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Prison Sentences Overturned for Illegal Deer Hunting in Western KS

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned the prison sentences of Texas brothers who ran a camp in Kansas where hunters paid thousands of dollars to illegally shoot deer.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday the district court made a mistake in sentencing James and Marlin Butler, who ran Camp Lone Star near Coldwater.

The court said the value of the wildlife at the camp should not have been based on the full price of a guided hunt, but on the actual value of the animals involved.

Camp owner James Butler Jr. was sentenced to 41 months in prison. His brother, Marlin, who worked as a guide, was sentenced to 27 months in prison. The brothers are both from Martinsville, Texas.

Suspect in KC Bomb Scare Cleared

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A misunderstanding snowballed into a full-scale bomb scare Friday afternoon, leaving the man at the center of it all in a fight to clear his name, reports KSHB-TV News.

Several local news outlets made Wahed Moharam’s name public while covering the events that led to the evacuation of two government offices in downtown Kansas City, Mo. 41 Action News made the choice not to share his name on the air or on the web because no charges had been filed against him.

But on Friday night, Moharam gave 41 Action News permission to identify him as he explained the circumstances that led to the bomb scare, and said in no uncertain terms that he is not a terrorist.

Moharam’s daughter, Sophia Worthington, said that it all began when her father was pulled over in Grain Valley, Mo., on Thursday. When officials ran his name and record, he came up on the government’s terrorist watch list.

Backup was quickly called to the scene, but Worthington said it took law enforcement 45 minutes to admit they made a mistake and let her father go.

Grain Valley Police confirmed that Moharam was stopped by Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday. 41 Action News contacted the Sheriff’s office for more details, but they have not yet responded.

On Friday, Moharam went to the Richard Bolling Federal Building in Kansas City to find out why he was on the watch list. According to the FBI, he did not make any sort of threat of a bomb or explosive device being in his vehicle, but officials called a police canine to the scene to inspect his car as a precaution.

When the dog indicated the presence of a possible explosive substance, part of the federal building and the entire nearby Fletcher Daniels State Office Building were evacuated. It turned out to be a false alarm.

Retired FBI agent Jeff Lanza said that bomb-sniffing dogs can sometimes be confused by the presence of non-explosive items like fertilizer.

While Moharam was held for questioning after the incident, he was released early Friday evening and is not currently facing any charges.

The FBI would not disclose whether he is on any national security related lists.

Friday night, Moharam was still reeling from the day’s events.

“My father is a very proud American,” Worthington said. “What’s happened to him today is upsetting.”

Moharam told 41 Action News in a phone interview that he wants people to know that he is not a terrorist.

“I am a hard worker and trying to make a good living,” he said. “I am not a terrorist and I never told anyone that I am terrorist…if I told them I had a bomb, I wouldn’t be on the phone with you.”

 

Haberer is KEMA Professional of the Year

TOPEKA–Keith Haberer, Emergency Manager for Russell and Ellsworth Counties, has been named the Owen U. Turrentine Emergency Management Professional of the Year.

Haberer was recognized Thursday night in Topeka during the annual Kansas Emergency Management Association (KEMA) conference.

KEMA also awarded a special recognition certificate for Best Practices in CooperativePartnerships with the National Weather Service to the emergency management programs in Barton, Butler, Ellsworth, Kingman, Harper, Marion, McPherson, Reno, Rice, Russell, Saline, Sedgwick and Sumner counties for their cooperative response to a tornado outbreak April 14, 2012.

 

One Dead in Shooting at Kauffman Stadium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One man is dead and a woman is injured after a shooting at Kauffman Stadium, reports KSHB-TV.

The shooting occurred around 3:23 p.m. Friday. The man shot the woman, who worked as a parking attendant, before killing himself in Lot A, according to Kansas City Police.

When officers got to the scene, they found the injured woman in the parking lot. They found the man dead in a nearby car.

Police say the woman is in critical condition. Both victims were in their 40s and appeared to know each other before the incident. Their exact relationship is unclear.

Fans approaching the stadium from the east for Friday night’s Royals-Angels game should enter through gates three and four.

Kansas Man Drops Objection to Obama on Ballot

Topeka — A Kansas man said Friday that he’s dropping his objection to President Barack Obama being listed on the state’s November ballot, a day after top officials delayed a decision on his challenge and said they wanted to gather additional information.

Joe Montgomery, a 51-year-old Manhattan resident, told the Kansas secretary of state’s office in an email that he and those around him faced “animosity and intimidation” over his objection to Obama’s candidacy for re-election. Montgomery argues that Obama is not eligible to serve as president and questions whether Obama has a valid birth certificate.

The notion that Obama was born anywhere other than in Hawaii has long been discredited, and the White House released his long-form birth certificate last year. Hawaii officials also have repeatedly confirmed his citizenship. His mother was a Kansas native.

The State Objections Board reviewed Montgomery’s objection Thursday to the president’s candidacy but postponed a decision so the secretary of state’s office could obtain documents authenticating a copy of Obama’s birth certificate from Hawaii that’s available online. Secretary of State Kris Kobach serves as the board’s chairman, along with Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer,  all Republicans.  Montgomery is a registered Republican, according the secretary of state’s office..

Montgomery’s plans to drop his challenge were first reported by the Manhattan Mercury.

Kobach said the board still will meet Monday to formally close the case and add whatever additional information is available to the record.

Kansas State University confirmed Friday that Montgomery works as the communications coordinator for its College of Veterinary Medicine, a position financed privately through its nonprofit, fundraising arm, the Kansas State University Foundation.

Kansas Man Appeals Sexting Sentence

A Wichita man is appealing his nearly 27-year federal prison sentence for enticing a 14-year-old girl into texting him a nude photo of herself.

Twenty-six-year-old Shane McClelland filed a notice of appeal in the sexting case Monday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal jury convicted McClelland in May of obtaining the picture via cellphone from the girl, who lives in upstate New York. He was acquitted of a similar count involving another teen.

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot sentenced McClelland last month under enhanced penalties as a repeat sex offender.

UPDATE: No Explosives Found in KC Federal Building Bomb Threat

UPDATE:   KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Authorities spent Friday afternoon looking for explosives inside the vehicle of a man who walked into the Kansas City federal building and asked about a terrorist watch list. He is currently in police custody.

The man entered the Richard Bolling Federal Building, 600 E. 12th St., around noon and asked authorities if he was on a terrorist watch list, according to the FBI.

Although the suspect, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, never made any threats, authorities detained him and searched his vehicle.

The Kansas City Police Department ordered the bomb and arson squad to his vehicle, located in the Fletcher Daniels State Office Building parking lot, 615 E. 13th St. A bomb-sniffing dog then detected the presence of explosives, prompting evacuations at the state office building.

Just before 5 p.m., authorities confirmed that no explosives were found in the vehicle. A temporary flight restriction issued for downtown Kansas City was lifted shortly after. Police reopened the streets, which were closed for most of the day, just after 5 p.m.

State office employees were cleared to leave for the day. The federal building was also closed for the day for precautionary reasons, according to authorities. Earlier, children in the day care center at the federal building were evacuated to a pre-approved off-site location.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A bomb-sniffing dog has detected the presence of some sort of explosives inside the vehicle of a man who walked into the Kansas City federal building and told authorities he was a terrorist.

The man entered the Richard Bolling Federal Building, 600 E. 12th Street around noon Friday.

KSHB-TV reports the Kansas City Police Department ordered the bomb and arson squad to his vehicle, located on the northeast corner of the building, near 13th and Holmes.

Authorities have closed the exit from Interstate 70 to 13th Street and have blocked off 12th and 13th streets between Cherry and Charlotte.

Kansas Man With Eight DUI Convictions Get 15 Years In Prison

A Kansas man with eight drunken driving convictions has been sentenced to 15 years in a Missouri prison under a law that allows longer sentences for chronic offenders.

Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd says 51-year-old Ricky Stroble of Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced Thursday for driving drunk in June 2010 on Interstate 635 in Platte County.

Stroble pleaded guilty in March 2011 but failed to show up for sentencing on what was his seventh drunken driving conviction. In February he was arrested in Johnson County, Kan., for driving while intoxicated again, and was later convicted.

Zahnd says Kansas law has a one-year cap on prison sentences for drunken driving. Missouri lawmakers passed the stiffer penalties in August 2010 because of the danger repeat drunken drivers pose to the public.

 

$2 Million KS Trail Funding Back Online

State officials plan spend $2 million in federal transportation funds to enhance recreational trails in Kansas, clarifying an earlier decision to opt out of a provision of the federal program.

The funding was announced Friday. It comes just days after the Kansas Department of Transportation said it would opt out of a provision of the federal highway funding law that gives states money to develop trails.

KDOT spokesman Steve Swartz says the agency never intended to abandon the trails system. By opting out of the federal program the state would still receive funds, but it Kansas officials would be able use part of the money for other needs.

Swartz said KDOT will send all of the money to the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism for use on trails.

Company Fined For Improperly Disposing Of Raw Sewage At Fort Riley

A military management company will pay a $24,900 civil penalty for improperly disposing of raw sewage at Fort Riley.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that Picerne Military Management will pay the fine to settle violations of federal clean water laws.

The EPA says Picerne pumped between 5,000 to 9,000 gallons of raw sewage from a crawl space under a townhome into a storm drain. Over two days in December 2011, the sewage went through the drainage system and discharged into a tributary of the Republican River.

Picerne Military Management owns and/or operates about 20,000 housing units on seven Army posts, including Fort Riley.

A public comment period is required before the consent agreement becomes final.

12-Year-Old Held On Rape Charges In Kansas

A 12-year-old northeast Kansas boy is charged with rape and sodomy in Brown County.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill said Friday the Hiawatha boy was charged last week with two counts of rape and two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy.

Hill said he couldn’t release any more information on the case because of the suspect’s age.

The boy has been appointed a lawyer to represent him.

60-Barn Hog Farm Planned For Western Kansas

A large hog farm near Tribune in Greeley County is scheduled to begin operations in early October.

The business will have 60 barns when it opens but has permits for 120 barns, with each barn housing 1,000 hogs. It is owned by Seaboard Foods.

David Eaheart, marketing director for Seaboard, says the company began stocking the barns several weeks ago and will stock the final barn in the first week of October. He says 10 to 12 people will be hired at the farm.

He says the Greeley County operation will house hogs before they are sent to a Guymon, Okla., plant for processing.

The Garden City Telegram reports Greeley County residents approved allowing major hog farms in the county in December 2010.

Kansas Counties Try To Recoup Losses From DMV System

The state will reimburse Kansas counties for some of the costs incurred after a new motor vehicle registration system was installed, but county officials say more needs to be done.

The program caused long delays and lines at motor vehicle offices across the state after it was introduced in May.

During a legislative hearing Thursday, Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said the state will reimburse counties a total of $561,000 to defray the unexpected expenses. And Gov. Sam Brownback plans to create a task force to examine how to improve the system.

Jordan says the problems have eased.

But some county officials disagree, and they are considering a new $2 fee to help pay the costs, most of which came from overtime and new employees hired to handle the backlog.

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