HARPER COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 7p.m. Saturday in Harper County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Robert B. Sharp, 76, Anthony, was in a field at southwest 40th Road and Southwest 10th Avenue just south of Anthony.
As he extended the boom on an Apache chemical sprayer it touched the electrical line.
Sharp was electrocuted.
He was transported to Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony.
JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have drifted through another week.
They didn’t have debates in either chamber on a plan for boosting spending on public schools or proposal to increase taxes to pay for it and also fix the state budget.
They held no late-night or evening House and Senate sessions and haven’t worked any weekends since returning this month from their annual spring break.
When they reconvene Monday, they’ll be only days away from the 100th day of their annual session and what is supposed to be their last.
They’re still struggling with a chicken-and-egg question.
Do they pass tax legislation first to set the upper limits of what they can spend? Or, do they pass a school funding plan first to set a revenue-raising target?
SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged kidnapping.
Just before 7p.m. Saturday, police responded to the 21st and SE Rice Road to speak to the victim of a kidnapping, according to a media release.
Police are looking for 42-year-old Jesse Jerome Jackson. He is described as 6 foot 1-inches tall and weighs 196 pounds. He was wearing a black hoodie and black pants and last seen leaving the scene in the victim’s
Kia Forte with Kansas tag 617EIF. He is considered armed and dangerous, according to police.
He was in possession of a knife during the incident. If you see him, please call 911.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the capital murder conviction of a Topeka man who killed an 8-year-old girl and stuffed her body in a clothes dryer.
The court on Friday rejected an appeal from Billy Davis Jr., who was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the March 2012 beating, rape and death of Ah’liyah Irvin.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Davis’ attorney argued he was high on drugs and alcohol and didn’t intend to kill the girl, which is necessary for a capital murder conviction.
The court unanimously rejected the argument, saying Davis’ conduct before and after the crimes and the girl’s severe injuries all suggested premeditation.
The court reversed the rape conviction because rape is an element of the capital murder conviction.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an incident involving an altercation with a police officer.
Just after 11 a.m. Saturday, a suspect identified as Colt Francis Wright ran from a Maize police officer during a traffic stop in the area of 53rd Street North and Maize Road after a brief scuffle with the officer, according to a social media report.
Several agencies assisted with the search for the suspect including the Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Highway Patrol. At this time, the suspect has not been located, but has been identified.
Wright was wearing a blue shirt and khaki shorts. He is wanted on misdemeanor warrants.
The Maize Police Department does not believe there is any threat to the community, but is asking residents to be vigilant and call 9-1-1 if they see Wright.
SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged robbery and have captured 2 suspects.
On Saturday, police responded to the 3700 block of SW Topeka Boulevard in Topeka to speak with the victim of a robbery, according to a media release.
They discovered that sometime on Friday this female victim was taken to a hotel room and robbed. She was released sometime on Saturday morning.
Just after 3p.m. Saturday, the Topeka Police Department issued an alert for 2 suspects.
A 4:17 p.m. police arrested 32-year-old Tamarya Brooks
and 31-year-old Ryan E. Bettcher both reported as homeless. They were apprehended near 11th and California Street in Topeka, according to a media release.
Police say they used a gun and large knives were in the crime.
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SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged robbery and looking for help to find two suspects.
On Saturday, police responded to the 3700 block of SW Topeka Boulevard in Topeka to speak with the victim of a robbery, according to a media release.
They discovered that sometime on Friday this female victim was taken to a hotel room and robbed. She was released sometime on Saturday morning.
The Topeka Police Department is currently looking for:
32-year-old Tamarya Brooks “Tam” is 5 foot 4inches tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds. She was last seen wearing a camouflage hoodie and pink shirt.
They are also looking for 31-year-old Ryan E. Bettcher. “Cuz” or “Saint” described as 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He was last seen wearing a neon green hoodie, blue shirt and jeans.
These two should be considered armed and dangerous. A gun and large knives were
used in the commission of this crime. Both are said to be homeless at the time, and were seen leaving the area on foot. If seen please call 911 and do not approach. If you have information regarding the investigation please call 785-368-9551 Topeka Police (criminalintelligence@topeka.org) or call Crime Stoppers at #785-234-0007.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Authorities in Congo say two suspects soon will face trial in the gruesome killings of two United Nations experts and their interpreter.
The bodies of American Michael Sharp, Swedish national Zaida Catalan and colleague Betu Tshintela were found in March after they went missing while investigating human rights abuses.
Sharp is the son of Hesston Kansas College Bible faculty members John and Michele Sharp.
The Congolese government later obtained a cell phone video showing them being killed. It blamed members of the Kamwina Nsapu militia that is active in central Congo’s Kasai provinces. At least 400 people have died in the region since August.
Military prosecutor Col. Odon Makutu Mwendele said Saturday two of the 16 suspects will face trial on war crimes charges including murder and mutilation. They also face charges of terrorism and supporting a rebel group.
There was no immediate Swedish response.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say they are investigating whether four homicides along a popular hiking and biking trail are related.
Police said Friday no evidence has linked the deaths of four white men along the Indian Creek Trail system since last August. The men were between the ages of 54 and 67. Three of them were walking their dogs on or near the trail.
Spokeswoman Capt. Stacey Graves said in an email that detectives are aware of the similarities and are reviewing the possibility the cases are related.
The latest homicide occurred Thursday, when 61-year-old Mike Darby was found dead.
Indian Creek Trail stretches 26 miles between Jackson County, Missouri, in south Kansas City to Johnson County, Kansas, in Olathe.
By MEG WINGERTER
Kansas lawmakers have struggled since 2015 on whether to investigate alleged discrimination against same-sex couples in the state’s foster care and adoption system.
Now some think they’ve hit on an answer: Ask people working in the foster care system if they think the issue needs a deeper look.
Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, has asked the Legislative Post Audit Division to conduct a survey about potential bias against same-sex couples in child placement decisions.
In 2015 and 2016, members of the Legislative Post Audit Committee declined other requests for audits of possible adoption bias in the foster care system.
The survey Ousley has requested would ask lawyers appointed to represent children’s interests in child welfare cases if they have seen discriminatory treatment in a case and whether they believe the Legislature should investigate the issue.
Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican and chairman of the Legislative Post Audit Committee, gave Ousley’s request preliminary approval, according to an email from audit staff. The survey and limited-scope audit would require an estimated 100 staff hours, so it would be automatically approved at the next Legislative Post Audit Committee meeting unless the other committee members ask for a vote.
Barker said he doesn’t know if same-sex couples have been treated unfairly in child placement cases, but he said a survey could settle the question or show lawmakers they need more information.
“I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting question and I don’t know the answer to it,’ and that’s why we have audits,” he said.
If the survey finds that lawyers working on child welfare cases think a larger audit is worthwhile, their views might resonate with committee members, Ousley said.
“If they come back and say, ‘Yes, it’s a good idea,’ maybe it would be a little more persuasive than a lawmaker or two asking for it,” he said.
Ousley and other members of the House Children and Seniors Committee forwarded a bill this session to create a task force that will recommend improvements to the foster care system. The House approved the bill but it awaits Senate action.
The Kansas Department for Children and Families oversees the foster care system, and two contractors operate it. In recent years, record numbers of children have entered the state’s foster care system, raising concerns among social service advocates and some legislators.
In April 2016, DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore submitted a letter to the post audit committee stating that the department and its two foster care contractors have no formal policies related to same-sex couples. She said DCF reviewed its training materials, internal memos and other policy documents but found no information about sexual orientation.
Kasey Rogg, deputy general counsel for DCF, told a legislative Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy in November 2016 that the department doesn’t discriminate against same-sex couples.
“There is no policy that takes into account those issues. It’s not an issue,” he said.
The issue came up in late 2015 when lawmakers set the questions for a three-part audit of the foster care system, which post audit staff recently finished.
Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat, had asked that a question about potential discrimination against same-sex couples be included, but other members of the Legislative Post Audit committee elected not to pursue it.
Ward referenced the case of a baby who was being raised by a lesbian couple in Wichita but then was placed with Jonathan and Allison Schumm, a Topeka couple raising some of her siblings. The Schumms later were charged with abusing another child in their home but reached a diversion agreement, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
A 2013 court ruling in Johnson County also alleged DCF had conducted a “witch hunt” against a lesbian couple seeking to adopt a child while allowing heterosexual parents with more serious past offenses to adopt.
Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter.
ANDERSON COUNTY –Two people died in an accident just before 3p.m. Friday in Anderson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Lexus GX driven by Stephen Bauer, 75, Baldwin City, was southbound on U.S. 169 one mile north of Colony.
The driver lost control of the vehicle. It crossed the center line a Mack truck.
Bauer and a passenger Allison Bauer, 57, Baldwin City, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck driver Zachariah E. Breen, 27, Wellsville, was transported to the Anderson County Hospital.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
