GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas man died from injuries suffered in an accident just before 7:30p.m. on Tuesday in Geary County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Nissan passenger vehicle driven by Timothy Joseph Musil, 38, Topeka, was westbound on Interstate 70 at a high rate of speed when it attempted to exit at Humboldt Creek Road.
The vehicle entered the ramp at too great of speed and could not negotiate the curve.
The vehicle entered the north ditch and tumbled end over end 3 times.
An emergency medical team flew Musil and passengers Brandi Marie Clark, 33, Oskaloosa, and Michael Gideon Mahoney, 34, Topeka, to a hospital in Topeka.
Musil died on Wednesday, according to the KHP.
He and the others in the vehicle were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
Explosive device found near Herington -photo courtesy KWCH
DICKINSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County are investigating a teenage suspect for allegedly building an explosive device.
On Saturday, Herington police and sheriff’s deputies responded after a citizen called to report a suspicions device seen under a bridge near Vane Road and Highway 4 just outside Herington, according to Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman.
Following a tip in the investigation, a Herington Police Officer notified the Dickinson County Sheriff’s office and Wednesday evening, deputies executed a search warrant at the home of a teen suspect in Herington.
They arrested the teen.
He faces charges in Dickinson County Court for Criminal use of explosives, Possession of marijuana, and Possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is currently being held in the Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City awaiting a first appearance in court.
After authorities found the device on Saturday, the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team from Fort Riley checked it, moved it and detonated it.
Walker was arrested in Utah after a string of bank robberies according to a media release-photo courtesy Weber County Utah Sheriff’s Department.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 20-year-old man has been indicted in a Topeka bank robbery.
The U.S. attorney’s office says federal grand jurors returned the indictment Wednesday against Dakota Shareef Walker, Topeka. The indictment alleges that he robbed a U.S. Bank branch in November.
In a media release, the FBI said Walker’s arrest is pursuant to an investigation into a string of bank robberies in multiple states.
No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
WASHINGTON -President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for CIA director, Kansas 4th District Congressman Mike Pompeo, faces senators amid a testy standoff between Trump and the spy community.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on the nomination begins at 9 a.m. CST
The hearing started and then was temporarily delayed due to a power outage.
Electricity was out in two Senate office buildings, interrupting the hearing.
A spokesman for the Architect of the Capitol says power is out in most of the Hart Senate Office Building and in some of the adjacent Dirksen building. Crews are working to restore power.
The confirmation hearing for congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas was moved to a new room.
GENOA CITY, Wis. (AP) — Two girls reported missing in southeastern Wisconsin have been taken into protective custody in Kansas.
Authorities say eight-year-old Katie Brick and six-year-old Jenna Brick were last seen Tuesday leaving a home in Genoa City with their mother who does not have custody of the sisters. Police say the girls were found with their mother in a hotel in Overland Park, Kansas.
Police say the boyfriend of the mother was found wandering incoherently and shoeless in the area and took officers to the hotel. Authorities say the girls were not harmed.
The Kenosha News says the mother is scheduled in Walworth County Circuit Court Thursday on felony forgery and identity theft, charges unrelated to the incident.
Tiffany Brick-photo Geno City Police
On Tuesday at approximately 6:30 a.m., Tiffany Brick, 28, left her home in the Village of Genoa City with her 2 children against an order through the County of Walworth, according to a media release.
She was driving a black 2006 4-door GMC Sierra K1500 pickup with Wisconsin light truck registration JZ1918.
There is a pink “Browning” sticker on the back window. Tiffany has a confederate flag tattoo on her right shoulder.
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Senate early Thursday morning passed a nonbinding Republican-backed budget measure that eases the way for action on subsequent repeal legislation to eliminate Obmamacare as soon as next month.
Republicans have been promising to get rid of the healthcare plan but more and more of the GOP are feeling uneasy about dumping it without having a replacement in place.
U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran supported the measure.
Moran said in a media release, “Canceled policies, difficulties in identifying new plans, massive premium increases, sky-high deductibles and limited options for doctors – the new normal for many American families under Obamacare. This vote gives us the opportunity to begin repairing the damage. I will work with my colleagues – Republicans and Democrats alike – to swiftly come together, offer real reforms to lower costs and improve the quality of healthcare, and ensure there is no lapse in care. Americans deserve freedom of choice and should have access to truly affordable, quality healthcare.”
The Obamacare repeal resolution will now be taken up by the U.S. House of Representatives. Should it be passed, a future vote to repeal Obamacare altogether will succeed with a simple majority in both chambers.
KANSAS CITY -A Kansas City area High school principal was arrested Wednesday after officials in Ray County, Missouri charged him with alleged sex crimes involving a teen from almost 20 years ago, according to the North Kansas City School District.
The Winnetonka school district reported via social medial “We were made aware of charges filed against Mr. Matt Lindsey relating to actions that allegedly occurred in 1997 or 1998, prior to his employment with North Kansas City Schools. He has been placed on administrative leave and will not be returning to campus at this time.
Lindsey was jailed on $50,000 cash only bond with special conditions.
In 2015, Lindsey was voted the High School Principal of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Missouri Principals Association, according the school district.
The Richmond R-XVI School District, where Lindsey worked when the alleged crime occurred issued a statement.
“Matt Lindsey was employed in the Richmond R-XVI School District from 1995-1996 to 1999-2000. He was a physical education teacher and head boys basketball coach during the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 school years and was Assistant Principal / Athletic Director at Richmond High School during the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000 school years.
The district has and will continue to cooperate with the investigation into this matter.”
SALINE COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 11p.m. on Wednesday in Saline County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Peterbilt semi driven by Shane M. Degraeve, 28, Leavenworth, was eastbound on Interstate 70 at Interstate 135.
The semi hit the trailer pulled by a 1974 Ford pickup driven by Terry L. Hart, 57, Fall River, that entered eastbound Interstate 70 from northbound Interstate 135.
Hart was transported to Salina Regional Medical Center.
Degraeve was not transported for treatment.
Hart was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
BROWN COUNTY -A Kansas man remains jailed on a $500,000 bond and will be sentenced in March after his conviction in the severe beating of a two-year-old girl who refused to eat.
After a bench trial on Monday, Brown County District Judge John Weingart found Frank Lee Rodriguez, 25, Hiawatha, guilty on charges of aggravated battery and felony abuse of a child.
Rodriguez originally denied hitting the child.
He ultimately told Hiawatha police he got upset when the girl was not eating. He said he slammed her onto the floor and punched her in the head.
The child sustained severe head injuries in the beating on August 26, 2016.
MOUNDRIDGE, Kan. (AP) — A California woman who died along with her 8-year-old son after falling through ice on a Kansas pond traveled extensively, led a church youth group and helped gut and renovate houses.
The Wichita Eagle reports 44-year-old Polly Claassen and her son, Trent, fell through the ice of a pond at William P. Pack Memorial Park in Moundridge on Jan. 6. Polly’s husband and Trent’s father, Gary, was also on the ice when it broke. He was treated and released from a hospital.
Gary’s aunt, June Krehbiel, says the family had been staying at her house, several blocks from the pond. June says Polly was someone who thought of others and taught Trent, a Cub Scout, to be the same way.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget and tax proposals (all times local):
Four Republican leaders in the Kansas Senate have issued a joint statement criticizing GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget-balancing proposals.
The statement Wednesday criticized Brownback for proposing to increase taxes on wine, liquor, beer and cigarettes and for not agreeing to the repeal of an income tax break for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners.
It also said “a real structural fix” was “noticeably absent” and that the governor relied too heavily on accounting moves and shifting funds internally.
The statement was from Senate President Susan Wagle of Wichita, Vice President Jeff Longbine of Emporia, Majority Leader Jim Denning of Overland Park and Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn of Sedgwick.
Brownback’s office did not immediately respond.
Kansas faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $1.1 billion through July 2019.
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Democrats in the Kansas Legislature are harshly criticizing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals for balancing the state budget.
State Rep. Tom Sawyer of Wichita described the package outlined Wednesday by Brownback as “a pile of garbage.” Sawyer is the top Democrat on the House Taxation Committee.
Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka called many of the proposals from the governor “taking hocus pocus budgeting to a new level.”
Brownback’s proposals include diverting highway funds to general government programs, scaling back the state’s contributions to public employee pensions and liquidating a state investment fund.
His proposals also include raising taxes on cigarettes, wine, liquor and beer.
Democrats blame the state’s budget problems on personal income tax cuts enacted by Republican legislators in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging.
photo courtesy Excelsior Springs Police Department
KANSAS CITY – Two Kansas City men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a series of local armed robberies following a head-on collision with a police vehicle in a Quik Trip parking lot while attempting to flee from officers, according to Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Curlie Pruitt, III, 36, and Roy L. House, 38, both of Kansas City, were charged in a three-count indictment returned on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. The indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Pruitt and House on Dec. 22, 2016.
The federal indictment contains the original charge of being felons in possession of a firearm, and includes an additional count of conspiracy to commit robbery and an additional count of aiding and abetting one another in the use of a firearm during a violent crime.
The indictment alleges that Pruitt and House aided and abetted one another to possess a loaded American Tactical .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on Dec. 20, 2016. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Pruitt has prior felony convictions for assault and robbery, as well as a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. House has prior convictions for assault and robbery as well as a federal conviction for carjacking. House is currently serving a term of supervised release for that federal conviction.
The indictment also alleges that Pruitt and House participated in a conspiracy to rob Road Star Gas Station, 11100 E. US 40 Hwy., Independence, Mo.; Beeline Mini-Mart, 1005 Isley Blvd., Excelsior Springs, Mo.; and Discount Smoke Shop, 4718 N.E. Vivion Rd., Kansas City, Mo. Pruitt and House also are charged with using the loaded American Tactical handgun during those robberies.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Independence police officers were contacted by an employee at the Super 8 Hotel, 4031 S. Lynn Court Drive, Independence, at approximately 8:36 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, in regard to two men – later identified as Pruitt and House – who were acting suspiciously. The employee feared the men were going to rob the hotel, the affidavit says. They left the hotel but returned at approximately 9:05 p.m.
When officers arrived at the hotel, the affidavit says, Pruitt and House were in a blue Ford 500 and were leaving the area, with Pruitt driving. A police officer activated the emergency equipment on his patrol vehicle to initiate a traffic stop, however, Pruitt allegedly accelerated the vehicle and drove through the parking lot of the Quik Trip at 4024 S. Noland Road, Independence. As Pruitt’s vehicle continued at a high rate of speed through the parking lot, traveling toward S. Noland Road, it collided head-on with the patrol vehicle of another officer who was responding to assist. The collision was severe enough to disable both vehicles.
Pruitt immediately attempted to exit his vehicle and flee, the affidavit says, but was trapped by a third police vehicle that pinned the driver’s side door closed. Pruitt and House were placed under arrest. Officers found a loaded American Tactical .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on the floor board of the front passenger seat area.
Police went to the Schlitterbahn Kansas City Water Park on July 7, to investigate the death of a 10-year-old boy photo courtesy KMBC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The family of a Kansas lawmaker’s 10-year-old son killed last summer on what was billed as the world’s tallest water slide has reached a settlement with the park’s owner.
Terms of the deal filed Wednesday in Kansas’ Johnson County District Court involving Caleb Schwab’s family were not immediately released.
A spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, Winter Prosapio, confirmed the settlement, which was first reported by The Kansas City Star. She declined to elaborate, other than to say the park’s owners plan to follow through on demolishing the slide as announced in November.
An attorney for two women injured with Schwab during the ill-fated ride last Aug. 7 says Wednesday’s action does not resolve any potential liabilities against the park by his clients.
