Woman Who Gave Hesston Factory Shooter Guns Gets Probation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman who gave her ex-boyfriend the guns he used in February's mass shooting at a factory in Hesston has been ordered to spend a year on supervised release. Today (MON), a federal judge in Wichita also credited Sarah Hopkins for time she's already served in jail. Prosecutors had agreed not to oppose Hopkins' probation request. Hopkins pleaded guilty to not alerting authorities that a convicted felon unlawfully possessed firearms. Prosecutors say Hopkins gave a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun to Cedric Ford, who used the weapons in a February 25 shooting at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston that killed three people and wounded 14. Ford was killed by police. Hopkins' attorney says she suffered from PTSD and battered woman's syndrome at the time.
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Kansas Electors Inundated with E-Mails Ahead of Electoral College Vote
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - The Kansans who will cast presidential Electoral College votes next month have been getting thousands of emails ahead of the December 19 vote. Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kelly Arnold and State Representative Mark Kahrs have each received more than 25,000 emails. The Hutchinson News reports that Republican Ashley McMillan Hutchinson said the flood of messages crashed her email server last weekend. Arnold says most of the messages urge him to vote for Clinton or for a Republican other than Donald Trump. In Kansas, electors aren't bound by law or under threat of penalty if they switch. But Clayton Barker, Kansas Republican Party Executive Director, and also an elector, says the party chooses electors who will reliably vote for the winner of the state's popular vote. Trump won 57 percent of the vote in Kansas.
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Kansas Appeals Court Orders New Hearing in 2008 Killing
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas appellate court says a woman serving a 14-year sentence for a 2008 beating death can challenge her conviction on claims that her trial attorney was ineffective. The Lawrence Journal-World reports a Kansas Court of Appeals panel sent Shanna Friday's case back to Douglas County to allow her to argue that the trial court wrongly admitted her recorded confession into evidence. Friday also insists a court-appointed attorney failed to adequately challenge the admission of that confession. Friday was convicted of killing 62-year-old Jerry Lee Deshazer at his Lawrence home. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld her conviction in 2013. But the appeals court ruled that the trial court didn't properly consider her motion to suppress the confession.
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Magnitude 3.4 Earthquake Recorded in North-Central Oklahoma
MEDFORD, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 3.4 earthquake in north-central Oklahoma Sunday. The quake was recorded at 8:34 a.m. near Medford, about 85 miles north of Oklahoma City and 15 miles north of the Kansas state line. No injuries or damage have been reported, but the USGS reports the earthquake was felt as far away as Hutchinson in south-central Kansas. Geologists say damage is unlikely in earthquakes below magnitude 4.0. The recent surge in earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas has been linked to oil and gas production, and state regulators have shut down or imposed new restrictions on underground wells that are used for wastewater disposal.
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Olathe Police Shoot, Kill Person Armed with Blunt Object
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - Police in Johnson County say officers shot and killed a man who struck one of them with a blunt object. According to a news release, Olathe police were called to the scene around 10:30 p.m. Sunday after getting a report of an armed person. Police say officers encountered a person armed with a blunt object who refused to put it down. The person struck an officer with the object. Officers then shot the suspect, who died at the scene. The officer who was struck was brought to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries and later released. The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. No other details were immediately released.
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7 Wounded in Kansas City Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Seven people were wounded in a shooting that spread out across several blocks in south Kansas City, Missouri. Police said in a statement that officers responded to a report of shots being fired at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday and arrived to see several people firing at one another from vehicles near the initial crime scene. Six people were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds and one person is in critical condition. A seventh person said he was shot by police and was treated for minor injuries. A KCPD spokeswoman says the officer who fired his weapon is on administrative leave, and police are questioning possible suspects.
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Pedestrian Dies from Injuries Sustained in Johnson County Crash
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A pedestrian has died from injuries sustained in a crash in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. Police have identified the victim as 60-year-old Gary Barbosa, of Overland Park. He was hit November 18 while crossing a street. No charges have been filed against the driver.
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Fundraising for Slain Mother Nearing $15,000 Goal
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Donations have been pouring in for a Wichita baby who was kidnapped after her mother was shot to death. The Wichita Eagle reports that a GoFundMe account set up to collect money to bury the mother of the kidnapped Wichita infant is close to meeting its $15,000 goal. Laura Abarca-Nogueda was shot to death in her home last week. Her 6-day-old baby, Sophia, was reported missing and was recovered a couple days later at a home in Dallas. The baby has been reunited with family. Her family says any money collected through the crowdfunding effort that's left over after paying for burial expenses will go to help raise the baby.
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Former Kansas Lawmaker, Federal Judge Richard Rogers Dies at 94
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Richard Rogers, a decorated war veteran who served in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature before spending 40 years as a federal judge, has died. He was 94. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Rogers died Friday evening at a Topeka care center. Stewart Funeral Home in Wamego confirmed he died of natural causes. Rogers was born December 29, 1921, at Oberlin in northwest Kansas and moved with his family to Wamego when he was in the first grade. He graduated from Wamego High School in 1939 and from Kansas State University in 1943. Rogers was a World War II bombardier before leaving the military in 1945 and graduating from law school in 1947. He served 12 years in the Legislature before being appointed as a federal judge in 1975.
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Hutchinson Man, WW II Vet, Donates 296th Pint of Blood
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Hutchinson man is set to donate his 296th pint of blood. The Hutchinson News reports that 87-year-old Harold Walters made his first donation in 1955, when he was 26. He donated his 296th pint at the Hutchinson Community Blood Drive today (MON). Walters says his job was across from the donation center, so he started donating. He says that with the exception of when he traveled for work, he made it a habit to donate blood every two months. Walters says he has no plans of stopping any time soon. The World War II and Korean War veteran is promoting a blood drive sponsored by the American Legion on Wednesday.
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Kansas Wind Farm to Help Power a Microsoft Data Center
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Electricity from a wind farm under construction in western Kansas will help supply the power for a Microsoft data center in Wyoming. The Hutchinson News reports that Microsoft signed a 10-year-contract to buy all 178 megawatts of power from the Bloom Wind Project, which is under construction on 15,000 acres in Ford and Clark counties, about 20 miles south of Dodge City. Alberta, Canada-based Capital Power owns the project, and expects to go online late in 2017. Microsoft will couple the Kansas-generated power with the 59-megawatt Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind farms in Wyoming. Brian Janous, director of energy strategy at Microsoft, says the combined output of the three projects will produce enough annual energy to cover the energy used at the company's Cheyenne, Wyoming, data center.
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Chiefs Beat Broncos 30-27 in Overtime
DENVER (AP) — Cairo Santos' 34-yard field goal hit the left upright and bounced through as overtime play expired Sunday night to give the Kansas Chiefs a 30-27 victory over the Denver Broncos. That avoided the third tie in the NFL this season, something that hasn't happened since 1973 before the league introduced overtime. The Chiefs win followed a risky move by Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who sent his kicker out for a 62-yard try with 1:01 left only to see Brandon McManus come up short. That gave the Chiefs possession at the Denver 48 with one timeout and just over a minute remaining. The Chiefs reached the Denver 16 before Santos ended the game. The Chiefs (8-3) kept up with the Oakland Raiders (9-2) in the AFC West race and the Broncos (7-4) could find themselves fighting for a wild card now.
