WICHITA– Law enforcement authorities have indicted four suspects on drug charges following a year-long, multi-county investigation into methamphetamine distribution concluded in south central Kansas, according to a media release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Named in the Nov. 1 indictment were: Ashton Malone, 33, of Wichita, Kan., Justin Slayden, 35, of Winfield, Kan. and April Slayden, 38, of Park City, Kan. Jeremiah Raper, 35, of Wichita, Kan. was charged in an earlier indictment. The indictments allege the subjects unlawfully, knowingly and willingly distributed methamphetamine.
Each defendant was charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine, and Justin Slayden was also charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
Raper-photo KDOCMalone-photo KDOC
KBI special agents, along with law enforcement from the Park City Police Department, the Winfield Police Department, the El Dorado Police Department, the Wellington Police Department, the Wichita Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives participated in the investigation.
Kansas Sec. of State Kobach at meeting of President Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud
WASHINGTON —A member of President Donald Trump’s commission on voter fraud sued in federal court on Thursday, alleging that the commission is violating federal law by excluding him and others from participating and refusing to provide documents available to other members.
The lawsuit, filed by Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap in Washington, D.C., claims violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It asks the court to compel the commission to hand over all documents he’s requested, share all future documents, to include him in all communications and to prevent the release of any final report until he has had a chance to review it.
“My goal in filing this lawsuit is to bring the commission into full compliance with FACA, which would allow me and all of my fellow commissioners to fulfill our roles as full, participating members and provide a meaningful report to the President upon concluding our work,” Dunlap said in a statement.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who serves as the commission’s vice chair, blasted the lawsuit as “baseless and paranoid.” He said he hasn’t received any communications either, and said the commission’s work has been stalled by eight lawsuits, the unrelated arrest of a staff member and the death of a fellow commissioner.
“Ironically, Dunlap’s lawsuit is only going to increase the workload faced by Commission staff and Department of Justice Attorneys,” Kobach said in a statement.
Emails seeking comment from the office of Vice President Mike Pence, who chairs the commission, and Andrew Kossack, the commission’s executive director, were not immediately returned. All three are named defendants, along with the Executive Office of the President, which is staffing the commission and maintaining its records. The lawsuit was filed on Dunlap’s behalf by American Oversight, a watchdog group.
The commission has spurred controversy from the moment it was established in May. Its first significant action was to request a wide range of information about all registered voters in every state, including partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and voting history.
Critics say Trump is using the commission to find support for his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud that cost him the popular vote during the 2016 election. Democrat Hillary Clinton received 2.8 million more votes nationwide than Trump.
After facing strong criticism from both Republican and Democratic state officials, the commission scaled back the request but questions remain over how useful the information will be since 15 states have refused to participate, according to a survey by the Associated Press.
Dunlap’s lawsuit said Trump, Pence and Kobach included the four Democrats serving on the 11-member panel “to provide a veneer of legitimacy by making the commission’s membership bipartisan.” Instead, the lawsuit said, “the Commission and its staff have compromised the legitimacy of any findings that may emerge from this process.”
While there have been isolated cases of voter fraud in the U.S., there is no evidence of it being a widespread problem.
Critics have said the commission is stacked with people who favor voting restrictions, rather than expanding access, and has a predetermined agenda that will result in recommendations making it more difficult for people to register to vote, remain registered and cast ballots.
Last month, the Government Accountability Office agreed with a group of U.S. senators to investigate their concerns of a lack of transparency. Democratic senators have filed at least five separate requests for information with the commission since June, and a Sept. 12 follow-up letter noted that none had received a response.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also is suing, alleges the commission is violating federal open meetings and disclosure laws. Kristen Clarke, the group’s president, said Dunlap’s lawsuit shows how chaotic and dysfunctional the commission has been.
“That its own members are in the dark about the way that the Commission operates and deliberates makes clear that this Commission is no more than a tool to advance this administration’s voter suppression agenda,” Clarke said in a statement.
LYON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged attempted assault and asking for help to identify a suspect.
Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to the dog park in Emporia for report of a woman who had been accosted, according to a media release. The woman told police a man had been jogging around the park and then approached her. He grabbed her arm and threatened to harm her. The woman said no multiple times and believes her assertive dog prevented the suspect from harming her.
The suspect left the area in a small, red passenger car. The victim took a photo of the vehicle before he drove away.
She described the suspect as African-American in his twenties, muscular build and a short buzz style haircut. He wore a red t-shirt and black jogging pants.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has endorsed a prosecutor’s nomination for a federal judgeship in Kansas.
The committee’s vote Thursday was 19-1 on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Holly Lou Teeter of Lenexa. The 38-year-old Teeter is an assistant U.S. attorney for western Missouri and previously clerked for two federal judges in the Kansas City area.
The committee’s action sends Teeter’s nomination to the full Senate.
Holly is an outstanding candidate to serve as a district court judge in our state. Pleased she passed out of the Judiciary Committee with strong bipartisan support. https://t.co/C6IeAZHzDm
The vote came two days after an American Bar Association committee rated Teeter as “not qualified.” An ABA publication said its committee generally believes a nominee should have at least 12 years of legal experience. Teeter has 11.5 years of experience.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called the standard “arbitrary.” The only no vote came from Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and asking for help to locate two suspects.
Just after 9p.m. Wednesday, police responded to report of an armed robbery at a Kneaders Bakery in the 1800 Block of North Rock Road in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. Two unknown suspects including one wearing a bunny mask entered the business and displayed handguns. They took approximately $600 cash and fled on foot, according to Davidson. There were no injuries.
In addition to the mask, the suspects are described as 25-year-old black men wearing black dark clothing. The other suspect also wore a white bandanna with writing on it.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wichita Police.
Law enforcement on the scene of the active shooter investigation Wednesday in Garden City -photo courtesy KWCH
FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the circumstances involving reports of an active shooter.
Just after 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, the police received two reports at approximately the same time reporting a possible active shooter at St. Catherine Hospital, 401 E Spruce Street in Garden City, according to a media release.
Officers of the Garden City Police Department, Finney County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Holcomb Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded.
Officers arrived on scene and conducted a protective sweep of the facility. No shooter or victims were located.
The investigation revealed that Centura Health/Catholic Health Initiatives had received email threats referencing a civil litigation case they were involved in. As a precaution and after consultation with law enforcement St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City and the hospital in Grant County decided to initiate their security protocol and placed the hospitals on limited access based on the email threats. Neither location nor associates were named in the threat. When they did this, two people in the hospital at St. Catherine were unaware of why the hospital initiated their security protocols and contacted friends and family reporting that something was going on in the hospital. The friends and family took the information provided to them and called the Garden City Police reporting a possible active shooter.
Further investigation led police to identify a suspect, Scott Bain, 51, Ulysses who allegedly was sending the earlier emails. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate and arrest Bain. He was arrested and lodged in the Grant County Jail for Aggravated Criminal Threat for the earlier emails. The Garden City Police Department is assisting the Grant County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.
A report was taken for Aggravated Criminal Threat for the reported active shooter at St. Catherine Hospital. This report was unfounded. For further information about the initial criminal threat by email, contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
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FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities investigated a report of an active shooter in Garden City Wednesday evening.
Just after 8 p.m., police received a call of an active shooter at St. Catherine Hospital in the 400 Block of Spruce Street.
The Police responded and the hospital was placed on lockdown as a security precaution. There have been no injuries reported and there is no evidence there was an active shooter.
Just before 9:30 p.m., police cleared the hospital. Officials with St. Catharine and Garden City police are continuing to investigate and released no additional information late Wednesday.
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FINNEY COUNTY – Authorities are investigating report of an active shooter in Garden City.
St. Catherine Hospital in the 400 Block of Spruce Street received an unconfirmed active shooter call, according to a social media report.
Police are on scene. No active shooter has been identified. The hospital is on lockdown as a security precaution. There have been no injuries report.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas lawmakers are questioning the impact of recent welfare policies after new data showed a growing number of people ineligible for cash assistance.
The Legislative Budget Committee was briefed Wednesday on the new consensus revenue estimates, as well as new estimates about the cost of social services like Medicaid, foster care and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
The numbers from the Department for Children and Families estimate that nearly 44,000 people have become ineligible for TANF under those policies.
Several committee members say thousands have been coming off TANF each year since 2013 while the number of foster care children has been climbing.
Some lawmakers think the two trends are linked. A Republican lawmaker believes critics are jumping to conclusions.
Caleb E. Moraine -photo courtesy Police Chief Gordon Ramsay
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man with terminal bone cancer has fulfilled his dream of becoming a police officer.
Caleb Moraine was sworn in Wednesday as a Wichita police officer shortly after turning 20. A crowd dabbed away tears as Moraine rose out of his wheelchair and raised his right hand. His voice was barely above a whisper as he repeated the oath new officers take as best he could.
Chief Gordon Ramsay described Moraine as “a brave young man.”
Moraine had wanted to be a police officer since he was 10 years old. Since being diagnosed with cancer when he was 16, he’s had serious surgeries.
His mother, Renee, said that it has “been a long road, a long battle for Caleb.”
First responders on the scene of Wednesday’s attack-photo courtesy KCTV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Police in Kansas City are searching for a man suspected of using a cane with a knife at the end to fatally stab one person and injure another.
Police spokesman Darrin Snapp says the attack happened Wednesday after the suspect and one of the victims argued inside a gas station in the city’s West Bottoms area. The Kansas City Star reports that the second victim was stabbed after coming to the aide of the first victim. The surviving victim was in critical condition.
Snapp says the suspect is in his 50s. He was last seen leaving area on foot.
RENO COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 8:30p.m. Wednesday in Reno County.
A 2002 Jeep Liberty driven by Walter Walker, 76, Buhler, was northbound in the 5900 Block of Buhler Road, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Department.
Walker told deputies he saw headlights and flashers of an unknown vehicle on the bridge coming toward him but was unaware of the size of vehicle.
The Jeep struck the outside dual tire of a tractor driven by Lee Robinson, 50, Hutchinson. EMS transported Lee to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment of non-life threating injuries. Walter declined treatment. The accident remains under investigation, according to the sheriff’s department.
