LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — An off-duty police officer shot and killed a man who brandished a gun inside a Costco Wholesale store in a Kansas City suburb.

The shooting was reported around 11 a.m. Sunday at the store in Lenexa, Kansas, near Interstate 35 and 95th Street.

Lenexa Police Capt. Wade Borchers said the off-duty officer just happened to be in the store shopping when the incident happened. Investigators are still trying to determine what the armed man did before the shooting.

Borchers says he’s thankful the officer was there although he didn’t say which agency the officer works for.

Nikki Lotia of Olathe was shopping in the store during the shooting, and she hid back in the pharmacy. Lotia says the just kept praying during the shooting.

WICHITA, KAN. – A former Wichita restaurant owner was sentenced Monday to 108 months in federal prison for drug trafficking, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Gerald Beasley, 62, Wichita, Kan., the former owner of Tiara’s Place, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

In his plea, Gerald Beasley admitted he stored cocaine and other narcotics in a residence in the 2400 block of North Piatt Street in Wichita. He met with buyers both at the residence and the restaurant at 1339 N. Hillside. He carried a High Standard derringer handgun to protect himself during drug transactions.

In his plea agreement, Gerald Beasley agreed to forfeit his home in Andover, his restaurant, a number of real estate properties, more than $75,000 in cash and bank accounts with a value of more than $75,000, as well as other assets.

In exchange for his guilty plea, the United States dismissed 20 additional counts against Mr. Beasley, including drug offenses, bank fraud, program fraud, money laundering, and firearm offenses.

Co-defendants include:
Antoine Beasley, 38, Wichita, who was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.
Gerald Wilson, 46, Wichita, Kan., was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison.
Larry Reed, 59, who was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Carlos Beasley, 43, Wichita, Kan., who was sentenced to two years on supervised probation.
Helen Beasley, 59, Wichita, who was sentenced to two years on supervised probation.
Terry Beasley, 64, Wichita, Kan., who is set for sentencing Jan. 10.
Herbert Jones, 55, Wichita, Kan., who is set for sentencing Jan. 8.
Stephen Smallwood, 69, Wichita, Kan., who is set for sentencing Dec. 6.
Brandon Smith, 46, Wichita, Kan., who is set for sentencing Dec. 6.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The widow of a Kansas man killed last month by an undersheriff has asked a court to release video and audio recordings that her attorney says show her husband was unarmed and trying to obey instructions when he was shot.

Attorney Michael Kuckelman says recordings he viewed are troubling and the public has a right to see them.

He told The Associated Press on Thursday that the video captures the Barber County sheriff telling the undersheriff minutes before Steven Myers was shot with a bean bag round on Oct. 6 that with “a little luck and he’ll just pass out and die.”

The sheriff disabled his body camera after the shooting and instructed a deputy to disable his camera. The sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Tyson Foods Inc. says its plans for a chicken plant in Kansas remain on hold while it moves forward with its Tennessee project.

The Springdale, Arkansas-based company announced Monday it would build a $300 million chicken production complex in Humboldt, Tennessee, that is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs when it begins operations in 2019.

Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman said Monday the company still has an interest in Kansas and will continue to consider potential sites in the state for expansion of its poultry business.

Tyson had previously announced a $320 million chicken plant outside Tonganoxie in northeastern Kansas in September, but local officials withdrew their support amid public opposition. Tyson then started looking elsewhere.

Officials in Sedgwick County, Cloud County and in Coffeyville then pursued the project.

MCPHERSON — Law enforcement authorities and schools district officials are investigating a reported bomb threat.

On Monday, McPherson Middle School (MMS) Students found a note posted in the girl’s restroom, which was threatening in nature, according to a social media report from police.

The note stated “there would be a Bomb Threat at 1o’clock tomorrow.”

Administrators from USD 418, and from MMS, along with Officers from the McPherson Police Department are actively investigating the incident.

The threat has warranted an increased law enforcement presence at the school. There will be additional Police presence in and around the School throughout the day, on Tuesday, November 21st, providing additional security and peace of mind.

Anyone with information related to the incident, is asked to contact the McPherson Police Department.

WICHITA– A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Brett Nolan Cico, 32, St. Francis, Kan., pleaded guilty as charged to three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor while registered as a sex offender. Two of the victims were 14 years old and the other victim was 15 years old.

Beall commended the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.

SALINE COUNTY —A 13-year-old Kansas boy struck by a car Friday night remains in critical condition but is “awake and speaking with the medical staff,” according to a Salina Police Department spokesperson.

Police have also identified the driver involved in the accident as 19-year-old Gage Guebara of Salina.

Just before 6p.m. Friday, police were sent to the intersection of Schilling and Royal Drive in Salina after a report of a child struck by a car, according to Sgt. Brent Rupert.

He said a Chevy Aveo driven by Guebara was westbound on Schilling and attempted pass several vehicles waiting to turn left onto Royal Drive.

Guebara allegedly drove into eastbound traffic before cutting back in front of a Chevy Camaro that was turning. Guebara locked up the brakes before striking the 13-year-old boy, later identified as Ethen Lainer, of Salina, in a cross-walk on a scooter.

The impact threw the boy nearly 30-feet, according to Rupert. A girl also crossing the street was not injured.

Lainer was transported to Salina Regional Health Center in critical condition. He was then transferred by ambulance to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — School officials say a teenager found fatally shot inside a Kansas, laundromat was a high school sophomore.

The Kansas City Star reports that police are investigating the shooting as a homicide and asking the public for information. Police haven’t released the teen’s name, but Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools officials said Sunday he was a sophomore at J.C. Harmon High School.

Police were called to the laundromat in the Argentine neighborhood after the body was discovered Saturday morning. Police said they think the shooting occurred Friday night.

SALINE COUNTY —  Law enforcement authorities are investigating four women for alleged shoplifting.

Just before 3p.m. Sunday, an employee at Dick’s Sporting Goods, 2450 South Ninth in Salina, confronted four women at the door of the store as they ditched two shopping carts full of merchandise but took a duffle bag full of miscellaneous clothing items, according to Salina Police Capt. Paul Forrester.

The employee saw the women get into a passenger car and drive away. He also gave police vehicle’s license plate number. Police then issued an attempt to locate for the  2010 Mercury Milan.

Just after 3:40p.m., a deputy located the suspect vehicle traveling south on Interstate135 near the Lindsborg exit, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan. During the traffic stop, the deputy located stolen merchandise and determined that the driver had a suspended license.

Deputies arrested Keandre Brown, 24, Brittany Trussell, 20, Eresha Carter, 24, Tyuisha Thomas, 24, on requested charges of felony theft and possession of stolen property. Brown, the driver, is also facing a driving while suspended charge.

Sheriff Soldan said that Trussell initially provided false information and is facing an additional obstruction charge.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Latest on Nebraska regulators deciding whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline through the state (all times local):

10:15 a.m.

A Nebraska commission has approved an alternative Keystone XL route through the state, removing the last regulatory hurdle to the $8 billion oil pipeline project.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission voted on the long-delayed project Monday, though the decision could still be challenged in court. The commission was forbidden by law from considering a recent oil spill on the existing Keystone pipeline in its decision.

The alternative route would run farther north than the originally proposed route.

TransCanada Corp.’s plan to build a nearly 1,200-mile (1,931-kilometer) pipeline faces intense opposition from environmental groups, Native American tribes and some landowners.

Business groups and some unions support the project as a way to create jobs. President Donald Trump issued a federal permit allowing for the project in March, reversing President Barack Obama administration’s rejection of it.

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GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska regulators are set to decide Monday whether to approve or deny an in-state route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It’s the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission’s ruling is on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete. The $8 billion, 1,179-mile pipeline would deliver oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. The proposed Keystone XL route would cross parts of Montana, South Dakota and most of Nebraska to Steele City, Nebraska.

A vote in favor of the company’s proposed route through Nebraska would give a boost to the long-delayed project, which was rejected by President Barack Obama in 2015, citing concerns about carbon pollution. President Donald Trump revived it in March, approving a permit.

The project has faced a barrage of criticism from environmental activists and some landowners for nearly a decade. A ruling against the company would cast renewed doubt on the proposal and could lead to another drawn-out legal fight.

Here are some things to know about the decision:

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WHAT OPTIONS DOES THE COMMISSION HAVE?

The five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission is forbidden by law from factoring pipeline safety or the risk of spills into its decision because pipeline safety is a federal responsibility. So, it will not take into account a spill of 210,000 gallons of oil on the existing Keystone pipeline in South Dakota announced on Thursday.

The simplest choice is a yes-or-no vote on TransCanada’s “preferred route” through a dozen Nebraska counties. But the commission could include major caveats that would add years to the project’s timetable.

Commissioners could tweak TransCanada’s proposed route, or pick one of the company’s “alternative” routes. Company officials have said their preferred route causes the least amount of disruption.

If the commission denies the request outright, state law gives TransCanada a 60-day window to revise and resubmit its proposal for another review.

“It’s not as simple as a ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ verdict,” said Brian Jorde, an attorney for Nebraska landowners who are fighting the project.

No matter what the commission decides, any group that presented arguments at an August hearing could appeal the decision to a state district court. The case would likely end up before the Nebraska Supreme Court.

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WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE DECISION?

The commission’s vote could play a pivotal role in whether TransCanada moves ahead with the pipeline. After years of lobbying for the project, TransCanada acknowledged in a July conference call that executives won’t decide until late November or early December whether to begin construction.

TransCanada spokesman Matthew John reiterated that timeline on Wednesday.

“We’re going through the process with every intention to get this project built,” John said. “But there are factors that we need to work out prior to making that decision,” including regulatory approval in Nebraska.

John said the company also needs to finalize its contracts with shippers that want to use the pipeline.

TransCanada has been working to line up long-term contracts for the pipeline, which can carry an estimated 830,000 barrels a day. The company has not announced the results of its open season bidding process, which ended Oct. 26.

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WILL THERE BE PROTESTS IF THE COMMISSION APPROVES THE PIPELINE?

Opponents in August vowed to stage mass protests against the pipeline if Nebraska regulators approve it, but say they will exhaust legal options first.

Pipeline opponents have lined parts of the proposed route with obstacles, including trees, solar panels, sacred corn from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and a barn powered by renewable energy. Some opponents may try to physically block construction and have likened their resistance to the activists who protested the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, North Dakota.

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IS KEYSTONE XL STILL FEASIBLE?

Despite low oil prices and repeated delays, TransCanada has a strong financial incentive to keep pursuing the pipeline, said Zachary Rogers, a Houston-based analyst for Wood Mackenzie, an energy research and consulting firm.

Rogers said Western Canadian producers have been forced to ship their product by train, which is more expensive than a pipeline, and Keystone XL would reduce costs and improve their bottom line.

At the same time, Texas refineries face uncertainty because of political instability in Venezuela, one of their top oil sources, and a slowdown in Mexican production.

“Western Canada has been held captive by geography and hasn’t been able to cheaply access the markets,” Rogers said. “Any opportunity for them to get better access will buoy their margins.”