PAWNEE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just after 2:30 p.m. on Friday in Pawnee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Malibu driven by Kent A. Kirkwood, 63, Larned, was northbound on 150th Avenue five miles north of Larned.
The vehicle traveled left of center and struck a concrete bridge railing.
Kirkwood was transported to Pawnee Valley Community Hospital where he died.
He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
WICHITA -Women in Kansas and across the nation will march on Saturday in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington,
It is a women-led movement bringing together people of all genders, ages, races, cultures, political affiliations and backgrounds. The leaders want to promote shared humanity and pronounce a bold message of resistance and self-determination, according to a social media report.
The march in Wichita begins at 10am at The Keeper of the Plains, 650 North Seneca. They will march to City Hall where a rally will be held.
They are gathering to unite voices, share stories, support and encourage one another, according to a social media report.
They will come together to resist that which stands to threaten “civil and human rights and the civil and human rights of all people.”
A similar rally is being held at 1p.m. in on the south steps of the state capitol in Topeka.
Among the scheduled speakers are Stephanie Mott (LGBTQ), Elise Higgins (Repro Rights)
Barbara Ballard (KS legislator), Heather Ousley (Education), Dot Nary (Disability Rights)
Ana Maldonado (Sexual Assault/Violence)
Glenda Overstreet (BLM), Anaya Vasu and Sho Glashausser (Youth), CarynMirriam-Goldberg (KS Poet Laureate, 09-12)
By SAM ZEFF
Friday morning Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
But from the moment he won the election, there has been trepidation among immigrants, both those in the country legally and illegally. That fear is a big problem in the Kansas City Public Schools.
It can be hard enough teaching in the Kansas City school district. Many students live in poverty, lots of the schools are crumbling, and there are a lack of extracurricular activities.
But for hundreds, maybe even thousands of students in the Kansas City district, life got a little bit scarier after Donald Trump was elected.
“My little sister was actually crying. She’s about 12, 13, and she was crying. She knew what’s possible, you know,” says Alfredo Aragonez Nevarez, a senior at East High School near 19th and Van Brunt.
Nevarez lives with his parents, two little sisters and a younger brother. “I grew up here in Kansas City. The time I did spend in Mexico, which is where I was born, I don’t remember anything from there, you know, my whole life has been here in Kansas City.”
He and his family are here legally, for now, and we’ll get to the crazy way they got visas later and why he’s still worried.
Teachers and counselors in the district say they have seen a big change in Latino students since the election. “The motivation isn’t there. They don’t see the purpose. They’re not as goal driven because they see a world with kind of dead ends in front of them,” says Nate Zier, who has been a counselor at East for three years.
English is a second language for 55 percent of students at East, where 40 different languages are spoken.
Zier says DACA students, who are safe from deportation now because of an executive order from President Obama, are worried Trump will rescind their status.
Those here illegally are simply worried the government is going to start rounding up their families.
It’s the unknown, really, that has kids on edge.
Alfredo and his family are safe for now.
But only because of a quirk in immigration law for victims of some violent crimes.
“We heard gun shots. We didn’t think nothing of it. You hear it quite often around here, so I went to go check on the rest of the family,” Nevarez recalls. “My mom was actually outside but I had to pulled her back in by her shirt because I seen that our neighbor was actually holding the gun in front of his lawn.”
Their house was shot up, but thankfully nobody was hit. And thanks to a helpful Kansas City Police Department detective and a lawyer willing to work for a discount, they have visas.
But only until next month when the visa obtained two years ago expires.
Alfredo says his parents are on edge.
“I can see that they are scared, you know, they’re worried. They’re always asking, ‘How you doing in school?’ They’re just scared, but they don’t like to show it us.”
So what is the district doing to help?
Last month the district brought together Latino community leaders to talk about how to support students, legally and emotionally, as the country waits to see what Trump will do. They heard the East choir perform and from student body leaders.
Luis Cordoba runs the student intervention program in the district and says Latino students are anxious and scared. He calls it a trauma. “The trauma is really the anxiety. The instability. The fear of deportation. The fear they won’t see their parents again. That’s trauma.”
There’s anecdotal evidence Latino students are making more trips to the nurse and coming to school less.
With Trump about to become president, all the district can do is tell them to take a breath and wait to see what he really does because a bureaucracy the size of the U.S. government doesn’t change overnight.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR and a member of the Kansas News Service. He’s also co-host of KCUR’s political podcast Statehouse Blend Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @samzeff.
PLATTE COUNTY, MO – Officials in Missouri on Friday identified a Kansas man who died in an accident just before 8a.m. on Wednesday in Platte County, Missouri.
A 1986 Chevrolet El Camino driven by a Donald G. Warf, 51, Atchison, was eastbound on MO 92.
He lost control of the vehicle east of Bethel Road, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The vehicle slid into the westbound lane. A westbound 2000 Buick Century hit the Chevy.
Warf was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Buick, Joshua T. Ross, 33, Platte City, was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Ice and fog that morning were probably a contributing factor in the crash, according to Sgt. Jeffrey Shanks.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has rejected a legal challenge from the state’s largest teachers union to a 2014 law ending guaranteed tenure in the state’s public schools.
The court ruled unanimously Friday that lawmakers didn’t practice logrolling when they passed the bill. Logrolling is the practice of including several topics in one bill, and the state constitution prohibits legislative bills from having more than one subject.
The Kansas National Education Association filed a lawsuit claiming that the portion of the bill ending tenure violated the rule because the full measure dealt with both spending and general education policy. The court said they were sufficiently related to remain in the same bill.
The decision upheld a Shawnee County judge’s ruling that the law did not violate the one-subject rule.
TOPEKA -The Kansas Supreme Court Friday upheld the convictions and sentence of Antonio Brown Sr. for the October 2011 killing of 14-month-old Clayden Urbanek, according to a media release from the court.
Brown was convicted in Saline County District Court of felony murder, two counts of child abuse, and one count of interference with a law enforcement officer.
The court rejected Brown’s arguments that his confession was involuntary because investigating officers ignored his request for an attorney during questioning, that the jury was not properly instructed on felony murder, and that the evidence was insufficient for the charge of interference with a law enforcement officer.
Clayden died from injuries he sustained in Brown’s care while his mother was at work. Brown told the child’s mother he fell from a couch. Salina police who arrested Brown found him hiding in the basement of an acquaintance’s home.
On appeal, Brown claimed his inculpatory statements to interviewing officers should not be used at his trial because he was denied a lawyer during questioning after requesting one. But the court rejected this argument, noting that after Brown was unsuccessful contacting an attorney, Brown reinitiated the conversation with the officers, repeatedly saying he was willing to keep talking about what had happened. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Dan Biles, the court held that Brown “knowingly and intelligently waived the previously-asserted right to counsel.”
The court also rejected Brown’s argument that he was not interfering with the duties of a law enforcement officer by hiding in the basement after the officers identified themselves and ordered him to come out. The court said Brown’s failure to obey “created an immediate safety issue for both the officers and Brown. And the officers had to engage in additional actions to address the heightened security concerns.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States (all times EST):
In his inauguration speech, President Donald Trump is repeating the dark vision and the list of the country’s woes that he hit on during the campaign.
Watch a replay of the inauguration here
Trump describes closed factories as “tombstones” that dot the county and says the federal government has spent billions defending “other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.”
The Republican president says the U.S. “will confront hardships but we will get the job done.”
He says the oath of office he just took “is an oath of allegiance to all Americans” and said that the country will share “one glorious destiny.”
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12:12 p.m.
President Donald Trump says that he will govern the country by putting America first.
Trump is saying in his first speech as president that “from this day forward, a new vision will govern our hand” and that “from this day forward it’s going to be only America first.”
Trump says that every decision he makes, on issues from trade to taxes to immigration and foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and families.
He says “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries” taking American jobs.
Trump says that under his leadership, America “will start winning like never before.”
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12:11 p.m.
President Donald Trump says Americans came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement “the likes of which the world has never seen before.”
Trump says the United States exists to serve its citizens.
He says Americans want great schools, safe neighborhoods and good jobs.
But he says too many people face a different reality: rusted-out factories, a bad education system, crime, gangs and drugs.
Trump says the “carnage stops right here and right now.”
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12:10 p.m.
President Donald Trump is declaring his victory a victory for working people.
Trump says in his inauguration speech: “Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another,” but “transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you, the people”
Trump says that, for too long, too few have had power and the people have paid the price.
He says: “Washington flourished but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories closed.”
He says, “That all changes starting right here and right now.”
Trump is also thanking former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama for their “gracious” aid through the transition.
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12:09 p.m.
President Donald Trump says change starts “right here and right now.”
The new president is using his inaugural address to say it doesn’t matter which party controls the government. He says that what matters is “whether our government is controlled by the people.”
Trump says the forgotten men and women of the country “will be forgotten no longer.”
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12:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump is beginning his inaugural address by saying that “together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.”
He says Americans have “joined a great national effort to build our country and restore its promise for all people.”
It began to rain in Washington as Trump started speaking.
Trump also thanked all of the past presidents in attendance, including former campaign foes Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
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12 p.m.
Donald Trump is now the 45th president of the United States. He’s just taken the oath of office on the West Front of the Capitol.
The combative billionaire businessman and television celebrity won election in November over Democrat Hillary Clinton, and today he’s leading a profoundly divided country — one that’s split between Americans enthralled and horrified by his victory.
The unorthodox politician and the Republican-controlled Congress are already charting a newly conservative course for the nation. And they’re promising to reverse the work of the 44th president, Barack Obama.
Up next is Trump’s inaugural address — where the new commander in chief is expected to set out his vision for the country’s next four years.
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11:55 a.m.
Mike Pence has been sworn in as the vice president of the United States.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office.
President-elect Donald Trump chose Pence, the former governor of Indiana, as his running mate last summer.
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11:45 a.m.
U.S. embassies and consulates in at least 10 nations in Asia, Europe and Latin America are warning of potentially violent protests through the weekend against the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
Security notices posted by U.S. diplomatic missions in Chile, Denmark, France, Greece, Haiti, Italy the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal and the Philippines advise American in those countries to steer clear of embassies and consulates on Friday and, in some cases, on Saturday and Sunday. That’s due to the possibility of unrest and clashes with police.
The notices say the planned demonstrations are either focused on “U.S. politics” or are “inauguration-related.”
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11:32 a.m.
President-elect Donald Trump has taken the stage for his inauguration.
The Republican businessman from New York flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was introduced.
Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence took the stage at the Capitol minutes after President Barack Obama and members of his family and administration.
Trump will soon be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
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11:30 a.m.
Hundreds of people who worked for President Barack Obama are arriving at Andrews Air Force Base to hear some final parting words from the soon-to-be ex-president.
Hours before Obama was to speak, former White House and administration staffers are gathering in a hangar where a small stage with a lone American flag was set up for him.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, are leaving the Capitol by military helicopter after witnessing Donald Trump’s swearing-in, and they’re being flown to the base in Maryland just outside Washington.
The Obamas will vacation in Palm Springs, California.
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11:25 a.m.
The dais is filled for the inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have taken their seats.
And President-elect Donald Trump’s family is ready.
The stage is set for Donald Trump to be sworn in as the next president of the United States.
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11:20 a.m.
In the crowd gathered on the National Mall for the inauguration, there’s no shortage of fans of Democratic figures.
Big cheers went up when images were shown of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who ran for president against Hillary Clinton. But the biggest cheer so far for a Democrat has gone to first lady Michelle Obama. She received sustained applause as people watched her appear on the television screens.
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11:15 a.m.
As Donald Trump and President Barack Obama made their way to the Capitol, police were confronting a group of demonstrators wearing black in downtown Washington, and authorities were using what appeared to be pepper spray.
Protesters were carrying signs denouncing capitalism and Trump.
Police cordoned off about 100 demonstrators who chanted “hands up, don’t shoot.”
A helicopter hovered overhead.
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11:10 a.m.
President Barack Obama and his successor, Donald Trump, have arrived at the Capitol for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
Trump is joined by his family, including his five children Eric, Don Jr., Ivanka, Tiffany and youngest son, Barron.
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11:05 a.m.
Incoming first lady Melania (meh-LAH’-nee-ah) Trump is wearing a sky blue cashmere jacket and mock turtleneck combination by Ralph Lauren for Inauguration Day.
In a statement, the Lauren Corp. says: “It was important to us to uphold and celebrate the tradition of creating iconic American style for this moment.”
Mrs. Trump’s hair is in a soft updo and accessorized with long suede gloves and matching stilettos. She was greeted at the White House by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama was wearing red, short-sleeve dress.
Ivanka Trump chose Oscar de la Renta, and Hillary Clinton showed up in a white Ralph Lauren pantsuit that harkened back to the one she wore to accept the Democratic nomination for president at her party’s convention in July. Her jacket matched.
Who else made a large fashion statement for Trump’s big day?
Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway wore a military-style wool coat by Gucci of red, white and blue, with two rows of cat-head buttons and a matching red cloche hat. She described her look as “Trump revolutionary wear.”
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11 a.m
President Barack Obama’s departing White House staff is offering a subtle message on the walls of their lower press office as he leaves office.
Obama aides left up on a wall printed front pages from some of Obama’s biggest moments, including his 2009 inaugural, his signing of his health care law and the death of Osama bin Laden.
The wall typically features the day’s front pages. The compilation of Obama front pages was put up about a week ago.
Obama’s press offices were largely emptied out when Trump arrived at the White House for tea with the outgoing president.
It was unclear whether the front pages will still be there when Trump’s team arrives. A cleaning crew was expected to prepare the premises for the incoming administration.
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10:55 a.m.
Hillary Clinton says she’s attending Donald Trump’s inauguration to “honor our democracy.”
Clinton made the comment on Twitter Trump took the oath of office. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are both in attendance.
Here’s what Clinton is saying: “I’m here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values. I will never stop believing in our country & its future.”
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10:50 a.m.
President Barack Obama and his successor, Donald Trump, are departing the White House to head to Trump’s inauguration.
The pair got into a limousine that will take them to the Capitol.
Also on their way are Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and Trump’s wife, Melania (meh-LAH’-nee-ah).
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10:35 a.m.
Crowds on the National Mall — where people without tickets can watch the inauguration — are growing steadily.
But less than two hours before the swearing-in, there are still wide swaths of empty space. There are strong suggestions that the crowds will not match President Barack Obama’s first inaugural eight years ago.
Some people were prevented by security barriers from getting closer to the Capitol despite having plenty of space in front of them.
The grass on the Mall was protected by white plastic and there were some muddy spots amid intermittent rain.
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10:33 a.m.
Most of the Donald Trump backers who are walking to the inauguration past Union Station in Washington are trying to ignore protesters outside the train station.
Then there’s Doug Rahm, who engaged in a lengthy and sometimes profane yelling match with protesters.
“Get a job,” Rahm said. “Stop crying snowflakes, Trump won.”
Rahm — who’s from Philadelphia and does high-rise restorations, is with Bikers for Trump. He says the protesters should get behind the new president.
He says, “This is unite America day.”
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10:25 a.m.
President Barack Obama has left a letter for his successor in the Oval Office before departing the White House — as is the tradition from one president to the next.
The White House is providing no details about what Obama conveyed to Donald Trump.
Obama campaigned vigorously against Trump. But the president and president-elect have had regular phone conversations since the election, with the president offering guidance and advice.
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10:20 a.m.
Belgium’s prime minister hopes Donald Trump will uphold NATO’s security guarantees and live up to the expectations of the American people.
Charles Michel says in a statement before Trump takes the oath of office that “it is essential that our engagement is maintained” to guarantee peace and stability through NATO.
Trump has called NATO “obsolete” and says European members aren’t paying their fair share.
Michel’s statement contains no congratulations. He does say “the expectations of the American people are high” and hopes Trump “will be able to deliver.”
Michel also says the European Union is entering a new era and it’s his belief “that Europe more than ever needs to defend its own agenda and interests.”
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10:05 a.m.
The White House says members of the residence staff have presented President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama with two American flags that were flown atop the building.
One of the flags was flown on the first day of Obama’s presidency. The other was flown on his final morning as president.
The Obamas are preparing to depart the White House for the last time as president and first lady when they head to Donald Trump’s inauguration.
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9:45 a.m.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are asking the public to help them develop projects for his new presidential center on Chicago’s South Side.
The Obamas are starting up a foundation website — Obama.org — in the hours before Donald Trump is inaugurated the 45th president.
Obama says the foundation’s projects will be developed “all over the city, the country and the world.” He asks Americans to “tell us what you want this project to be and tell us what’s on your mind.”
The foundation is developing Obama’s presidential library and center in Chicago.
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9:40 a.m.
Donald Trump is heading to the White House to meet with President Barack Obama.
Trump has left St. John’s Church across from the White House. He paused to shake hands with a clergy member at the door and then walked to his waiting vehicle.
There were cheers from supporters as Trump left the church.
He was followed by family members and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Pence said he was “very humbled” when he was asked about his message for the day.
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9:35 a.m.
President Barack Obama is taking a final stroll from the Oval Office through the Rose Garden as a sitting president. He’s soon to welcome his successor, Donald Trump, to the White House.
Obama was seen leaving papers on his desk in the Oval Office. He’s told reporters he’s feeling nostalgic on his final day as president.
He says his final message to the American people is “thank you.”
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9:30 a.m.
President Barack Obama is bidding farewell on Twitter.
Here’s what it says on the official presidential account: “It’s been the honor of my life to serve you.”
The president has been striking an optimistic tone in the final days of his administration.
He tells followers that he’s “still asking you to believe – not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.”
The president is also asking people to share their thoughts about the focus of his new foundation’s work.
He says: “I won’t stop; I’ll be right there with you as a citizen, inspired by your voices of truth and justice, good humor, and love.”
RILEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating a man on child sex crimes.
At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, police arrested John Gaver, 22, on requested charges of criminal sodomy of a child between 14 and 16 years old and four counts of soliciting a child between 14 and 16 years of age.
On Friday, the Riley County Attorney formerly filed charges on 9 counts of criminal sodomy.
Gave remains jailed on a bond of $160,000.
POLK COUNTY – A Kansas man died and another was injured in an accident just after 4 a.m. on Thursday in Polk County Iowa.
Polk County Sheriff’s Department reported a United Taxi Cab driven by Mohamed Diriy, 29, was eastbound on NE 58th Avenue and NE 22nth Street south of Ankeny.
The vehicle left the road at a T-intersection and entered a ravine.
A passenger Shawn Koltiska, 29, August, Kansas, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another passenger Brian Foster, 48, Garden Plain, was hospitalized.
Deputies arrested Diriye and he was charged with 2nd offense OWI, Homicide by vehicle and two counts of serious injury in connection with the crash, according to the sheriff’s department.
TOPEKA – A hearing on Thursday for a Kansas man convicted of attempted manufacture of methamphetamine and attempted 2nd degree murder, over the defendant’s civil filing claiming ineffective counsel.
Paul Stotts, 28, claimed that he had ineffective counsel prior to his trial and his attorney David Holmes failed to inform him of a plea offer from the state.
Stotts continues to argue that if he had known about the offer which would have reduced his time in prison to around 13 and a half years, he would have taken it.
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that he failed to demonstrate a reasonable probability that he would have accepted the plea offer at the time it was offered.
But, in court his attorney said what they failed to do at the appellate level was whether he was prejudiced by not hearing about the offer.
Stotts told the judge that he was barely 18 at the time of his arrest and knew nothing of how the legal system worked. He says the plea offer was mentioned in court, but didn’t feel he could oppose his attorney who he thought was working for his best interest. He says it wasn’t until he went to prison that he learned what he could or couldn’t do even during his trial.
Judge Trish Rose took the issue under advisement and indicated it may be some time before she issues any ruling.
Stotts is serving a near 25-year sentence after being convicted of attempted 2nd degree murder for crashing his vehicle into another, badly injuring the other driver during a high-speed chase through Reno County in March of 2007.
The state says it was intentional, while Stotts maintains it was an accident. He was also found guilty of having items consistent with a meth lab inside his vehicle, two counts of aggravated battery, and several counts of flee and elude.
KANSAS CITY – Three men from Mexico appeared in federal court in Topeka today on charges of smuggling liquid methamphetamine into Kansas City, Kan., in the gas tank of a semi-trailer truck, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
The defendants are alleged to have smuggled more than 1,000 pounds of liquid methamphetamine that they pumped out of the gas tank of the truck.
Heraclio Estrella-Montero, 30, Yoan Alejandro Castillo-Zamora, 30, and Fernando Chavez-Rodriquez, 40, all of Mexico, are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court papers, the men were arrested in Kansas City, Kan., about 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, after pumping the liquid methamphetamine from the truck into five-gallon buckets.
If convicted they face a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
FORD COUNTY – Three people were injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Thursday in Ford County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Toyota Sienna driven by Theodore Allen Fuller, 31, Wright, was eastbound on U.S. 50 five miles east of Dodge City.
The vehicle crossed the center line and collided with a westbound 2013 Ford F150 driven by Duane D. Boyd, 70, Offerle.
Wright, Boyd and a passenger in the Toyota Maria G. Fuller, 33, Wright, were transported to Western Plains Medical Center.
The drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Pottawatomie County are investigating a suspect on forgery charges.
Just after 4p.m. on Monday, sheriff’s deputies and Riley County police responded to a business in the 100 Block of East Bluemont in Manhattan, according to a media release.
The victim reported that a man had made a transaction at the business using what was believed to be counterfeit 100 dollar bills.
Responding Officers were able to locate the suspect Jack William Landis, 38, near the business.
He was taken into custody for theft by deception, and making a false writing. He is currently being held at the Pottawatomie County Jail on a bond of $15,000.
Landis has previous convictions for cruelty to animals, theft, domestic battery and forgery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
