UPDATE: Kansas Militia Member Gets 30 Years in Bomb Plot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The alleged ringleader of a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Patrick Stein was sentenced Friday for his role in the plot to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somali immigrants in Garden City. The attack was planned for the day after the 2016 election. Stein was one of three militia members convicted last year. The plot was thwarted by another militia member who tipped off authorities to escalating threats of violence. He testified that Stein started recruiting others to kill Muslim immigrants after the June 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors had sought life in prison. Stein's attorneys asked for 15 years. A judge sentenced Stein to 30 years for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against civil rights. The sentences will run concurrently.
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Kansas Militia Member Gets 26 Years in Bomb Plot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A militia member who authorities say helped make and test bombs in a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas has been sentenced to 26 years in prison. Gavin Wright was sentenced Friday. Wright is one of three militia members who were convicted last year in a plot to detonate explosives during prayer time at a mosque inside an apartment complex in Garden City that houses Somalis. The attack was planned for the day after the 2016 presidential election. It was foiled after another militia member alerted authorities and agreed to wear a wire as a paid FBI informant. Prosecutors say Wright helped work on homemade bombs at his G&G Mobile Home Sales business in the nearby city of Liberal. Prosecutors had sought life in prison, while Wright's attorneys asked for time served.
Kansas Militia Member Gets 25 Years in Bomb Plot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man who authorities say drafted a manifesto for militia members involved in a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. A judge sentenced Curtis Allen on Friday for his role in the plot to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somali immigrants in Garden City. The attack was planned for the day after the 2016 election. Allen was one of three militia members convicted last year. Allen was sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against civil rights. The sentences will run concurrently. Authorities say Allen drafted the group's handwritten manifesto that outlined grievances against the government for — in the document's words — "not enforcing our borders." Authorities say the men planned to release the manifesto after the bombing. Prosecutors had sought life in prison. Allen's attorneys asked for 10 years.
3 Militia Members Face Sentencing in Kansas Bomb Plot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three militia men could face life in prison for a foiled plot to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somali immigrants in Kansas. A federal judge will sentence Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen today (FRI). The men were convicted last year of plotting the attack in Garden City for the day after the 2016 presidential election. The meatpacking town is about 220 miles west of Wichita. Prosecutors are seeking life terms. Stein is seeking a 15-year sentence, Allen 10 years, and Wright is asking for "time served." All three have been imprisoned since October 2016. They were convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Wright was also convicted of lying to the FBI.
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About 550 Federal Workers in Kansas Apply for Unemployment
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Revenue says hundreds of furloughed federal employees have applied for unemployment as the partial government shutdown continues. WIBW-TV reports the agency has received 549 unemployment claims through Wednesday. Federal employees who are working full time without pay during the shutdown are not eligible for unemployment. Labor officials say federal workers applying for unemployment should be prepared to provide wage verification because the agency may not be able to reach their employers during the shutdown. Workers will have to repay unemployment benefits if they receive back pay when the government reopens.
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Deep Freeze Grips Upper Midwest; More Bitter Cold to Come
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An arctic wave has wrapped the Upper Midwest in numbing cold. But the worst may be yet to come. Wind chill advisories were issued for a broad swath of the Upper Midwest, where wind chill factors could dip to 40 to 50 degrees below zero in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota and to 30 to 35 below in the Dakotas. The deep freeze caused organizers of the Winter Carnival in Minnesota to cancel several events, including Thursday night's parade through downtown St. Paul. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has closed its six outdoor skating rinks because of the cold weather. Forecasters say the frigid weather is expected to linger into next week, with even colder temperatures midweek.
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Kansas Governor Creates Advisory Group to Improve Education
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has signed an executive order creating an advisory group that aims to improve education in Kansas. The governor told reporters Thursday that educating children is one of the most important obligations of elected leaders and one of the best economic and civic investments to make in Kansas. The Governor's Council on Education will look for ways to enhance early childhood education, create relationships between the education and the business community and develop partnerships to address workforce needs in Kansas. Kelly says improving education means not only fully funding public schools, but also looking for ways to evaluate and innovate from early childhood all the way through to the workforce. The group, which builds on the work of a previous education council, will hold its first meeting Wednesday.
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GOP Courtship of Mike Pompeo Clouds 2020 Senate Primary in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — At least eight Kansas Republicans have expressed interest in running for Senate next year, while others in the party continue to encourage U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to seek the job. Many Republicans believe Pompeo would be a lock to win the seat being vacated by Republican Pat Roberts, who is retiring after four terms. Pompeo previously represented a Wichita-area district in Congress. Pompeo does not seem interested much for now, saying his focus is on his work as the nation's top diplomat. But he's also stopped short of ruling the idea out. Some Republicans hope for party unity ahead of a potentially difficult election nationally. The GOP also is coming off Democrat Laura Kelly's victory in the governor's race last year.
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ACLU Seeks to Dismiss Lawsuit over Dodge City Voting After New Sites Announced
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union wants to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against a western Kansas county after the only polling site in Dodge City was moved outside of town before the November election. The ACLU filed a motion Friday saying dismissing the lawsuit is warranted because Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox plans to open two voting sites in Dodge City for future elections. Cox also said she would add temporary bus stops in front of the polling sites. The ACLU sued Cox in October , contending that moving the polling site made it more difficult for the city's majority Hispanic population to vote. Cox said she moved the site because of construction at the traditional polling site at the civic center in the mostly white part of town.
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Man Arrested in Death of 75-Year-Old Woman in Eastern Kansas
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have charged a 51-year-old man in the death of a 75-year-old suburban Kansas City woman. Police in Olathe said in a news release that Raymond Thomas McCanness was charged Friday with first-degree murder and mistreatment of a dependent adult. District Attorney Steve Howe identified the victim as Sharon McManness. Police say she was found dead Wednesday afternoon after a report that a woman at the house was not breathing. The Kansas City Star reports police and prosecutors have not released details on how she died or how the victim and suspect were related. Raymond McManness was arrested Thursday. He's being held in Johnson County jail on a $1 million bond. On Friday, Raymond McManness said he planned to hire his own attorney.
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Water Park's Attorneys Want Charges in Boy's Death Dismissed
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys for defendants charged in the death of a 10-year-old boy at a Kansas water park are asking a judge to dismiss the case. During a court hearing Friday, defense attorneys said the Kansas Attorney General's office abused the grand jury system to obtain criminal indictments against Schlitterbahn corporate entities and three men after the 2016 decapitation death of Caleb Schwab at the park in Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas City Star reports attorneys for Jeff Henry, Tyler Miles, John Schooley and Schlitterbahn entities argued much of the prosecutors' evidence before the grand jury wouldn't be admissible at a trial and unfairly prejudiced the jurors. Assistant Kansas attorney general Adam Zentner said the defense claims were blown out of proportion. Wyandotte County Judge Robert Burns did not rule on the arguments.
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Woman Rushed to Topeka Hospital Amid Midwest Cold Snap
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A woman has been rushed to a hospital after she was found suffering from apparent cold exposure on the front porch of a Topeka home amid plunging temperatures. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the woman's name and further information about her condition weren't immediately available. A dispatcher for the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center says police and rescue workers were called just after 7 a.m. Friday to the home in the central part of the city. The National Weather Service reported Topeka temperatures dropped to 1 degree (-17.22 Celsius) early Friday morning. Topeka police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen said Thursday that officers had responded to four calls since Sunday in which they were asked to check the welfare of people suffering from exposure.
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Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to 3 Deaths, Given 33-Year Term
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing three people, including a toddler. Twenty-six-year-old Joseph Nelson of Kansas City was scheduled to go to trial this week for the killings of 18-year-old Shannon Rollins Jr., 17-year-old Bianca Fletcher and Fletcher's 1-year-old son, Joseph. Instead, he pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and witness tampering. Nelson was sentenced to 33 years, with three of those years added because he tampered with a potential witness by trying to persuade the person to say someone else killed the victims. Prosecutors say the victims were killed in September 2015 after Nelson and Fletcher got into an argument and she threw a diaper at him. Nelson killed Fletcher, then shot the toddler and Rollins.
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Man Arrested in Death of 75-Year-Old Olathe Woman
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man in the death of a 75-year-old suburban Kansas City woman. Police in Olathe said in a news release that the 51-year-old man was taken into custody Thursday. His arrest stems from a medical call Wednesday in Olathe for a woman who wasn't breathing. Police arrived and determined that the woman had died. Her cause of death later was ruled a homicide. No other details were immediately released, including the names of the suspect or the victim. The case remains under investigation.
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17-Year-Old Fatally Shot in Overland Park Home
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Overland Park police say a 17-year-old male was fatally shot in his home and the case is being investigated as a homicide. Police spokesman John Lacy says officers were called to the teenager's apartment Wednesday evening. He was identified Thursday as Ben Workman. The preliminary investigation indicates Workman had two visitors and a fight broke out before he was shot. Neighbors told police they heard a disturbance in the victim's apartment and saw two men running down the stairs. Information about possible suspects has not been released.
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Woman Convicted in Drug-Deal Robbery Shooting at Kansas Park
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence woman has pleaded no contest in a drug-deal robbery in which a 17-year-old was shot and critically wounded. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 19-year-old Ardyn Pannell, of Lawrence, entered the plea Wednesday to counts of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. An attempted second-degree murder case is pending against Pannell's former boyfriend, 19-year-old Michael Hormell, of Lawrence. The affidavit says Pannell and Hormell set up a January 2018 drug buy with the victim at a Lawrence park. But authorities say their plan was to rob him. Pannell is accused of pulling the trigger. The victim was flown to a hospital in critical condition with a chest wound but survived. Pannell's sentencing is scheduled for May 13.
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Lawrence Police: Subway Robbery Report Was a Hoax
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police say an employee at a Subway restaurant apparently made up an armed robbery in order to steal money from the business. The armed robbery was reported Tuesday. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the Subway employee initially reported being outside the restaurant when a man with a knife demanded cash. The employee described the suspect and said he ran away from the Subway. Police said Thursday investigators found information that didn't match the employee's statement and determined the theft was committed internally. Sgt. Amy Rhoads said stolen money was recovered. No one has been arrested but Rhoads said police intend to submit affidavits for the district attorney's office to consider charging the suspect and an accomplice.
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Woman Whose Assailants Also Raped Deputy Critical of Police
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman who was raped in front of her 2-year-old daughter several months before her assailants abducted and sexually assaulted a Kansas sheriff's deputy says police mishandled her case. The Kansas City Star reports that the Independence, Missouri, woman said Thursday that officers who investigated her February 2016 attack "made it abundantly clear" they thought she was "just being dramatic." She spoke in court Thursday as 41-year-old William Luth was sentenced to 30 years in prison. No suspects were identified in her attack until DNA was found after Luth and another man were arrested for attacking a Johnson County, Kansas, sheriff's deputy in October 2016. Luth previously was sentenced for raping the deputy. The Missouri woman said it made her sick when she learned Luth had attacked another woman.
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Kansas Diocese Inquiry into Abuse of Minors Names 22 Clerics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has released the names of 22 clergy with substantiated claims of sexual abuse involving minors. None of the 22 men whose names were released Friday are currently ministering in the archdiocese. Eleven have died and seven have been laicized. Ten were formerly priests in the diocese, and the others were either priests from another diocese or from a religious order ministering in the archdiocese. In a statement in the archdiocese's publication, The Leaven, Archbishop Joseph Naumann thanked victims who came forward to help with the investigation. The Husch Blackwell law firm reviewed about 1,080 clergy files to compile the list. The archdiocese says the report has been shared with the Kansas Attorney General's office. The review found no substantiated cases after 2000.
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Illegal Vape with Cartoon Packaging Seized in Wichita Area
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A county sheriff is warning parents in the Wichita area about illegal vape cartridges that are packaged with cartoons and contain high levels of THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high. The Wichita Eagle reports that Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says deputies recently have seized THC-infused vape cartridges intended for medical marijuana use. Easter says the cartridges contain 80-90 percent THC, which is more than most marijuana products seized by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. He says the vape may cause symptoms of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome , such as nausea and vomiting. Easter says police are concerned children are being targeted because the colorful packaging is decorated with cartoon characters. It's unclear whether any children have been affected by the product. Kansas law prohibits possessing or distributing THC vape products.
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2 Wichita Officers Won't Face Charges in Fatal Shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two officers who fatally shot a Wichita man after he shot and killed a police dog will not face criminal charges. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Friday the officers shot 25-year-old Kevin Perry in March 2017 because they thought Perry was going to shoot them. The officers and K-9 Rooster went to Perry's home in south Wichita after a report that Perry was holding his girlfriend hostage. The Wichita Eagle reports Rooster's handler sent the dog to stop Perry from going back into his home. Bennett says when Rooster grabbed Perry's leg, Perry reached for a handgun and officers fired because they thought he was going to fire at them. Instead, Perry shot Rooster, killing him almost instantly. Bennett says Perry had mental health issues and drugs in his system when he was shot.
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Fire Official: Wichita Victim Was Smoking While Using Oxygen
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita's fire marshal says a 58-year-old man who died in a house fire was smoking while using oxygen. Battalion Chief Jim Wilson says crews were called to a home in south Wichita early Thursday after a passerby reported seeing smoke coming from the home. The victim was found dead in a bedroom, where the fire was burning. KAKE-TV reports Fire Marshal Stuart Bevis said the fire is believed to have been sparked by the victim smoking while using oxygen. It caused $55,000 in damage to the home and its contents.
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2 More Lawsuits Filed Against Newman University in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The number of lawsuits alleging that a private Catholic college in Wichita unfairly fired employees has grown to four with the filing of two new ones. The Wichita Eagle reports that former Newman University counseling program director John Walker claims in one of the new suits that his 2018 firing was retaliation for reporting information about an October 2017 overdose death at an off-campus party. The gathering led to the temporary suspension of three baseball players. The other suit was filed by former School of Social Work director Sue Ellen Gardner, who says she was terminated without good cause. Newman spokesman Clark Schafer called Walker's allegations "without merit" and said the school couldn't comment on Gardner's lawsuit because it hadn't been formally served. A former Newman education professor and human resources director also have sued.
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Kansas City to Rename Street to Honor Martin Luther King Jr.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials in one of the nation's largest cities without a public memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. have voted to rename a 10-mile stretch of roadway after the civil rights leader. The City Council in Kansas City, Missouri, voted 8-4 Thursday to rename the Paseo in the city's predominantly black east side as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Kansas City Star reports the vote came after a months-long debate over which Kansas City landmark should honor King. Opposition mostly centered on whether residents and business owners along the Paseo had been properly consulted about the name change, and whether a different choice — such as the city's airport — would be a better way to honor the civil rights leader.
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Kansas to Use Gift for Chemical Engineering Research Lab
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas plans to use a $1 million gift to establish a new chemical engineering research laboratory. Richard and Elizabeth Hoover, of Northport Michigan, both graduated from the university in 1971. They now live in Northport, Michigan. Richard Hoover said in a news release that he hopes the lab will give students more hands-on research experience so they will be better prepared for the job market. Richard Hoover worked in several positions for Dow Corning, including as CEO of Dow Corning Asia in Tokyo for six years. His wife worked for the pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche in New York as an analytical chemist until they started their family.
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Rebuilt WWII Bomber to Be Displayed in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — After years of work by scores of volunteers, the public will get a chance to see a restored World War II B-29 bomber known as "Doc" in its home this weekend. A public open house and dedication ceremony will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center, at Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita. The 32,000-square-foot, $6.5 million interactive facility is expected to be open in early March. The Wichita Eagle reports the bomber is a decommissioned Boeing B-29 Superfortress and one of 1,644 manufactured in Wichita during WWII. It was discovered rotting in the Mojave Desert in 1987 and, after more than 100 volunteers worked about 450,000 hours, it is now just two operational B-29s in existence.
