Wichita Police Ask for Public's Help in Murder Investigation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 55-year-old man has been fatally shot outside his north Wichita home. Wichita police say the shooting happened around 10 p.m. Friday in the Benjamin Hills neighborhood. The Wichita Eagle says the man had just returned from a trip to the grocery store after work to his home when he was shot. A person with knowledge of the investigation told the newspaper that the victim had been robbed. Police have not released the victim's name. Police are searching for a suspect and have asked anyone with information about the crime to call CrimeStoppers.
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Shawnee Man Charged with Murder, Rape in Woman's Death
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A northeastern Kansas man has been charged with first-degree murder, rape and aggravated criminal sodomy in the death of a woman. The Kansas City Star reports that 28-year-old Felipe Chavez Jr., of Shawnee, was charged Saturday in the death of 30-year-old Lucia Frayre, of Kansas City. Police say the charges stem from a July 13 incident in which Shawnee police were called to a local hospital for a suspected domestic battery. Frayre was unconscious and receiving medical treatment when officers arrived. She died from her injuries Tuesday. Police say her death is Shawnee's first homicide this year. Chavez is being held on $1 million bond. He's scheduled to appear in court on the charges Monday.
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Ten Officers Cleared in Hutchinson Shootout
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The Reno County attorney says 10 officers who fired at a suspect during a confrontation at a Hutchinson home last month will not face charges. County Attorney Keith Schroeder announced Friday the officers were acting to defend themselves and others when they fired at least 150 rounds at 21-year-old Brendan Jones. Jones was shot at least eight times but survived. KAKE reports hours after a standoff began, Jones agreed to come out of the home. He says Jones walked outside raised a handgun and fired at least 11 shots at officers, who returned fire. Police say Jones and another man, Tyson Samuels, holed up in the house after shooting another man at a different location. Samuels surrendered before the gun battle between Jones and police. No officers were injured.
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Topeka Man Dies from Injuries Sustained in House Fire
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 76-year-old man who was burned in an explosion and fire at his Topeka home has died. WIBW reports the Topeka fire department said Friday Vernon Fisher died last week at a Kansas City hospital. Fisher was trapped inside his home when a fire broke on July 8. A neighbor heard him yelling for help and was able to help Fisher escape the home. Investigators determined the fire was most likely an accident caused by a natural gas leak inside the house.
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Missouri Man Sentenced in Rape, Kidnapping of Kansas 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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Two 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.
