Missouri Man Sentenced in Rape, Kidnapping of JoCo Deputy
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a Kansas sheriff's deputy. Brady Newman-Caddell, of Independence, was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty last year to rape, kidnapping and sodomy. William Luth, of Blue Springs, Missouri, was sentenced last year to more than 41 years in prison for his role in the crime. Prosecutors said the two men kidnapped the Johnson County deputy in October 2016. They forced her into a car and took turns raping and sodomizing her before eventually releasing her. They were also charged in the February 2016 rape of an Independence woman. Luth pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced in January to 30 years. The case against Newman-Caddell in the Missouri case is pending.
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Kansas Mechanic Sues for Sexual Harassment
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A woman mechanic has filed a lawsuit accusing her former freight yard employer of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. The lawsuit filed July 12 in Kansas District Court says the woman's supervisor and coworkers at Moore Freight Service regularly harassed and demeaned her by calling her derogatory names. Daseke Inc., which bought Moore Freight in 2016, declined The Kansas City Star 's request for comment. She was the only female diesel mechanic when she started working for Moore Freight Service in Spring Hill in 2011. The suit says the harassment just got worse when she complained to human resources and that she was fired less than two weeks after she filed that complaint. The suit says she was fired for insubordination.
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2 New Vaccines Required for Some Kansas Students
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Students in certain grades at Kansas public and private schools will be required to have two new vaccinations this year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Thursday that students entering kindergarten and first grade will need two doses of a hepatitis A vaccine. Students entering seventh grade will need one dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine. And students starting their junior year will need the meningococcal ACWY vaccine if they have not been vaccinated before their 16th birthday. The new requirements take effect August 2nd. Kansas allows exemptions from vaccines only for medical and religious reasons. Health department Secretary Lee Norman said the agency collected public input before proposing the new requirements. He said meningitis and hepatitis A are both severe diseases that are preventable with vaccines.
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Wichita Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Helping with Warrant
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita police officer accused of helping a woman with an outstanding warrant has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanors. Matthew Powell has been on unpaid leave since he was charged in June with obstructing apprehension or prosecution and two counts of official misconduct. The Wichita Eagle reports investigators allege Powell helped a woman avoid police who were searching for her in May. Details of how and why he helped the woman have not been released. He entered his plea during a court appearance Wednesday. Powell's attorney, Jess Hoeme, said the case involves a failure to communicate and his client is not guilty of the charges. He did not elaborate on the communication problem. Police spokesman Charley Davidson said Wednesday Powell remains on unpaid administrative leave.
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13-year-old Clinton Lake Drowning Victim Identified
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a missing 13-year-old boy in Clinton Lake near Lawrence. The Douglas County Sheriff's office says Jayion Harris-Jordan drowned while playing in an outlet of the lake Thursday evening. The boy's body was recovered Friday morning. The sheriff's office said his body was found not far from where he disappeared in the water. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the outlet at Clinton connects the lake with the Wakarusa River to the east. The sheriff's office said it would not release any more information about the drowning. Jayion was a student at Lawrence's Liberty Memorial Central Middle School.
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Relatives: Standoff Length May Have Led to KCK Shooting Deaths
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Relatives are questioning why police waited two hours to bust into a Kansas City, Kansas, market where two people lay dying and arrest the gunman holed up inside. The Kansas City Star reports that Christina Bennett-Smith says her uncle, Dennis Edwards, who owned the market, and customer Lachell Day could be alive if police entered the building sooner. Day's friend, 39-year-old Jermelle Andre-Lamont Byers, is charged with first-degree and second-degree murder and other counts in the July 10th attack. Police say a responding officer shot Byers once after he pointed a handgun. Byers then retreated and was arrested after a standoff. Day, who was 42, died the next day. Edwards, who was 62, died at the scene. Police defended officers' actions, saying they responded as quickly as they could.
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Kansas Priest Charged with Possessing Child Pornography
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas priest has been charged with one count of possessing child pornography. The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, said in a news release Thursday that it reported Christopher Rossman to authorities in September 2016 after learning he had accessed inappropriate content on his computer. Rossman was suspended from the ministry at that time. The archdiocese said it received information that an FBI investigation resulted in the charge being filed. At the time, Rossman was pastor at Roman Catholic churches in Baldwin City and Lapeer. He previously worked at churches in Olathe, Topeka, Holton, Mayetta and Potawatomi Reservation. The Kansas City Star reports Rossman's attorney, Scott Toth, said it was too early to comment on the case.
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Bankers: Trade War Hurting Rural Economies
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More bankers surveyed in parts of 10 Plains and Western states say President Donald Trump's trade skirmishes are having a negative effect on their local economies. The Rural Mainstreet survey released Thursday shows the survey's overall index falling from 53.2 in June to 50.2 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says higher agriculture commodity prices and rebuilding from recent floods helped prop up the region's economy last month. But he added that nearly 9 of 10 bankers surveyed noted the tariffs' negative impact on the economy. That's up from 8 in 10 who said the same thing in September. Bankers from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
