Police on the scene of Sunday’s shooting investigation in Newton-photo courtesy KWCH
HARVEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and continue looking for a suspect.
Just before 8:30p.m. Sunday, Newton Police Officers were notified of a violent crime in the 400 block of Normandy Road, according to a social media report.
A homeowner witnessed someone trying to steal a vehicle and confronted the suspect. The suspect shot the property owner one time. The bullet passed through his abdomen and struck his arm causing multiple wounds. The Homeowner was transported for medical treatment.
The suspect fled on foot and as of 4p.m. Monday was still at large, according to Newton Police. The suspect is described as a white male in his mid 20’s, standing approximately 5’9″ tall with facial hair.
Police have received numerous calls asking if people are safe in this neighborhood. We have no reason to believe the suspect is still in the neighborhood, but we encourage everyone to always use good safety practices. Locking doors, house and vehicle at all times, using yard lighting and being aware of your surroundings are all activities we should practice routinely.
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HARVEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and looking for a suspect.
Just before 8:30p.m. Sunday, Newton Police Officers were notified of a violent crime in the 400 block of Normandy Road, according to a social media report.
A homeowner witnessed someone trying to steal a vehicle and confronted the suspect. The suspect shot the property owner one time. The bullet passed through his abdomen and struck his arm causing multiple wounds. The Homeowner was transported for medical treatment. The suspect fled on foot.
Police encouraged everyone living in the area to remain in their homes. Bethel College in Newton was briefly placed on lockdown. That ended just after midnight, according to the school’s social media account.
The suspect is to be considered armed and dangerous.
Police used a drone to assist with search efforts. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s run for the Republican nomination for Kansas governor is getting a boost from President Donald Trump’s son.
Kobach announced Monday that Donald Trump Jr. will be in Kansas on Nov. 28 for a campaign fundraiser. Kobach is vice chairman of the President’s commission on election fraud.
So far 18 candidates — 11 Republicans, six Democrats and an independent — have appointed treasurers or committees for a campaign for governor next year, a requirement to raise money.
Kobach says in a news release it is an honor that Trump Jr. will join his campaign “at this important time.”
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is term-limited and is expected to step down this fall to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University has apologized to a concession worker who complained on Facebook about being told she would have to put her breast pump in a clear plastic bag before entering the football stadium.
Katie Doyle, of Holton, said she was humiliated by the experience Saturday. The mother of a 5-month-old son says she decided against putting the pump in a clear bag because she didn’t think anybody wanted to look at the milk-covered pump parts.
She also told the Post, “Kansas State contacted me to apologize. I feel the issue has been handled.”
Kansas State began requiring clear bags for ticketed athletic events last school year, although breast pumps are exempted as medically necessary. Kansas State senior associate athletic director for communications, Kenny Lannou, says there will be more staff training.
Doyle said that a security official was “very apologetic.”
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a business burglary and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 10p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a burglary in progress at a warehouse in the 500 Block of East 33rd Street North in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
The business owner had received an alarm notification of someone inside the warehouse. The owner arrived on the scene and found a broken window at the warehouse. When officers arrived, they surrounded the business just as a suspect wearing a mask exited the building. When the suspect observed the officers, he retreated back inside the building.
Police searched the building and found the 35-year-old suspect lying in insulation in the attic and arrested him without incident, according to Davidson. Police booked him into the Sedgwick County jail on requested charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated weapons violation and destruction of property.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the court-martial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan (all times local):
10:20 a.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
His lawyer says the prosecution and defense have not agreed to a stipulation of facts in the case, which is an indication that they did not reach a deal to limit his punishment.
Bergdahl is charged with endangering his comrades by walking away from a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009.
He told the judge that he now understands that what he did caused others to search for him.
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3 a.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is expected to plead guilty Monday to charges that he endangered comrades by walking away from a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009.
The U.S. Army said Bergdahl asked to enter his plea before the military judge at Fort Bragg. The Associated Press previously reported that he’s expected to plead guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
It’s not clear if Bergdahl, 31, has a deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment, or if he’s simply pleading guilty in hopes of leniency from the judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance. The misbehavior charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the desertion charge is punishable by up to five years.
Guilty pleas would bring the highly politicized saga closer to an end eight years after Bergdahl’s disappearance in Afghanistan set off search missions by scores of his fellow service members. President Barack Obama was criticized by Republicans for the 2014 Taliban prisoner swap that brought Bergdahl home, while President Donald Trump harshly criticized Bergdahl on the campaign trail.
Meanwhile, serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl are expected to play a role in his sentencing. While guilty pleas would allow him to avoid a trial, he’d still face a sentencing hearing in late October. Bergdahl’s five years of captivity by the Taliban and its allies also will likely play a role in what punishment he receives.
Bergdahl’s lawyers are expected to reveal in court Monday whether there’s a plea agreement in place to cap his punishment, or if he’s pleading guilty without such a deal in what’s known colloquially as a “naked plea.” In either scenario, his punishment won’t be known until after the judge holds the sentencing hearing that’s expected to start on Oct. 23. Bergdahl, who’s from Hailey, Idaho, previously chose to have his case heard by a judge alone, rather than a jury.
Legal scholars have said that several pretrial rulings against the defense have given prosecutors leverage to pursue stiff punishment against Bergdahl. Perhaps most significant was the judge’s decision in June to allow evidence of serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl at the sentencing phase. The judge ruled that a Navy SEAL and an Army National Guard sergeant wouldn’t have wound up in separate firefights that left them wounded if they hadn’t been searching for Bergdahl.
The defense also was rebuffed in an effort to prove President Donald Trump had unfairly swayed the case with scathing criticism of Bergdahl, including suggestions of harsh punishment. The judge wrote in a February ruling that Trump’s campaign-trail comments were “disturbing and disappointing” but did not constitute unlawful command influence by the soon-to-be commander in chief.
Defense attorneys have acknowledged that Bergdahl walked off his base without authorization. Bergdahl himself told a general during a preliminary investigation that he left intending to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit. He was soon captured.
But the defense team has argued that Bergdahl can’t be held responsible for a long chain of events that included many decisions by others on how to conduct the searches.
The military probe of Bergdahl began soon after he was freed from captivity on May 31, 2014, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners. Facing Republican criticism, Obama noted that the U.S. doesn’t leave its service members behind.
Bergdahl has been assigned to desk duty at a Texas Army base while his case unfolds.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City man has received a 40-year prison sentence for having sex with a preteen girl.
The Kansas City Star reports that 34-year-old Shaun B. Bettis will serve time for first-degree statutory rape. He also will be subject to lifetime monitoring as a sex offender.
Clay County prosecutors say Bettis knew the victim and was able to have sexual contact with her at his home while the victim’s family members were busy taking care of sick relatives.
Clay County prosecutor Daniel White says the child has experienced a series of losses in her life including the illness and death of family members, and was particularly vulnerable.
MARSHALL COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is assisting the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office following the Saturday afternoon escape of two inmates from the Marshall County Jail in Marysville, Kan.
According to a media release, just before 5 p.m., Saturday, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the KBI to investigate the events surrounding the escape of two Marshall County Jail inmates. KBI agents, the Crime Scene Response Team, and the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal responded to conduct the investigation.
Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 3:50 p.m. on Saturday, inmates lit a fire in a cell, causing smoke to fill the Jail. Two inmates, 46-year-old Jeffrey S. Guenther, and 30-year-old Matson Z. Hatfield allegedly forced their way through the Jail, obtained two shotguns and then exited the Jail into the Sheriff’s Office parking lot.
It is believed that while the two inmates were fleeing, a civilian county employee’s tan 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was stolen at gunpoint, and shots were fired at a Marysville Fire Department truck. A responding Marysville Police Officer fired at Guenther in the fleeing truck. Meanwhile, Hatfield reportedly fled on foot to a residence nearby the Jail, and fired shots toward a male subject standing in front of the residence. Hatfield was acquainted with the residents of the home. A short time later, Hatfield surrendered to an officer from the Marysville Police Department.
Hatfield -photo KDOC
Guenther fled the area in the stolen pickup truck and headed north on Highway 77, across the state line into Nebraska. He was pursued by Marysville Police until he rolled the truck and was apprehended in rural Gage County, Neb., not far from the Kansas/Nebraska state border. The Nebraska State Patrol investigated the accident scene.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the escape or in the events following the escape. By approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, the remaining Marshall County Jail inmates had been safely transferred to the Washington County Jail.
Law enforcement agencies who responded to this incident were: the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the Marysville Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Formal charges have not yet been filed. This investigation is ongoing. No further information will be released at this time.
Jack Burgeson is one of the high school students running for Kansas governor
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has a record number of candidates for the early stages of its 2018 governor’s race.
Even high school students are joining the elected officials and prominent business figures voters would normally expect.
Eighteen candidates have appointed treasurers or committees for a campaign next year, a requirement to raise money. There are 11 Republicans, six Democrats and an independent.
More are likely. The Libertarian Party is expected to have a nominee, and another independent candidate may get into the race.
But no women are running yet.
Still, the current number of candidates tops the previous record of 16 on the primary and general election ballots in 1964.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is term-limited but is expected to step down this fall anyway to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man arrested October 3 for alleged drug distribution was back before a Reno County judge Friday for the reading of formal charges
Leroy Lowe Sr., 40, Hutchinson, is now charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, criminal possession of a handgun, interference with law enforcement and personal use drug paraphernalia.
The state alleges that he was in possession of between 3.5 and 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as paraphernalia for distribution and personal uses.
This case now moves to a waiver-status docket on Nov. 1. He also faces a community corrections violation for an earlier case. He has previous convictions for burglary and drugs.
Police encouraged everyone living in the area to remain in their homes. Bethel College in Newton was briefly placed on lockdown. That ended just after midnight, according to the school’s social media account.
