Topeka Man Sentenced for Fatal Crash During Police Chase
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man convicted of fleeing from police that led to another driver's death has been sentenced to life in prison. Brandon Jordan was sentenced Friday in the death of 69-year-old Dennis Affolter of Topeka. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said the chase in November 2019 began after officers received a report of a man trying to pass forged checks at a Topeka bank. The suspect's car eventually ran a red light and hit a vehicle driven by Affolter, who later died of his injuries. Jordan was convicted in August of first-degree murder and several other charges.
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Kansas Governor Issues More Forceful Statement Against Vaccine Mandates
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is becoming more forceful in opposing President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. She issued a statement Friday saying it’s too late in the coronavirus pandemic to impose them after states tailored solutions to their needs. The Democratic governor’s latest statement came after she argued Thursday that federal mandates tend not to work, though they've boosted vaccination rates elsewhere. Kelly faces a difficult race for reelection next year in her Republican-leaning state, and her comments came shortly before Republican Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt announced that Kansas and six other states had filed a federal lawsuit against a mandate for companies with 100 or more workers.
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Wichita Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Fatal 2020 Stabbing
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for killing a man last year. A judge on Thursday sentenced 39-year-old Jeremy Shuflat, who pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder and kidnapping. He also received a 15-month sentence in an unrelated theft case. Sedgwick County deputies responded to a report of a truck broken down on a bridge near Valley Center on March 27, 2020, and found the body of 28-year-old Zackary Tilson under the bridge. He had been stabbed several times. Video surveillance led authorities to Shuflat.
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Women Charged After Man's Body Found in KC Illegal Dumping Area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two women face charges after a man’s body was found in a wooded area of Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Star reports that officers were initially called October 26th after a city worker discovered a body while looking into illegal dumping activity. In federal court records, a detective said the body was found in a plastic container, “wrapped in black tape.” The death was ruled a homicide. The victim was later identified as 56-year-old Malvin Wallace. Michele Props, of Gardner, Kansas, was charged October 29th with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution. Two days later, Kaitlyn Andes of Kansas City faced the same charges.
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Corrections Officer Injured in Attack at Lansing Prison
LANSING, Kan. (AP) — A corrections officer at Kansas’ Lansing Correctional Facility is hospitalized in stable condition after being attacked. The Kansas Department of Corrections says in a news release that the incident happened Wednesday when the officer “was injured by a resident.” Officials say the incident remains under investigation. The Kansas Organization of State Employees, the union representing the prison’s corrections officers, told KSNW-TV that a male inmate attacked the female officer around the time of the shift change at 5 p.m. The union's president says the prison is understaffed and the union has long advocated for additional staffing.
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Detectives Reopen I-70 Killings Coldcase
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — A series of killings that happened nearly three decades ago throughout the Midwest and largely along Interstate 70 is getting a new look. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that detectives and federal agents from Wichita, Raytown, Missouri, and the Indiana cities of Indianapolis and Terre Haute met this week with detectives in St. Charles, Missouri, to see if forensic technology and a fresh review could help solve all six crimes. Authorities believe one man, dubbed the “I-70 killer,” was responsible. Most of the victims were women working in shops within views of Interstate 70 and I-35.
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Kansas Man Convicted of Performing Illegal Autopsies
ALMA, Kan. (AP) — A 42-year-old Kansas man has been convicted of six counts related to providing illegal autopsies in Wabaunsee County. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmit said Thursday that Shawn Parcells was convicted of three counts of felony theft and three misdemeanors counts of criminal desecration. The jury found that Parcells illegally obtained money from Wabaunsee County to perform three autopsies. He also performed three autopsies without a pathologist, which violates state law. Parcells is a self-taught pathology assistant with no formal education. He is also facing state and federal lawsuits related to performing the autopsies and fees he collected.
