NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — Police in Newton say 19-year -old Keith Lane Hawkins. suspected in the slayings of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter has been arrested in Texas.
Authorities say 24-year-old Alyssa Runyon and daughter Zaylynn Paz were found dead shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday by Runyon’s ex-boyfriend in bedrooms in the victims’ duplex. Police said the girl had been fatally stabbed and that her mother strangled.
Police said the suspect was arrested shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Taylor, Texas, where he allegedly was found driving Runyon’s vehicle when he arrived at a relative’s home.
There was no immediate word about any charges.
Police Chief Eric Murphy said the suspect has been previously arrested and has been known to law enforcers in and around 19,000-resident Newton.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is assisting.
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HARVEY COUNTY -Police in Newton identified the victims of Tuesday’s homicide as 24-year-old Alyssa Runyon and her daughter, 4-year-old Zaylynn Paz. Their bodies were found in bedrooms of a duplex in Roanoke Court, near the 2200 block of Roanoke Lane, after a call to 911 by Ms. Runyon’s ex-boyfriend at about 11 am today.
Police arrested the suspect, 19-year -old Keith Lane Hawkins. He was taken into custody in Taylor, Texas, at about 5:25 pm. The suspect was driving the victim’s vehicle when he arrived at a family member’s residence.
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Officers on the scene of Tuesday’s murder investigation- photo courtesy KWCH
HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a reported double murder in Newton.
Just after 11a.m., police responded to a home at Roanoke Court. First responders found a 24-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter, according to Newton Police Chief Eric Murphy.
The child had been stabbed to death, according to Murphy. “This is a targeted incident,” he said. “The public is not in danger.”
A suspect has been identified but is not yet in custody. The Harvey County Sheriff’s Department, Kansas Highway Patrol and KBI are participating in the investigation, according to Murphy.
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HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a reported double murder in Newton.
Police reported on social media they had requested a search warrant to investigate the incident at Roanoke Court Apartments.
A suspect has been identified but is not yet in custody.
Law enforcement are working to locate the the suspect and but they do not believe there is any danger to the public.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a man charged with killing a Clinton, Missouri, police officer during a traffic stop has been arrested.
Missouri State Highway Patrol dispatchers say 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton was taken into custody Tuesday night in Henry County. Additional information about McCarthy’s arrest was not immediately available.
Ian McCarthy, the suspect in the shooting death of a Clinton Police Officer is in custody. More information to follow. pic.twitter.com/v8jrSYGprJ
Prosecutors on Monday charged McCarthy with first-degree murder in the death of Officer Gary Michael, who was shot during a traffic stop Sunday night.
Michael’s brother, Chris, says his family was aware that the officer could be hurt but didn’t believe it would happen in Clinton, a town of just 9,000 people about 75 miles (120.7 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Gary Michael had been on the force less than a year and was the first officer killed in the line of duty in Clinton.
CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shooting of a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop (all times local):
Radio dispatch audio offers insight into the chaos that followed the fatal shooting of Clinton, Missouri, police Officer Gary Michael.
The Kansas City Star on Monday obtained an audio recording of police dispatches in the moments surrounding the shooting.
Michael had stopped a 2008 Dodge Nitro for a registration violation Sunday night. Ten seconds later came word that shots were fired and an officer was struck.
An officer requested an ambulance “immediately.” An emergency worker advised that the officer had been shot twice in the chest and was in cardiac arrest.
Update: Henry CO PA has issued an arrest warrant for Ian McCarthy for Murder 1st Degree & Armed Criminal Action.
The suspect, 39-year-old Ian McCarthy, remains on the loose but has been charged with first-degree murder. Authorities were searching for McCarthy in the Clinton area, about 75 miles southeast of Kansas City.
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11:45 a.m.
The suspect in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
The charges were filed Monday in Henry County against 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton, in the shooting death of Clinton police officer Gary Michael.
Authorities were searching for McCarthy Monday in the Clinton area, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Michael was shot after he stopped a car in Clinton on Sunday night.
Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Bill Lowe says the driver of the car jumped out and fired at Michael. The officer was able to return fire but it was unclear if the suspect was hit.
8:00 a.m.
Authorities searched a home but came up empty-handed in the hunt for a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a western Missouri police officer.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton is wanted for questioning in the death of 37-year-old Clinton police officer Gary Michael during a traffic stop late Sunday.
Alert: Person of Interest in the fatal shooting of a Clinton Police Officer:
Ian McCarthy, 39, of Clinton. Any info call 911. pic.twitter.com/SIS2RwuHBK
Lowe said Monday that the car Michael stopped is registered to McCarthy.
He says the driver jumped out of the car and fired at the officer, who was able to return fire. The suspect drove about three blocks before crashing his car and fleeing on foot. Lowe says Michael was “heroic right to the end.”
Michael was a lifelong resident of Clinton and leaves behind a wife and stepsons.
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CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says authorities are looking for a man who shot and killed a western Missouri police officer during a traffic stop.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe told KSHB-TV that Clinton Officer Gary Michael died late Sunday after stopping a driver near Clinton, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.
Lowe says the driver of a Dodge Nitro believed to be 39-year-old Ian McCarthy got out of the vehicle during the traffic stop and started shooting.
He says the 37-year-old Michael returned fire but that the suspect got back into the car and drove off before crashing two blocks away.
Tactical teams have cordoned off the area around the crash and are searching for the suspect Monday.
FINNEY COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on reported sex trafficking.
On August 4, information was received through internet activity of possible prostitution occurring in Garden City, according to a media release from police.
The investigation revealed the alleged prostitution activity was run by Joe Wimbley, 34, Wichita.
Further investigation revealed the 31-year-old female victim was being forced to provide services for money for Wimbley and if not she was threatened with bodily harm.
Information was obtained that Wimbley had physically harmed the victim in the past. The victim did have signs of possible physical abuse.
Family Crisis was contacted to assist in the investigation. Wimbley was arrested and could face the possible charges of Human Trafficking. The victim was released to family.
With President Donald Trump’s poll numbers sliding into historically low territory, Democrats won’t be satisfied with modest gains in next year’s midterm election.
They’re hoping for an anti-Trump wave that gives them control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Several Democrats have announced they are up for challenging U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder for his 3rd District seat, which the Kansas Republican has held for four terms. JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Needing 24 seats to gain a majority, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting up to 50 potential swing districts across the country.
Among the districts that the DCCC has circled in red is the Kansas 3rd, now represented by Republican Kevin Yoder.
It’s a compact KC metro area district that encompasses Johnson County, Wyandotte County and a sliver of Miami County.
Yoder is in his fourth term, but he’s one of 23 Republicans attempting to hold seats in districts where Trump lost to Hillary Clinton.
“Dozens find themselves defending seats where Donald Trump is already deeply unpopular,” DCCC Director Dan Sena wrote in a memo circulated to the media in January.
“Together the House Republicans and Trump administration are pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that threatens their standing from the Rust Best to the Sun Belt,” Sena wrote, singling out the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Yoder’s vote for the Obamacare repeal bill and his general support of the president’s agenda could make him vulnerable, said Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas political scientist.
“He’s a very conservative Republican representing a much more moderate, swingy district, which certainly puts him on the radar for potentially having a very competitive race,” Miller said.
The 3rd District can be competitive even in normal political times, Miller said, noting that Kathleen Sebelius carried it both times she ran for governor and that Democrat Dennis Moore held the seat for six terms before he retired for health reasons.
“It traditionally has a bit of a Republican tilt to it, but it can be quite competitive,” he said.
Democrats lining up
Retired corporate attorney Andrea Ramsey, a Democrat, raised $200,000 by the end of June for her campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder in the 3rd District. CREDIT JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
With the 2018 primary still a year away, the race for the Democratic nomination is already crowded.
Retired corporate attorney and health care advocate Andrea Ramsey — who last week received an endorsement from EMILY’s List, a national fundraising group that backs Democratic women who support abortion rights — appears to be among the early front-runners. She entered the race on June 13 and raised more than $200,000 by a June 30 campaign finance reporting deadline.
However, it took a $25,000 loan from Ramsey to meet the fundraising target, according to her Federal Election Commission report.
Looking for a constructive way to channel her anger after Clinton’s defeat, Ramsey began thinking about running for Congress in the spring. She said Yoder’s May 4 vote in favor of what she calls “that disastrous Trumpcare bill” cemented her decision.
“That’s when I knew I had to step up and run,” Ramsey said. “That’s the day that I declared, ‘Not only am I in, I’m all in.’”
Recent entrant Tom Niermann, a Pembroke Hill history teacher, also appears to be building a strong campaign, with former Clinton staffer Zach Helder at the helm.
With Yoder referring to Ramsey and Brent Welder, a Bonner Springs attorney who entered the race in late July, as “Bernie Sanders extremists,” Niermann hopes to prevail by appealing to moderates in both parties.
Tom Niermann, a Pembroke Hill history teacher, hopes to prevail in the 3rd District race by appealing to moderates in both parties. CREDIT SUSIE FAGAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
“My belief in a particular political philosophy is not bound up in big government or small government but in good government,” Niermann said in a recent interview. “Government that is responsive to the needs of the people.”
Meanwhile, Welder, a former union official whom Sanders appointed to the Democratic National Platform Committee, told the Kansas City Star that “only a populist candidate” can defeat Yoder.
Jay Sidie, the 2016 Democratic nominee who despite getting into the race late gave Yoder his strongest challenge to date, has said he intends to run again but hasn’t formally announced.
“I moved the needle to within 10 points of Yoder with a five-month window,” Sidie said in a recent interview. “So, I think I’ve proven I’m a viable candidate.”
However, Sidie appears to be struggling to raise money. From January through the end of June, he raised only $30,000, according his FEC report.
Also bidding for the Democratic nomination are Reggie Marselus, an electrician from Lenexa who ran unsuccessfully in 2016, and Chris Haulmark, a deaf rights activist from Olathe.
Yoder’s war chest brimming
Yoder, meanwhile, raised nearly $800,000 in the latest reporting period and has more than $1 million in cash on hand, according to his FEC filing.
He’s also armed with talking points to counter charges that his conservative voting record makes him vulnerable in a district that is trending more moderate in recent state and national elections. In an interview, he said he’s working to bridge the partisan divide.
“I think people are frustrated with the bitter partisanship both in Washington and here at home,” Yoder said. “I’ve been a voice of reason, I think, in that storm. Trying to reach across the aisle (and) work with Democrats and Republicans to solve problems.”
Yoder points to his sponsorship of legislation to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health and to broaden access to child-care tax credits as evidence that he’s not a tea party conservative.
But he’s quick to label his opponents — Ramsey in particular — as “leftists.”
“Their attempt to lurch this district so far to the left is going to make them out of touch with the constituents I work with every single day,” he said.
Yoder’s campaign experience and fundraising prowess make him formidable even if the anti-Trump climate persists, Miller said. It will take an opponent with the right message and enough money to make it stick to deny Yoder a fifth term, he said.
“Because I guarantee you, a lot of money is going to come in to defend Kevin Yoder,” Miller said. “You need a candidate on the other side capable of attracting enough Democratic money to offset the pro-Yoder spending.”
The DCCC is also targeting Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, currently held by Lynn Jenkins, who’s not running for re-election. Democrat Paul Davis, a former Kansas House minority leader who narrowly lost a 2014 bid to unseat Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, is likely to run.
Two Republicans have announced: state Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, of Leavenworth, and Basehor City Council member Vernon Fields. Several more Republicans are eyeing the race, including other members of the Kansas Senate.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
RUSSELL COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before1:30p.m. Tuesday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Ford Explorer driven by Oscar Alberto Mejia Romero, 34, Wichita, was westbound on Interstate 70 one mile west of Dorrance.
The SUV left the north edge of the roadway. The driver over corrected and the SUV rolled multiple times.LMejia Romero was transported to the hospital in Russell. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
The Great Bend City Council officially put the ¼ cent sales tax on the ballot for the November 7, 2017 election. All the earnings from the sales tax go to street repairs throughout Great Bend.
The ¼ cent sales tax for streets was approved on April 1, 2008 and became effective on July t, 2008 and sunsets 10 years later. Without renewal of the sales tax, it would sunset on July 1, 2018. The ¼ cent sales tax earned over $920,000 in 2016. The city council approved the placement of the tax renewal on the upcoming election ballot with an 8-0 vote.
Altogether, the sales tax rate in the City of Great Bend is 8.25 percent.
Great Bend Braves American Legion Baseball coach Travis Kurth is back on the show to recap the Braves season that included a trip to Fargo, North Dakota last week.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez goes down with an intercostal strain. What is an intercostal strain? What’s an oblique injury? We call Dr. Kevyn Soupiset during his lunch break to find out.
If nothing else, the Great Bend City Council meeting Monday night allowed citizens a chance to express their frustration and cries for change. The meeting hosted hundreds of spectators concerned about the issues between Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch and city administration and a split governing body.
Crowd members brought to the surface a couple of potential conflicts of interest on the current city council, including the relationship between Mayor Dr. Mike Allison and council member Vicki Berryman.
Allison and Berryman live with each other, which caused citizens like Mike Watkins to question Allison’s influence on Berryman’s votes on all matters.
Mike Watkins and Mike Allison Audio
Great Bend City Council member Vicki Berryman
Allison commented that it is ethically and legally acceptable to talk about city matters with up to two council members outside of public council meetings. Berryman was one of four council members to vote against the repeal of Couch’s suspension.
The second conflict of interest shifted to council member Wayne Henneke and his status of being a city employee while serving on the council.
Henneke retired as Great Bend City Clerk at the end of 2012, and was elected to the board the following April to represent the second ward in an unopposed election. Being on the city council while employed with the City of Great Bend goes against the Great Bend Ethics Policy. While Henneke was not employed on a full-time basis following his retirement he was still used as a consultant.
Great Bend citizen Jennifer Flick asked City Attorney Bob Suelter to confirm if Henneke was in fact employed with the city while serving on the council for the past four years, in which Suelter stated he was.
Jennifer Flick and Bob Suelter Audio
Great Bend City Council member Wayne Henneke
The city is on their second city clerk since Henneke retired. Henneke trained both former clerk Amit Patel and current clerk Shawna Schafer. Henneke has also helped with the budget and provided other consulting work. Public record shows Henneke received $17,646.90 from the City of Great Bend from August 2016 to August 2017. Henneke’s final check from the city was on July 7, 2017 for $456.62.
While Henneke should not have been employed by the city the past four years while on the council, Suelter commented it is fine for Henneke to be on the board now since he is no longer employed. Suelter added Henneke has a certificate of election from the Barton County Election Officer.
Neither Henneke nor Allison is seeking reelection this November.
Chief Couch was suspended with possible termination following the July 24, 2017 special meeting, and since then, many citizens have separated from their city administration and governing body. Couch claimed there was misconduct from City Administrator Howard Partington and Allison, while the suspension notice claims Couch made “false or reckless” accusations. A hearing for Couch has not been scheduled yet but is planned for the end of the month.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer has confirmed that he will seek a full, four-year term as Kansas governor in 2018 after assuming the office upon Gov. Sam Brownback’s departure.
Colyer announced Tuesday that he appointed a treasurer for his campaign for the Republican nomination. He said in a statement that he is committed to doing the work necessary to win.
Brownback has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Brownback has not set a date for stepping down as governor.
Both Brownback and Colyer are conservative Republicans who ran together on a single ticket in 2010 and 2014.
The race for the GOP nomination already is crowded with six other candidates that include Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer.
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