A Jackson County judge says he will rule by the end of next week on a motion to dismiss a misdemeanor charge against a Kansas City Roman Catholic bishop accused of failing to report suspected child pornography on a priest’s computer.

Circuit Judge John Torrence says he also will rule on a motion to sever the cases of Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Both face the same charge, and prosecutors want both cases decided in the same trial.

Finn’s attorney, J.R. Hobbs, told the court Tuesday that separate trials are necessary because much of the testimony in the diocese case wouldn’t be pertinent to Finn’s case.

Hobbs also argued that Finn was not his diocese’s designated reporter so the charge should be dropped.

Kansas House and Senate negotiators are working out a final version of legislation cutting sales and income taxes.

Three senators and three House members met for about an hour Tuesday to review the two chambers’ differences on tax-cutting measures. They’re expected to meet again Wednesday.

The House and Senate have both passed bills cutting the state’s top individual income tax rates and eliminating income taxes for 191,000 partnerships, sole proprietorships and other businesses. Both also have passed proposals to reduce sales taxes, as well as measures aimed at holding down local property taxes.

But the two chambers differ widely on parts of their proposals.

Gov. Sam Brownback is pushing for an overhaul of the state income tax code.

The Kansas Court of Appeals didn’t bite on a man’s claim that his false teeth caused his arrest for driving while intoxicated.

Gary Bolton, of Morris County, argued his dentures might have trapped alcohol in his mouth when he took a breath test in 2008. Court records show his blood alcohol level was 0.24, far above the 0.08 limit for driving under the influence.

The Wichita Eagle reports Bolton was trying to stop the state from suspending his driver’s license. He argued police should have made him remove his dentures before the test.

But the appeals court ruled Friday that police had complied with a requirement that drivers be observed at least 20 minutes to allow mouth alcohol to dissipate and make sure nothing is put in their mouths.

An Overland Park woman says she found more than 1,000 private abortion records dumped in a recycling bin outside an elementary school.

The Kansas City Star reports the patient records are from a defunct clinic, Affordable Medical and Surgical Services in Kansas City, Kan. They show personal information such as names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and health history, including if the women had abortions.

The clinic was run by Krishna Rajanna, who lost his medical license in 2005. He told the Star he thought the records would be recycled before anyone saw them.

Local and state authorities are investigating.

Kansas law requires that all medical records be kept a minimum of 10 years. But hundreds of the discarded records were less than 10 years old.

One man was killed after a head-on collision on K-14 in Jewell County, shortly after 3PM Monday.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 37-year-old Michael Fritz of Ruskin, Nebraska was Southbound on K-14 when he collided with a northbound semi. Fritz was transported to Jewell County Hospital but did not survive the accident.

The driver of the semi, 19-year-old Jacob M. Wren of Clifton, was not injured.

Officials at Pittsburg High School are seeking more input from parents before advancing a proposed drug-testing policy for any student participating in extracurricular activities.

The Joplin Globe reports that the policy would require students and parents at the southeast Kansas school to sign informed-consent agreements before the students can participate in activities. The agreement would make students eligible for random drug tests.

Pittsburg High School activities director Doug Hitchcock says only about 20 people showed up for a session this month to discuss the proposal. Another meeting has been set for April 3.

Hitchcock said administrators want community and parental input before sending a final version of the proposed policy to the school board for consideration.

The discovery of a human skull on property in northeastern Kansas has authorities looking for more remains and an identity.

A woman hunting for mushrooms on her Osage County property discovered the skull Saturday night behind a shed. There was no indication how long it might have been there.

Osage County Sheriff Laurie Dunn said officers from several agencies were walking the property Monday seeking any clues about the skull and how it got there.

The property is located northwest of Carbondale, about 15 miles south of Topeka.

By Matt Unruh ~ Great Bend Post

Jury selection got underway Monday in Barton County District Court in the Adam Longoria Jury Trial, the man accused of killing 14-year-old Great Bend resident Alicia Debolt. Ron Keefover, the Education Information Officer for the Kansas Judicial Office, says that 19 potential jurors “passed for cause” in jury selection.

36 potential jurors were called to Barton County District Court Monday, and Keefover said 36 more potential jurors expect to be reviewed Tuesday. The process will continue until there’s a total of 42 potential jurors passed for cause, and then that group will be narrowed to 14 jurors that will make up the jury for the trial. At that point, the presentation of evidence will begin in the trial. Keefover estimated that they could have a jury selected by Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

Original Story

About 500 prospective jurors have been summoned to Barton County Court for the trial of a man suspected of killing a 14-year-old Great Bend girl whose charred body was found at an asphalt plant.

Jury selection begins Monday for Adam Joseph Longoria. The 38-year-old man is accused of capital murder in the August 2010 death of Alicia DeBolt. He is also charged with attempted rape and criminal solicitation of a minor, among other charges.

A court spokesman says about 90 people were excused from jury service before the start of trial proceedings. Attorneys will question the first 36 prospective jurors Monday in the courtroom.

Jury selection is expected to take two to four days.

A Kansas City, Kan., man has pleaded guilty to a federal sex trafficking charge, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. His plea agreement calls for a sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

“Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery,” Grissom said. “As this case demonstrates, federal law provides us with powerful tools to fight against human trafficking.”

Larry Stinson, 27, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking. In his plea, Stinson admitted that in January 2011 the Lenexa Police Department began an investigation into prostitution in Lenexa. Officers called a female identified as “Tatiyanna” who was advertising on a Web page under a section called Kansas City Escort. The woman agreed to meet an officer at a residence in Lenexa and to have sex with him for $300. When she arrived, she was accompanied by two other women. All three women were arrested. They are identified in court documents as AW, CC and TR.

The women told investigators they were forced to work for Stinson as prostitutes. AW said she first met Stinson on Facebook and had consensual sex with him. He told her he would provide her with food, clothing and shelter if she worked for him as a prostitute. She said she was afraid of Stinson. He carried a firearm and she saw him be physically abusive to CC. AW described an incident in which CC tried to run away from Stinson, after which he physically beat her to the point of unconsciousness.

TR said she knew AW from Bonner Springs High School. She said AW contacted her on Facebook. At the time, TR was in need of money to repair her car. AW told her she could make a lot of money in a short time and arranged for her to meet Stinson. While TR worked for Stinson as a prostitute, she was not allowed to keep any of the money she earned.

CC described physical, verbal and psychological abuse she endured at the hands of Stinson. She said she met Stinson in July 2010 and they had a romantic relationship. She and Stinson worked for a female pimp/prostitute who called herself “Baby Doll” and is identified in court papers as TJ. TJ taught Stinson how to use Internet to advertise for prostitution. When CC began working for Stinson as a prostitute, he would split the money with her. She sometimes had sex with as many as 11 “johns” in a day. Even when she tried to make up reasons for not working such as being in pain, Stinson and TJ would require her to work. One time when she tried to run away from him Stinson held a gun to her head and said he would kill her if she tried again. Sometime in October 2010, Stinson left the partnership with TJ and began keeping all CC’s earnings himself. She described several incidents in which he beat her and took her across state lines to engage in prostitution.

The women were told to recruit other women from Facebook. Each time they recruited another female, Stinson would give them a night off work. He said his goal was to have the entire front page of an escort section of a Web page with “his girls.”

Sentencing is set for July 10. In the plea agreement, both parties agree to recommend a sentence of 120 months in federal prison.

A Wichita man has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

James Hald, 44, Wichita, Kan., was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison. Hald pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that from Feb. 3, 2011, to May 19, 2011, he distributed methamphetamine as part of a conspiracy in Wichita. He obtained the methamphetamine for distribution and he used other individuals at his direction to keep track of sales, amounts sold and monies owed.

The company that makes “pink slime” is suspending operations at 3 of 4 plants where the low-cost beef filler amid a public outcry over concern about the ingredient.

Beef Products Inc. spokesman Craig Letch on Monday told The Associated Press about the operations suspensions at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa ahead of a public announcement about the plan. The company’s plant at its Sioux City, S.D., headquarters will continue operations.

The ammonia-treated additive known by the industry as “lean, finely textured beef” has been used for years but recently became a target of activists seeking to have it banned from supermarkets and school lunches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to allow school districts to stop using it. Some retail chains have pulled products containing it.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has endorsed a proposal to use revenues from state-owned casinos to bolster the long-term financial health of the pension system for teachers and government workers.

Brownback said in his most recent Statehouse news conference that a measure to divert some casino revenues to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System would help keep the state’s credit ratings from slipping. The proposal has passed the House in a larger bill aimed at shoring up KPERS.

The pension system projects an $8.3 billion shortfall between anticipated revenues and retirement benefits promised to public employees through 2033. Supporters think casinos could provide several billion dollars for KPERS over that time.

Kansas has licensed developers to operate casinos in the Dodge City, Kansas City and Wichita areas.

A 105-year-old restored theater in north-central Kansas has suspended live performances over concerns about the safety of its curtain rigging system.

The Salina Journal reports that crews have had problems raising and lowering the curtain at the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia. Executive director Susan Cantine-Maxon says that some pulleys are starting to come apart and some ropes are fraying.

The Brown Grand opened in 1907 and was considered for a time to be the most elegant theater between Denver and Kansas City. It was later used as a movie house and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Along with live performances by regional and touring acts, the theater screens broadcasts of symphony and opera performances from around the world.