Group Call on Feds to Investigate KCK Police
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Activists and faith leaders are demanding a federal investigation into Kansas City, Kansas, police. The Kansas City Star reports that Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, said Friday during a news conference that the group plans to file a request with the U.S. Department of Justice to review the police department. The department came under scrutiny in 2017 when Lamonte McIntyre was exonerated after spending 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. A lawsuit filed by McIntyre claims officers manipulated eyewitnesses and wrote police reports with fabricated information.
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Hays Native Gets Life Sentence for Colorado Carjacking, Sexual Assaults
AURORA, Colo. (AP) — A Hays native convicted of sexual assault in the rape of a woman in suburban Denver and of assaulting and carjacking another woman has been sentenced to life in Colorado state prison. The Aurora Sentinel reports that 26-year-old Tre Carrasco was sentenced Friday by Arapahoe County District Judge Ben Leutwyler to a total of 136 years in prison. Carrasco was convicted in May of nearly a dozen charges, including felony sexual assault in the rape of an au pair in Cherry Hills Village in 2019 and the attempted kidnapping of another woman whose vehicle he stole outside an Aurora gym.
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Wichita State Receives $2 Million Grant for Aerospace Research
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A $2.1 million federal grant awarded to Wichita State University for new aerospace research facilities is expected to create nearly 500 jobs over the next 10 years. The Wichita Eagle reports that the U.S. Commerce Department announced the grant to the school's National Institute for Aviation Research on Thursday. The money will be matched with university funds generated by the institute's contracts with private industry and will go toward a new flight test research center and a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. WSU associate vice president Tracee Friess says the 475 jobs expected to be created over the next decade “will all be engineers and technicians.”
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Topeka Woman Charged with Murder in Teen's Death
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 21-year-old Topeka woman is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a teenager. Shawnee County authorities charged Daisha Butler on Thursday in the death of 17-year-old Nevaeh Martinez. She was shot July 3rd outside a Topeka home, and died the next day after being taken off life support. Butler is being held on $1 million bond. The victim's mother, Tiana Cannon, told KSNT that her daughter didn't know Butler and was an innocent bystander in the shooting.
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Branson Rollercoaster Cleared to Re-open after Accident
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri inspectors say a roller coaster attraction where an 11-year-old boy was severely injured is safe to reopen. Missouri amusement ride inspectors on Friday said the coaster in the popular Missouri tourist town of Branson can reopen. Aalondo Perry was hurt on the ride last month. The Tennessee boy fell after getting off the coaster and was trapped for more than an hour while his legs and one arm were crushed. The Missouri Division of Fire Safety is still investigating the accident. But amusement ride experts in the division say the ride is safe.