SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and asking the public for help to find a suspect.

Just after 7p.m. Thursday, police responded to 102 SW 37th Street in Topeka for a report of a robbery at the Kwik Shop, according to Police Lt. Aaron Jones.

It was reported that a tall black male entered the store wearing a black hoodie and a purple bandana over his face, displaying a double-bladed knife and demanding money.

The suspect did escape with cash southeast from the business next to a Silver Honda Element with dents on the rear of the vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Topeka Police Department or Crime Stoppers.

RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man is jailed on a $26,500 bond for allegedly committing a convenience store robbery in Hutchinson on Wednesday night.

Tyler Lee Ford, 25, Hutchinson, is accused of entering the KwikShop,17th and Monroe just after 10:30p.m. with a handgun and demanding cash.

Patrol officers got a tip on the location of the suspect and did a search of a home in the 800 Block of Lee Street in Hutchinson, according to Police Lt. Marty Robertson. Officers found evidence of the robbery.
Ford is also facing a charge of interference with law enforcement.

He was released from prison on May 4 after serving time for five burglaries, one aggravated burglary and two counts of theft. Those crimes occurred in 2012 and 2013, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

He is expected to make a court appearance on Friday.

He did not appear in court Thursday morning, so unless he is able to post bond, he’ll most likely appear Friday morning.

HUNNEWELL, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 86-year-old woman who disappeared after leaving a Kansas casino has been found dead near the state’s southern border with Oklahoma.

The Sumner County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Westmoreland says Dixie Adair may have left her car after it became stuck in mud on a rural dirt road. Her body was discovered Thursday about 200 feet from her car in the southern part of the county.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation had issued a Silver Alert for Adair, saying she went missing Monday morning after a trip to the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane near Wichita. She lived in Rose Hill, which is less than 10 miles northeast of the casino. An aircraft eventually spotted her car 40 miles to the south. She apparently had become lost.

 

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MULVANE, Kan. –The search continues for a missing Kansas woman. On Tuesday, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office requested that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) issue a statewide Silver Alert.

It is believed that 86-year-old Dixie Adair, a white female from Rose Hill, who is 5 ft. 4 in. tall, 180 lbs., with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a fair complexion, was headed west on Highway 81 after leaving the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kan. She also may be driving a 2011 white 4-door, Toyota, Camry with Kansas disabled tag: 88398. She may be disoriented.

Adair did stay the weekend at the casino and left the casino property alone at 10:20 hours on Monday in her vehicle westbound towards Highway 81. Dixie Adair does have a heart condition and does take medication for her heart condition. Kansas Star Casino did report that Dixie Adair did seem to be disorientated when she left the Casino property and left her luggage at the front desk area. Brett Adair reports that it is out of character for his mother to be gone this long and to not answer her cellphone.

Contact has been made with several local jails, hospitals, and other casino within Kansas and Oklahoma and no one has reported to have been in contact with Dixie Adair. Attempts have been made to try to ping the cellular phone, which Dixie Adair may or may not have, has come back unsuccessful at this time.

If contact is made, please contact the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at (316) 322-4254.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has refused to impose bail for an Adidas representative embroiled in a bribery scandal that’s thrown college basketball into turmoil.

At a hearing Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors urged Judge Katherine Parker to require that James Gatto post $100,000 bond to keep his freedom. The judge instead continued the no-bail conditions set at an earlier court appearance in Oregon.

Lamont Evans, an assistant coach at Oklahoma State who was fired after being charged in the case, appeared on Thursday in the same courtroom. He was freed on $100,000 bond.

Both men and eight other defendants were charged last month in an alleged scheme to bribe assistant coaches in exchange for steering top-flight NBA prospects to a particular agent or financial adviser.

According to documents in the case, Evans expected $2,000 a month for his services. Evans said it was necessary to use his influence over the youngsters early in their college careers because many of them are “one and done,” meaning they play one year of college ball before joining the NBA, according to court papers.

Evans graduated with a degree in social science from K-State in 2009. He worked with the Wildcat basketball program as a Student Assistant from 2008-09, a Graduate Manager from 2009-2011, and an  Assistant Coach 2011-12, according to his OSU bio.

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and asking the public for help to find a suspect.

Just before 3a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a reported armed robbery that just occurred at a convenience store 1802 West 23rd Street in Lawrence.

A store employee reported a male suspect, armed with a firearm, wearing a mask and dark clothing, entered the business and demanded money.

The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money and exited the business. As the suspect exited the business, two female victims entered the business.

The suspect reentered the business and robbed the two female victims each of an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect then fled the area southbound on foot.

This investigation is ongoing. Lawrence Police request anyone who may have information related to this incident to please contact the Lawrence Police Department at 785-832-709 or Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at (785) 843-TIPS. Tips to Crime Stoppers can be made anonymous.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report says Kansas farmers are expected to harvest record crops of soybeans and cotton this season.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said it anticipates 209 million bushels of soybeans will be cut in Kansas this fall. That is up 9 percent from last year.

Kansas growers planted 5.1 million acres of soybeans this season. The anticipated spike in production is due to the fact that farmers planted 27 percent more acres than a year ago.

Another record crop is expected to come in for cotton, with harvest forecast at 190,000 bales. That is a 168 percent jump from last year.

Corn production in Kansas is forecast at 697 million bushels, down slightly from last year. The anticipated sorghum production of 194 million bushels is down 28 percent.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man who was not in the country legally has admitted causing a traffic accident that killed a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy.

Adrian Espinosa-Flores pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless second-degree murder in the September 2016 death of Master Deputy Brandon Collins.

The Kansas City Star reports Collins was killed while conducting a traffic stop in Overland Park. A pickup driven by Espinosa-Flores ran into Collins’ parked vehicle, pushing it into the SUV the deputy had pulled over.

Espinosa-Flores also pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated battery for injuries suffered by people in the SUV.

Court documents say Espinosa-Flores’ blood-alcohol content was twice the legal limit when he was arrested.

Immigration officials will take Espinosa-Flores into custody after he completes his prison sentence.

ALLEN COUNTY — A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 9a.m. Thursday in Allen County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Uplander driven by Lisa Marie Strickland, 28, Coffeyville, was northbound on U.S. 169 four miles south of Iola.

The vehicle crossed the center line and stuck a head-on.

Strickland was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver Andrew Jeremiah Robinson, 38, St. Mary’s, was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Via Christi Health in Wichita to suspend a senior care program because of “severe” deficiencies.

The program, Via Christi HOPE, is designed to help senior citizens in Sedgwick County stay in their homes by offering a complete health care plan involving primary care, specialists and nurses.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said program should not enroll new clients because it was not providing participants with medically necessary services.

During an audit in August, regulators found problems that hurt patients’ health, a failure to determine if patients could safely live at home, and a pattern of home health aides not showing up for scheduled visits.

Spokesman Johnny Smith Jr. said the health system is working to address the auditors’ findings.

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the discovery of skeletal remains across the tracks behind the Home Depot, 1907 East 17^th Avenue in Hutchinson.

It appears that it was a homeless person who had set up camp at that location, according to Police Lt. Marty Robertson. The body had been there for an extended period of time.

The remains were discovered by another homeless person looking for a place to live.

Robertson says there is no evidence at this time of foul play.