Kansas State University officials have identified the cause of death for a student who was found dead in his dorm room last month.
School officials say sophomore Thomas McCord apparently died of complications from diabetes.
The English and creative writing major was found dead in his room in Marlatt Hall on Oct. 28.
McCord, of Overland Park, was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity.
by Fred Gough ~ Hutch Post
A 33-year-old Hutchinson man was found guilty of all charges including first degree murder this afternoon after 14 and half hours of deliberations.
Other charges include 1st degree felony murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to commit first degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated intimidation of a witness.
Many family and friends of the victim, Jennifer Heckel began to cry as the verdict was read while Logsdon remained calm. The victims husband looked down towards the floor nearly in tears as the verdict was read.
Other family members and friends began hugging each other as the judge dismissed the jury, Logsdon then became agitated and began yelling profanities at the family and friends of the victim as well as the jurors as they were escorted from the courtroom. He was yelling, “I didn’t do this. I didn’t do this” He was then yanked from the courtroom by the numerous law enforcement officers and jail guards. Even the Sheriff and Under-Sheriff were present to ensure order. They kept the defendant in the judges chambers until the jury was escorted back to the jury room. He was then taken to jail and will most likely be taken back to the Ford County Jail where he has been housed since being charged in the case.
Normally, once the jury is relieved the two sides will then discuss any post trial motions by the defense and set a sentencing date. That didn’t happen because of the defendants out burst.
The trial lasted over 2-weeks and kept prosecutors and law enforcement busy with police detectives on and off the stand, and sheriff officers stationed throughout the 3rd floor of the Reno County to watch for anything that would be deemed a security risk, but as far as we know nothing happened.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder seemed nervous while waiting for the verdict, but in the end, it was worth it. Some of the prosecutors were seen hugging family and friends of the victim.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder spoke with after the verdict was read and told us, “I’m most happy for the family of Jennifer Heckel.” But he added, “I’m equally happy and proud of the Hutchinson Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and other agencies that helped out.” He says he was also pleased with the way his office pulled together with two of his attorney’s tied up in trial for 3-weeks. He says he’s proud of them as well.
As far as the facts in the case, Schroeder wouldn’t comment on that calling it “half time.” He says “we still have another half to play and I don’t want to play it in another stadium.” He’s referring to the possibility of the attorney’s for co-defendant Billy Craig Jr., seeking a change of venue for his trial which begins in late January.
The jury got the case Wednesday afternoon and all agreed that he is guilty of the crimes surrounding the murder of Jennifer Heckel on June 14 of last year. She had been shot in the back and also in the head while her young son listened to her being killed in another room.
The state has contended that this murder was a case of mistaken identity and that they intended to rob Kayla Salyer-Rodriquez. But, apparently ended up at the wrong house.
Logsdon will be sentenced on December 21 and is looking at life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25-years.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach says a Democratic legislator has failed to convince a Sedgwick County judge to release the names of voters who cast provisional ballots.
Representative Geraldine Flaharty of Wichita filed the lawsuit Friday. She narrowly trails her Republican opponent, so those votes could help her.
Kobach says a judge ruled against Flaharty, citing a federal law protecting voters’ names. The Associated Press couldn’t obtain the judge’s order Friday night.
Provisional ballots are used when it’s unclear if a voter is at the correct polling place. The ballots are reviewed later.
A similar lawsuit was filed in Shawnee County by Democratic Representative Ann Mah of Topeka. But in that case, the judge ordered Friday that the names be released. Mah trails her Republican opponent by 27 votes.
A new report predicts that Kansas farmers will harvest a better soybean crop than previously expected.
Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service on Friday forecast the state’s soybean crop at 86.3 million bushels. That is up 5 percent from October’s estimate, but is still down 15 percent from last year. If the prediction is correct, it would still be the smallest soybean crop in Kansas since 2007.
The agency is standing by its earlier forecasts of 382.2 million bushels for the state’s corn crop. That would make it a 15 percent smaller crop than last year.
Also unchanged is the forecast of 84 million bushels for grain sorghum, down 24 percent from last year. That would be the smallest sorghum crop in Kansas since 1956.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), Division of Tourism, has announced the recipients of the 2012 Governor’s Tourism Award and the 2012 Tourism Partnership Award. The awards were presented during the 2012 Kansas Tourism Conference in Dodge City.
The community of Oakley received the 2012 Tourism Partnership Award.
Raelene Keller and Jim and Lori Millensifer accepted the award on behalf of the community. The people of Oakley demonstrated outstanding enthusiasm and cooperation when they hosted the Inaugural Governor’s Ringneck Classic pheasant hunt last November. Their dedication focused attention on the tremendous hunting opportunities in Kansas.
Oakley is hosting the event again this year, November 15-18.
The recipient of the 2012 Governor’s Tourism Award was the Flint Hills Nature Trail.
by Fred Gough ~ Hutch Post
While the state and the defense Friday morning argued over how much time a 33-year-old Hutchinson man should get in a child abuse case from 2007, District Judge Trish Rose sentenced Aron Pritchard to 110-months, down from the 124-months he was originally sentenced to by now Retired Judge Richard Rome, and a sentence Judge Rose had upheld previously.
Twice now the Court of Appeals remanded the case for re-sentencing based on the double rule in criminal cases.
The last time the case was before the court, Judge Rose ruled there was substantial evidence to grant the states motion a second time in sentencing Pritchard to an aggravated sentence in a child abuse case and then doubling the sentence, just as Judge Rome had done with the original sentence.
Pritchard’s Defense Attorney Lee Timan argued that he should only be given 62-months, 55-months for the abuse of a child count, and 7-months for the charge of endangering a child.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder argued that it should be 55-months on count 1 doubled, then 7-months on top of that for a total of 117-months. Judge Rose basically agreed with the state, but then ruled she could only sentence him up to 110-months.
Pritchard had been found guilty by a Reno County jury of child abuse for placing two children in a clothes dryer, a three-year-old boy, and a two-year-old girl. The boy sustained 2nd degree burns on his back, arms and buttocks. The crimes occurred on November 28, 2006.
Timan told the judge that they would file another appeal, so its conceivable that this case could come back again.
Governor Sam Brownback says Kansas will have a federally run health insurance exchange, after he declined to support Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger’s application for a state-federal partnership.
The Republican governor had said months ago he would wait until after Tuesday’s election before moving forward on health care. He announced his decision Thursday after meeting with Praeger, who sought the governor’s signature on a letter of support for a state-federal exchange.
Brownback’s decision illustrates the divide over the federal health care law between the conservative Republican governor and the moderate Republican commissioner.
States have until November 16th to inform the federal government if they plan to create their own health insurance exchanges, partner with the federal government or have their exchanges run by federal agencies.
Immigration officials have arrested 16 illegal immigrants during a three-day sweep across Kansas targeting criminals and fugitives.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday the arrests occurred in Wichita and surrounding communities and in Liberal and Dodge City. Fourteen of the immigrants were from Mexico, with one each from Guatemala and El Salvador.
The agency says 11 of the men had prior convictions for crimes such as aggravated assault, aggravated battery, identity theft and domestic battery. Three were immigration fugitives who failed to leave the country as ordered. Two had re-entered the U.S. illegally after being previously deported.
ICE field office director Ricardo Wong says in a news release that such targeted enforcement operations focus resources on the most egregious offenders.
The operation concluded Thursday.
Hunters who fan out across Kansas Saturday for the start of quail and pheasant season are likely to find fewer birds.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says two years of drought have reduced the birds’ population in most regions.
Mike Miller, editor of the agency’s magazine, says the southwest corner of the state is expected to have the fewest number of birds. He says the extreme heat and dry conditions reduced nesting and brood habitat for the birds.
Northwest and north-central Kansas were not as affected by the drought. And Miller says quail numbers have improved slightly in the northern Flint Hills and northeastern Kansas.
Miller says hunting brings in an estimated $400 million in revenue to the state each year.
A western Kansas woman has been sentenced to a year of probation for stealing about $4,500 from the city of Holcomb while she worked as a court clerk.
Thirty-seven-year-old Susan Marie Dreiling of Deerfield will have to serve two years in prison if she violates terms of her probation, which includes paying back the money within 60 days.
Dreiling was sentenced Thursday for two misdemeanor counts of theft after reaching a plea deal with Finney County prosecutors. She was arrested in September on a charge of felony theft.
Finney County Prosecutor Brent Watson says Dreiling took money people had paid to the court for such things as city ordinance offenses.
The Garden City Telegram reports Dreiling was accused of stealing $4,500 from December 2011 to July 31.
Health officials say five Kansas lakes will remain on warning and advisory lists for harmful blooms of toxic algae until sampling resumes next year.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Thursday sampling for blue-green algae typically is done between April 1 and Oct. 31. Health advisories or warnings were issued for 24 lakes this season, with two confirmed cases of human illnesses.
A warning remains in place for Logan City Lake in Phillips County, meaning direct contact with the water is prohibited.
Advisories discouraging water contact remain for Harvey County East Park Lake; Hiawatha Lake in Brown County; McPherson County State Fishing Lake; and Memorial Veterans Lake in Great Bend.
Three meetings will be held next week in western Kansas to hear comments about the lesser prairie chicken conservation plan.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is participating in a five-state effort to develop a range-wide conservation plan to address the decline of the lesser prairie chicken in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.
The conservation plan is intended to benefit the wildlife resources, people, and economies of these states by providing a framework for effective lesser prairie chicken management and habitat improvement that will increase the range-wide population of lesser prairie chickens.
More information about the planning process can be found at the project website: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/p.aspx?tabid=275.
Public meetings will be held in the southwest Kansas communities listed below on Nov. 13-15, 2012.
The public meeting schedule is:
November 13: Ness City, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Ness County Historical Bank Building, 106 W Main (corner Pennsylvania and Main).
November 14: Ulysses, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., 4-H Building at Civic Center Complex, 1000 W Patterson.
November 15: Greensburg, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Community Center (by fairgrounds), 720 N Bay.
UPDATE 1:42 PM: According to KSN’s Matt Horn, all 5 arrested are Bethany College athletes. 4 are members of the football team and 1 is a member of the wrestling team.
UPDATE 10:46 AM: Five Bethany residents were arrested late Wednesday night on charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and criminal damage to property after entering an apartment at gunpoint just after 9:30pm at 2130 E. Crawford.
Lt. Scott Siemsen says the suspects took keys, a cell phone and illegal drugs from the man and woman in the apartment.
The 5 were stopped a short time later in a car in the 2000 block of E. Iron.
Arrested were :
Siemsen declined to say what the illegal drug was, but did say further arrest and charges are possible in the case.
The man robbery victim was acquainted with at least one of the suspects.
UPDATE Wednesday 9:59 PM: Suspects have been apprehended and are being transported to the Saline County Jail.
UPDATE: Police have possibly located vehicle on E. Country Club Rd.
ORIGINAL: Salina police were dispatched to 2130 E. Crawford at 9:41 pm to the report of an armed robbery.
Multiple suspects reportedly armed.
Police are now searching for a dark colored impala that was last seen headed eastbound on Crawford.
