PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A fifth person charged in the shooting death of a Pittsburg State University student pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Darius Rainey agreed to the plea deal Friday in the October 2014 death of 20-year-old Taylor Thomas.

The Joplin Globe reports District Attorney Michael Gayoso said Rainey will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole for at least 25 years. Sentencing was scheduled for June 19.

Thomas was a 20-year-old junior at the school when he was killed during a planned robbery at his home. Authorities allege the intruders were seeking drugs and money, with the drugs belonging to Thomas’ roommate.

The other four suspects have all pleaded guilty to various charges in the case.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY –Five people were injured in an accident just before 10:30a.m. Saturday in Chautauqua County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Kuboa Tractor driven by Jackie L. Rutledge, 73, Sedan, was southbound on county road 19 five miles south of Sedan.

The driver stopped at the stop sign at U.S.166 but failed to yield and collided with an eastbound 2006 Lexus SUV driven by, Glenn L. Lygrisse, 74, Wichita.

Lygrisse and passengers Dianne L.  Lygrisse, 74, Wichita; Lori Dawn Albertsonson, 48, and Abbriel Dawn Lygrisse Hadley, 16, both of Benton were transported to the hospital in Sedan.

A private vehicle transported Rutledge to the hospital in Sedan.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The maternal grandmother of a 7-year-old Kansas boy whose remains were found in a pigsty says she has seen videos that detail gruesome abuse the boy suffered at the hands of his father and stepmother.

Judy Conway, of Emporia, says the videos came from more than 30 security cameras placed throughout the home in Kansas City, Kansas, where her grandson, Adrian Jones, lived with Michael and Heather Jones and six girls before he died in 2015. The Kansas City Star reports  some photos also came from social media sites.

Michael Jones is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty in March to first-degree murder in Adrian’s death. Heather Jones was sentenced in November to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating an armed robbery are asking for help to identify suspects.

Just before 2a.m. Friday, two men entered a fast food restaurant in the 1900 Block of SW 10th Street in Topeka.

The suspects, one white and one black used a handgun in the robbery and left the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Topeka police.

By SAM ZEFF

Just because Kansas had an election a few months ago doesn’t mean people aren’t already thinking about 2018 legislative campaigns.

Grassroots organizations in Johnson County are multiplying and starting to plot how they will elect more moderate Republicans and Democrats to the Kansas Legislature.

In November the Legislature took a swing into the political middle, in no small part because of a group called Stand Up Blue Valley that worked to elect candidates willing to pour more money into public education.

Stand Up campaigned for many new lawmakers, but its members want more votes in the Legislature that they hope will lead to even more school funding.

So Stand Up already is recruiting candidates for 2018.

“When you say 2018 it’s, like, exhausting to think about,” says Elizabeth Arnold of Leawood, a Stand Up Blue Valley founder.

Pressures From Topeka

Arnold has been giving some advice to the newest grassroots organizations in Johnson County: Save Olathe Schools and Education First Shawnee Mission.

“We’re facing, and have been for years, lots of pressures coming from Topeka,” says Tiffany Johnson of Prairie Village, an Education First founder. “We want people who will be standing up and advocating for our kids.”

At the top of the Education First agenda, Johnson says, is to elect some new members to the Shawnee Mission school board in November when three seats are up. That’s even more important to the group now that Superintendent Jim Hinson has said he’s retiring.

Hinson’s support of block grant funding and coziness at times with Gov. Sam Brownback made him unpopular with some teachers and parents in the district.

But always looming in the background is the next election, for the Kansas House.

“We wanted to get organized so we can also have an impact on the legislative races coming up in 2018,” Johnson says.

More Voices In The Discussion

If a march or protest is happening somewhere near Olathe, Nikki McDonald is likely to be there. She organized Save Olathe Schools with the aim of defeating conservatives at the polls.

“The powers that be are not listening very well. So it’s time for us to speak up and advocate for our children,” McDonald says.

State Sen. Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg is among the fiscally conservative lawmakers these groups are looking to replace in upcoming elections.

“I’m a conservative woman. I always have been. I don’t hide that,” Baumgardner says.

During a recent Saturday morning forum in south Overland Park, Baumgardner says she welcomes groups like Stand Up and Save Olathe Schools into the political fray.

“I am never opposed to having more people at the table for discussion, because I think it really brings back a more rich discussion and better ideas,” says Baumgardner, whose term runs through 2020.

So after one election cycle and most of a legislative session, how does Stand Up Blue Valley think its candidates have done?

Arnold says so far, so good.

“What we have seen is a willingness for them to show up and listen and communicate back to their constituents what’s happening, and that’s just such a great feeling,” she says. “We know that some of them may not always vote the way we like, but for the most part we see them working hard.”

Working hard is one thing, and results are another.

Lawmakers have yet to close a $900 million budget hole for the next two fiscal years and haven’t passed a school funding formula — two big issues that await them when they return Monday to Topeka.

Will the lawmakers supported by Stand Up deliver?

It likely will be close to summer before that question is answered.

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR.org and the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff 

CLAY COUNTY- Three people were injured in an accident just before 10p.m. Friday in Clay County.

The Kansas Highway patrol reported a 2016 GMC Sierra driven by Alva C. Ditmars, 61, Washington, was northbound on Kansas 15 at the intersection of Kansas 80.

The GMC collided with a 2017 Ford F150 driven by Mark A. Pauley, 49, Omaha, that was eastbound on Kansas 80 and failed to stop at the stop sign.

The GMC caught on fire, according to the KHP.
Ditmars, Pauley and a passenger in the Ford Benjamin Pauley, 15, were transported to the Clay County Hospital.

All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a burglary and asking for help to identify possible suspects.

Just before 10 a.m. Monday, March 13, a staff member making the rounds at Public Storage in the 1100 block of South Rock Road in Wichita noticed the lock had been cut off one of the storage units.

From the business’s security video and video from neighboring properties, detectives determined that the suspects were driving a red truck. They made two trips early that Monday morning.

The stolen items included patio furniture and several paintings.
The paintings were landscapes by Marco Sassone, landscapes with birds by Milford Zornes and animals by John Ruthven. Two paintings of ships by John Stobart also were taken.
If you have any information, police ask that you call Crime Stoppers at 267-2111.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Three people are charged in the stabbing death of a Kansas man who was lured to Kansas City by a Craigslist ad.

The Jackson County prosecutor announced charges Friday in the killing of 29-year-old Michael Luckey of Osawatomie, Kansas. His body was found April 5 near an abandoned home in south Kansas City.

Twenty-year-old Tayelor Fitzpatrick, of Quenemo, Kansas; and Micah Dozier and Larry Wren III, both 18 from Kansas City, Missouri, each face first-degree murder and three other charges.

Prosecutors say the suspects and a juvenile used Craigslist to get Luckey to Kansas City in order to rob him. After Luckey was

killed, the suspects allegedly burned his vehicle and left his body. They then allegedly used Luckey’s credit cards to buy electronics and other items.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas Health System is interested in acquiring a financially troubled nonprofit hospital in Topeka.

System President and CEO Bob Page told Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback in a letter Thursday that it would submit a proposal for the 378-bed St. Francis Health hospital in Topeka.

Page said the University of Kansas system would partner with Nashville-based Ardent Health Services. It operates hospitals in six states.

St. Francis is owned by Denver-based SCL Health. It plans to stop operating St. Francis this summer whether it has a buyer or not.

The University of Kansas system operates the private hospital spun off from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1998.

The California-based Prime Healthcare Foundation and the rival Topeka-area Stormont Vail Health system also have expressed an interest.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An arrest affidavit shows that a Kansas day care worker was the only person with access to the infant she’s accused of killing.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports 42-year-old Carrody Buchhorn was arrested April 14 and faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 9-month-old Oliver Ortiz.

Buchhorn has pleaded not guilty. She released from the Douglas County Jail on Friday after posting $100,000 bond.

Investigators allege the boy was laid down for a nap at Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home when he died in September after experiencing blunt force trauma. Buchhorn alleges she found Oliver that way after checking on him.

Buchhorn is currently under house arrest. She is scheduled to next appear in court on May 17.