KANSAS CITY -Law enforcement authorities are asking the public for help locating a man wanted as a suspect in an attempted murder investigation.

The Jefferson County Colorado Sheriff’s office, is coordination with the FBI Denver and Kansas City Field offices and seeking the public’s assistance in locating attempted murder suspect Frank Junior Sanchez, according to a media release.

Sanchez, age 26, who may have traveled from Colorado to Kansas City area.

He is wanted on a warrant out of Jefferson County, Colorado, for his alleged involvement in the attempted murder of a man on February 21, 2017, in Littleton, Colorado. Sanchez allegedly shot a man during the commission of a crime.

Sanchez is described by authorities as a Hispanic male, 5’10” tall and 195lbs. He has black hair, brown eyes, and acne scars on his face.

Law Enforcement believes Sanchez may have contacts in the greater Kansas City area.

Sanchez should be considered armed and dangerous. If you come in contact with him authorities are urging you to call 911 immediately.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call (816) 474-TIPS or their local law enforcement agency. Crime Stoppers of Jefferson
County, a non-governmental organization, is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sanchez.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

A Kansas legislative committee is considering tighter amusement park regulations following the death of a lawmaker’s son last year on the Verrückt water slide in Kansas City, Kan.

The Aug. 7, 2016, death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, son of Rep. Scott Schwab of Olathe, prompted Rep. John Barker to look into the state’s regulations for amusement park rides. Barker is an Abilene Republican who chairs the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, which had a hearing Thursday on new regulations proposed in House Bill 2389.

“It’s the nature of the tragedy,” Barker said. “A young child gets killed at an amusement park, that’s concerning to everyone.”

Barker and other lawmakers didn’t like what they found when they compared Kansas regulations to those in other states.

“We don’t have much of anything right now,” said Rep. John Whitmer, a Wichita Republican. “Kansas is really under-regulated in this industry.”

HB 2389 would set standards for insurance, ride inspections and injury reports and would require annual inspections for stationary rides like the Verrückt. These checks would be performed by inspectors paid by the insurance companies, not the ride owners.

Current state law requires annual inspections for stationary rides, but the ride owners can hire private inspectors.

Whitmer, who has experience in the industry, said legislators face a balancing act when considering new regulations so they don’t put Kansas ride operators at a competitive disadvantage. He wants to see regulations put in place but said he can’t support the bill in its current form.

The bill likely will undergo changes as debate moves forward. The bill requires ride inspections from a licensed engineer or someone with five years of inspection experience. Whitmer said he’ll clarify what types of engineers could perform the inspections.

“If I’m a train engineer, I’m not qualified to inspect a carnival ride,” he said.

The bill also would require a qualified inspection every time a mobile ride is moved and assembled. That sounds like too much to Zachary Wilson, owner of Fun Services of Kansas City, a company that rents mobile rides.

“Are we going to have a qualified inspector on the clock at midnight for a 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. party? That seems a little burdensome,” he said.

Wilson would like to see the bill amended to allow inspections by people with industry safety training and certifications. He said they could be more knowledgeable than engineers.

“Then you put somebody in there that’s familiar with the rides,” Wilson said. “You’re much better off.”

Barker said he doesn’t know if the new regulations could have prevented the death of Caleb Schwab, but he hopes the changes will prevent future injuries.

Barker has worried about the safety of rides when taking his grandson to the county fair, and he believes the changes the bill requires can calm those fears.

“I don’t know if they were inspected or not. After we pass this legislation, I will know that it’s been inspected,” he said.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service.

FORD COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ford County are investigating an armed robbery and looking for a suspect.

Just before 11:30 a.m. Friday, police responded to report of an aggravated robbery in progress at the Insurance Center of Kansas in the 2200 Block of First Avenue in Dodge City.

By the time officers arrived, the suspect was gone. Witnesses described him as a white or Hispanic man, with light colored eyes, approximately 5 foot 10 inches tall and 150 pounds. He was wearing a dark hoodie, dark pants and black boots.

The suspect allegedly demanded money and threatened several people present inside the business during this crime.

No one was hurt during this act. The DCPD is actively working some leads. Anyone with information please call the DCPD at 620-225-8126. You may also call Crimestoppers at 620-227-7867 anonymously.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — An affluent suburban Kansas City woman with a history of shoplifting has been ordered to spend a year and seven months in prison for the thefts.

Forty-seven-year-old Kelli Jo Bauer of Overland Park, Kansas, also was ordered Friday in Kansas’ Johnson County to pay more than $22,000 in restitution to merchants.

Bauer has admitted she stole tens of thousands of dollars of clothing and merchandise she was peddling out of her nearly $1 million home.

Bauer had two prior Johnson County theft convictions when she was charged in 2015 with felony theft. That was after police who searched her home found a large amount of stolen merchandise.

Last November, she was charged again after stealing bras from a Lenexa department store.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Officials in a Kansas City suburb where a fire destroyed a multimillion-dollar apartment building under construction and spread to about two dozen homes estimate the blaze caused as much as $23 million to $25 million in damage.

The Kansas City Star reports that Overland Park based the estimate on exterior damage and property values, and that a more precise figure would emerge once insurance adjusters finish evaluating the fire’s impact.

Fire officials say a welder accidentally ignited wooden building materials on Monday at the CityPlace development.

The blaze destroyed the four-story apartment building, heavily burned a second and rained burning debris onto a nearby neighborhood, damaging at least 22 other homes.

Overland Park says the damage at the CityPlace site accounted for $20 million of the overall estimate.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man imprisoned in Kansas since being convicted of a 1995 robbery slaying is getting paroled.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Kansas Prisoner Review Board has granted the release of 44-year-old Ramon Noriega Jr. Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Todd Fertig says Noriega will be freed from a prison in El Dorado as soon as a parole plan is approved.

Authorities say 56-year-old Sidney Robinson was shot and killed as Noriega and Douglas Abel committed aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery at his Topeka home.

Noriega and Abel received life sentences for first-degree murder and shorter sentences to be served simultaneously on the burglary and robbery convictions.

Abel is imprisoned in Lansing and next will be eligible for parole in July of next year.

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a hit and run accident and looking for a suspect and vehicle.

Just before 11:30a.m. Thursday, three bicyclist were stopped along the north curb line in the 2000 block of Iron Avenue in Salina, according to a social media report.

A vehicle which was west bound on Iron swerved right and struck two of the three riders.

One bicyclist had a broken left ankle and lacerations to the back of his head. The second rider received minor cuts and scrapes.

This vehicle is reported to be a white two-door 2013-2016 Toyota Scion. There will be damage to right (passenger) front end and right side.

If you have any information concerning who committed this crime, call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS, text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637), or visit www.pd.salina.org and follow Crimestoppers link to submit a web tip.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Alorica has announced it will close its Topeka call center, eliminating 300 jobs.

A company official told the Topeka Capital-Journal on Thursday that it plans to close the center May 26.

Company spokesman Ken Muche says the company decided to transfer the Topeka positions to other U.S.-based offices where employees serve the same client.

An employee in Topeka says the company let employees know as they came in for their shifts Thursday.

The number of positions at Alorica has fluctuated since it’s opening in 2007. Spokeswoman Irena Boostani says there were 395 employees in June 2016 and that the company had planned to have 600 team members by August 2016.

Officials haven’t yet indicated whether employees will receive severance pay.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators who have resisted proposals to legalize marijuana for medical use are advancing a proposal aimed at making the state an industrial hemp powerhouse.

The state House gave first-round approval Friday on a voice vote to a bill that would allow state universities and colleges to grow industrial hemp and conduct research on it. The House plans to take a final vote Monday to determine whether the measure goes to the Senate.

A 2014 federal law allowed states to set up such programs. Supporters said hemp could become a big crop for Kansas farmers.

A majority of states have legalized medical marijuana, but even limited proposals have foundered in Kansas.

The House bill would define industrial hemp as cannabis containing 0.3 percent or less of the high-producing chemical THC.

CHAPMAN, Kan. (AP) — A former middle school teacher in central Kansas has been convicted of misdemeanor battery in an incident involving a 12-year-old child.

The Salina Journal reports former Chapman Middle School seventh-grade math teacher Dick Everley was found guilty March 9 in Dickinson County District Court.

The criminal complaint states that Everley was charged in January with having physical contact with the child in an insulting or angry manner in December.

Roger Unruh, Everley’s attorney, said Wednesday that his client is no longer employed at the middle school. He was removed from his teaching duties after charges were filed.

Everley faces probation to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 6.