accident just after 8a.m. Monday caused by icy roads in northeast Kansas.
The Kansas Highway patrol reported a 2001 Dodge Ram driven by Kristin Noel Edwards, 43, Overbrook, was westbound on U.S. 56 just north of Topeka.
The driver lost control on icy roads, crossed the center line and hit a 2008 Ford Edge driven by Terry Ralston, 23, Scranton, head-on. A 2003 Olds Alero driven by Kaelyn A. Watkins, 17, Overbrook, rear-ended the Ford.
EMS transported a passenger in the Ford Cassie N. Ralston, 8, Scranton, to Stormont Vail where she died.
EMS also transported Terry Ralston, Edwards and a passenger in the Dodge Luke A. Edwards, 14, Overbrook, to Stormont Vail. Watkins was not injured.
The crash came as a system carrying freezing temperatures and strong winds moved across Kansas.
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OSAGE COUNTY. — One person died in a three-vehicle accident just after 8a.m. Monday caused by icy roads in northeast Kansas.
The Kansas Highway patrol reported a 2001 Dodge Ram driven by Kristin Noel Edwards, 43, Overbrook, was westbound on U.S. 56 just north of Topeka. The driver lost control on icy roads, crossed the center line and hit a 2008 Ford Edge head-on.
A 2003 Olds Alero driven by Kaelyn A. Watkins, Overbrook, rear-ended the Ford. A juvenile in the Ford died at the scene.
Edwards and a passenger Luke A. Edwards, 14, Overbrook, were transported to a Topeka Hospital.
The KHP has not released all the the names of those involved including the victim.
The crash came as a system carrying freezing temperatures and strong winds moved across Kansas.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state transportation agency says Kansas hit a 10-year high for deer-related crashes last year.
The agency says 10,734 deer-related wrecks were reported in 2018 in Kansas. The Department of Transportation says that accounted for 16.5% of total wrecks for the year.
The department’s big game coordinator, Levi Jaster, said the increase in crashes is partly because of an increase in the deer population. Disease reduced the population beginning in 2008 until 2013, which is when the agency recorded the lowest number of deer-related wrecks in the past 10 years. The deer population has been increasing since then.
Three people died in deer-related accidents last year.
The highest number of deer-related wrecks in 2018 was in Sedgwick County, which had 418.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who seriously injured two people and killed a dog that was walking with them.
Police say a 28-year-old man and 41-year-old woman were either riding a bicycle or standing alongside it when they were hit Sunday on a sidewalk near an intersection. The man was listed in critical condition, while the woman was in serious but stable condition. The dog died at the scene.
Police say the vehicle lost one of its front lights during the collision. No other details about the vehicle were released.
Seated at left, Richard Martin, veteran of the Army Air Corps in World War II, speaks to students of WSU 102 “Innovations of WWII” about his experiences as a B-29 bomber crew member in the skies of Japan.
By ANDREW MARTIN Wichita State University
WICHITA — Richard Martin was only 18 years old when he was drafted into the Army Air Corps. Two years later, he spent the first part of his 21st birthday in the nose of a Boeing B-29 bomber over Japan.
Now he’s 94 years old and the last living member of his squadron. He walked across campus on his own, with only the help of a wooden cane and his son next to him.
On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the students of WSU 102 “Innovations of WWII” met him in the Ablah Library C-Space.
Now he is one of increasingly few remaining veterans of World War II, and the students had a rare opportunity to ask questions and listen to his stories.
Martin cheerfully answered questions ranging from his initial training in Miami Beach, Florida, to his long career as an accountant after the war.
Martin flew many dangerous missions over the Japanese mainland at the end of World War II. “We didn’t get fire until we went to Kawasaki, a suburb of Tokyo, and that was a nightmare,” Martin said.
At Miami Beach, Martin and many other basic trainees bunked in a four-story hotel repurposed as Army barracks.
“It even had an elevator, but they wouldn’t let us use it. We had to use the stairs all the time,” Martin said.
The Army placed him in the Air Corps, where he trained to be a bombardier. He deployed in 1944 with the creation of the 485th Bombardment Squadron.
The 485th was equipped with the B-29, which was one of the most advanced airplanes in the world at the time. Martin’s task was to aim the Nordon bomb sight, which was an early mechanical computer.
It was dangerous work. On one mission the airplane was chased by a “kamikaze” suicide aircraft that threatened to destroy the bomber. They turned hard and shook it off.
“That was the tightest turn I ever took in a B-29,” Martin said.
Martin’s framed picture of his B-29B bomber, nicknamed “My Naked.” He and his crew went against the trend of naming and painting their bombers with “half-naked women,” so they had a naked bird painted on the side of their airplane.
When a student asked him how he dealt with the stress of the bombing missions, he kept smiling.
“You just did it. I don’t think you ever thought about stress. You got to be real good friends with everybody because you depended on each other for your lives,” Martin said.
During another mission, a live bomb failed to drop. It was stuck in the bomb bay.
Martin and his best friend, the B-29’s radar operator, went into the bomb bay to dislodge it. When the bomb bay doors opened, 60 mph of cold wind in the black of night struck them.
“I told him, ‘I’ll say, one, two, three, kick.’ My buddy got excited and kicked on ‘three,’” Martin said.
He kicked into thin air.
The bomb dropped safely, but Martin would never forget the moment.
The 485th was among the last squadrons in combat during World War II. Near the end of a mission on Aug. 15, 1945, his radio operator had news for the crew.
The war was over.
Martin brought several photographs of his war memories, including this image of his ten-man bomber crew. Martin stands at the top right, wearing his flight suit and cap.
The B-29s stopped dropping bombs, but the mission wasn’t over. The 485th parachuted thousands of pounds of food and supplies onto Allied POW camps.
It was a low-altitude mission, so Martin could see the POWs running toward the airplanes and the supplies with open arms.
When their supply mission ended, Martin finished his career as a bombardier. He became a mess hall supervisor on the ground.
“We had number 10 cans of peaches. I’m sure everybody got tired of peaches, but peaches were better than nothing,” Martin said.
Another student asked Martin if he still likes peaches.
He does.
Martin continued his education after the war and became an accountant. Years later, he sought out all of his crew members for reunions.
He found all of them except for his navigator. One of Martin’s family members was in the FBI, and he had them run a search on his navigator’s name.
Martin found out that his navigator lived in Sacramento, California. He gave his crew member a call.
“Why didn’t you find me sooner?” his navigator said.
“You’re lucky I found you at all,” Martin said.
Martin retired from accounting in 1983.
“I still do my own taxes, and my son’s too,” Martin said.
Martin is the last living member of the 485th, and he’s 94 years old.
Special thanks go to a number of people across WSU for this rare opportunity. Samantha Corcoran, assistant engineering educator, organized this meeting for her class. Sarah Butts, engineering, patents and trademark librarian, arranged to host us in Ablah Library. The C-Space and its wonderful staff provided a comfortable space for us to have this conversation. Most of all, many thanks go to Richard Martin and his family for their service and willingness to tell valuable stories that could easily be lost to history.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Nearly a century ago, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a large dam near Augusta to supply water for the steam locomotives that at the time were chugging across the dusty Kansas prairie.
Today the aging Santa Fe Lake Dam is considered a high-hazard dam because of its potential for the loss of life if it fails. An analysis by The Associated Press of dams across the country has found that it’s among more than two dozen potentially dangerous dams in Kansas that are in such poor shape they are vulnerable to failure.
Homer’s Pond in Geary County -Google image
Augusta acquired the Santa Fe Lake Dam, located about 3 miles west of town, in 1950 as a supplemental water supply. The dam, built in 1927, is 1,110 feet long and 38 feet tall with a maximum water depth of 11 feet. Its spillway was found during an inspection last year to be in “extremely poor condition.” Inspectors noted it also has inadequate capacity that makes it vulnerable to overtopping or failure during a significant storm.
Several farmsteads, roads and a bridge are located immediately downstream, but it is unclear how many houses would be affected by a breach. The emergency action plan filed two decades ago only broadly mentions housing additions and residences along various roads that would need to be evacuated.
A two-year investigation by the AP identified at least 1,680 dams nationwide that are rated as high-hazard because of the potential for loss of life if they failed and are considered to be in poor or unsatisfactory condition.
Emergency plans obtained by the AP indicate that thousands of people across the nation are living and working downstream and could be at risk if those dams were to catastrophically fail, while separate inspection reports cite a variety of problems. Those include leaks that can indicate a dam is failing internally, unrepaired erosion, holes from burrowing animals and extensive tree growth, which can destabilize earthen dams. In some cases, inspectors also flagged spillways that are too small to handle the amount of water that could result from increasingly intense rainstorms due to a changing climate.
Kansas has 6,205 dams, including 309 classified as high-hazard, of which 26 were rated in unsatisfactory or poor condition in 2018. One of those was missing an emergency action plan in the event of a failure, and six had out-of-date inspections as of summer 2018.
“Anytime we’ve had like emergency situations, we have kind of known about it in enough time to get people notified and then nothing has happened with the structure anyway,” said Terry Medley, the state’s water structures program manager. “So, no, I don’t think there are any that keep me up at night.”
The state has had 31 reported dam incidents, including seven failures, since 1925, according to Stanford University’s National Performance of Dams Program. The most notable one occurred in 1951 when the Fall River Dam in Greenwood County failed, resulting in 11 deaths.
When the city of Augusta repaired a separate dam in 2012, it was able to partner with the state to help pay for it. But that program is no longer available for repairs on the Santa Fe Lake Dam, said Augusta City Manager Josh Shaw. A preliminary estimate pegged the cost of repairing the Santa Fe Dam’s crumbling spillway at $930,000. The city has been working with state regulators to address various concerns, he said.
As in many other states, Kansas has seen its dam safety staffing levels and budgets cut since the Great Recession. In 2009, the equivalent of 13 staff people worked on dam safety issues, according to data examined by AP. That fell to an equivalent staff of about five by 2017. In 2010, Kansas budgeted $458,986 for dam safety; by 2017, that had been cut to $308,773.
The average age of Kansas dams is slightly more than 42 years, and the state notes in its hazard mitigation plan that some are exhibiting structural problems such as deteriorating pipes and other components.
Among those where inspectors found problems is Rimrock Lake Dam, known locally as Homer’s Pond, in Junction City.
A 2014 inspection said the dam has been in violation of state regulations since it was built in 1952. The dam is considered hydrologically inadequate and a downstream embankment is in poor condition. A dam failure could potentially flood homes, a child care facility, church, school, and several businesses in Junction City, according to its 2009 emergency action plan.
It originally was designed for flood control and as a livestock water supply before being given to Junction City in 1967. Today, it’s a popular local fishing pond encircled with walking trails.
Junction City Manager Alan Dinkel pushed back on the state’s risk assessment, insisting the dam is in “great shape” and called its high-risk designation and the state’s demands to fix it “one of those overzealous regulations.” The city is now trying to obtain easements so repair work on it can begin next spring.
“We are going to spend basically a half million dollars to make changes,” Dinkel said. “They actually wanted us to take it out, but it is a pond that is at the center of our community.”
In Kansas and elsewhere, there is a growing concern that many small flood control dams built by local watershed districts with U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance are now at or near the end of their 50-year design life. Kansas has 831 flood control dams, according to its 2018 hazard mitigation plan.
Among those raising alarm with inspectors is the Samuel Rogers Detention Dam located a half mile from Manhattan. It is operated by Kansas State University and owned by the university’s real estate fund since 2015.
The dam — 33 feet high and 560 feet long — was built in 1961. Although it does not regularly hold water, the potential to do so during a significant rainstorm is a concern, according to its 2016 inspection report. Its emergency plan estimated a major flood caused by a dam failure would inundate 82 homes and 17 roads.
“The dam is in unsatisfactory condition and is in need of immediate remedial action,” inspectors wrote. “It could pose a risk to downstream residents.”
Its responsibility now falls to the university’s department of animal sciences, where officials are getting an engineering assessment to determine whether it would be better to repair or remove the dam entirely. The dam is located in the middle of a 20-acre parcel that the department wants to use as a horse pasture.
Police on the scene of the shooting investigation photo courtesy Fox4Kansas City
KANSAS CITY. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a shooting outside an adult entertainment club in northeast Kansas City that left four people injured.
The shooting outside Baccala’s strip club happened around 2:40 a.m. Sunday.
Kansas City, Missouri, police say one victim was found in front of the club. Three others were taken to hospitals. All four were in stable condition Sunday.
Officers responding to a disturbance near the club before the shooting rushed to help after shots were fired.
Finch-photo courtesy Hillside Funeral HomePolice body camera images of The December 2018 fatal response to a hoax call that led to Finch’s death -courtesy Wichita Police
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of an unarmed man who was fatally shot by police while responding to a bogus emergency call is seeking $25 million in damages in a lawsuit.
Recent documents filed in the lawsuit brought by Andrew Finch’s family outline the damages they are seeking for his death and their pain and suffering. The 28-year-old Finch was fatally shot by police in December 2017.
Officials have said that officers feared Finch was reaching for a firearm when he was shot, not knowing that a hoaxer had reported a fake homicide and hostage situation at Finch’s home.
The lawsuit filed by Finch’s family is pending. The city has already spent nearly $250,000 to defend against the lawsuit.
KANSAS CITY– Two Kansas City men were sentenced in federal court Friday for their roles in a series of armed robberies, according to the United States Attorney’s office.
Clyde H. Jackson, Jr., 30, and Thomas E. Davis, 43, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough. Jackson was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison without parole. Davis was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison without parole.
Jackson pleaded guilty on July 9, 2019, to seven counts of robbery, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Davis pleaded guilty on July 1, 2019, to five counts of robbery and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Co-defendants Brion L. McDonald, 30, and Bianca C Seaton, 26, both of Kansas City, Missouri, have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing. McDonald will be sentenced on Nov. 25, 2019, and Seaton will be sentenced on Dec. 19, 2019.
The defendants were part of a group of individuals committing armed robberies in the Kansas City metropolitan area from October 2017 through March 2018. According to court documents, Jackson and Davis brandished knives and firearms during the robberies.
During one robbery, Davis cocked a firearm, pointed it at the neck of one of the victims, and said, “Hurry up and give us the money, or I’ll kill this [expletive] white lady.” During another robbery, Davis discharged a firearm because the clerk was not moving fast enough.
Jackson cocked a gun during one robbery, walked toward a customer, grabbed the customer, placed the gun to the back of the customer’s head, and pulled the customer around the counters to the checkout counter. During another robbery, Jackson pointed a firearm at a victim and ordered the victim to retrieve the money faster, stating, “Come on, do you want to die?” During each of the three knife-related robberies in which Jackson participated, he put a knife to the victim’s neck and made various demands related to obtaining money. According to court documents, Jackson has previously been associated with the 5-1 Gangster gang, a subset of the Crips street gang, and has tattoo of a “51” inscribed on his right arm.
Jackson and Davis admitted they were involved in the armed robberies of Family Dollar, 5242 Blue Ridge Blvd. in Kansas City, on Jan. 12, 2018; Dollar General Store, 8716 Blue Ridge Blvd. in Kansas City, on Jan. 20, 2018; Family Dollar, 9120 E. 35th Street South in Independence, Missouri, on Jan. 22, 2018; and Family Dollar, 3017 Prospect Ave. in Kansas City, on Jan. 26, 2018 (Davis discharged a firearm during this robbery).
Jackson, McDonald, and Seaton each admitted to being involved in the armed robbery of Pizza Hut, 7624 Wornall Road in Kansas City, on March 19, 2018.
Davis was also involved in the armed robbery of Dollar General Store, 9101 E. 63rd St. in Raytown, Missouri, on Oct. 25, 2017. Davis brandished a knife during that robbery.
Jackson admitted he also was involved in an attempted robbery of the Pizza Hut at 7624 Wornall Road on March 20, 2018, and of Dollar General, 5008 N.E. Parvin Road in Kansas City, on March 20, 2018. Jackson also admitted that he was in possession of a Glock .45-caliber pistol and various rounds of ammunition on March 23, 2018. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Jackson has prior felony convictions for larceny and robbery.
Hunter Nelson Black was arrested Wednesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Investigators say he ran a stop sign on Dec. 20, causing his car to be hit in the passenger side by another car. The crash killed Black’s passenger, Logan Kirk Owens.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office says in a crash report that Black told officers he had been drinking.
The driver of the other car, Garrett Creigh Neff, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery in the crash. His case is pending.
Hutchinson Fire also participated in a burn out operation Sunday in anticipation of the upcoming gusty winds. They were assisted by KHP
RENO COUNTY —Early Sunday, Hutchinson fire department units with assistance from Burrton Fire extinguished a grass fire at Highway 50 and Buhler Road, according to a social media report.
Authorities have not released details on what caused the fire or how many acres burned.
