UPDATE: Authorities Investigate Fatal Shooting Involving Police Officer in Topeka
5:25 p.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have identified a man fatally shot by Topeka police near a park in the Kansas capital following what they've described as a struggle with police. The Lawrence Police Department said the man shot was 30-year-old Dominique Tyrell White of Topeka and two officers were involved. Police in Lawrence are handling the investigation because Topeka officers were involved. Lawrence is about 20 miles east of Topeka. Lawrence police did not identify White's race or provide other personal details about him. Authorities also are not releasing the names, races or other information for the officers. Both police departments said Topeka officers came to the area near the park in response to a report of gunshots and encountered White. Topeka police said he attempted to flee after struggling with police.
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3 p.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say a man shot by an officer or officers has died. The Police Department said in a statement that the man died Thursday at a local hospital after struggling with police near a park and attempting to flee. They said he was armed with a handgun and reached for a pocket with the weapon. Police did not identify the man or the officers involved in his shooting. Police said officers responded to a report of a disturbance and shots being fired and encountered a suspicious person who was armed. They said officers fired at the man after their struggle and his attempt to flee. He was then taken by ambulance to the hospital. Police said the man's gun was recovered at the scene.
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2 p.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating what they're describing as a shooting involving a police officer near a Topeka park. WIBW-TV reports that the shooting Thursday morning sent one man to the hospital, but no officers were injured. The man was shot in the chest, and Topeka Police Captain Mike Cross said two officers administering first aid to him were covered in blood afterward. Police said they first responded to shots in the area, and an altercation occurred after officers arrived. Officers from the Shawnee County sheriff's department and Kansas Highway Patrol also went to the scene. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that an agitated crowd of about 50 people gathered but dispersed within half an hour. Police and city officials didn't immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.
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Most of Kansas Congressional Delegation Supports GOP Tax Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Most members of Kansas's congressional delegation are supporting a proposed federal tax code being developed by House and Senate Republicans. U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran and Representatives Lynn Jenkins, Roger Marshall and Ron Estes all said Wednesday they support legislation that would reduce the corporate income tax rate from 35 to 20 percent. It also would reduce the top individual income tax rate from 39 percent to 35 percent. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports none of the members' statements on tax legislation discussed how the tax bill would affect the federal deficit. Roberts said there is widespread bipartisan agreement on the need for tax reform and Congress should work together to take action on some most Americans support. A spokesperson for Representative Kevin Yoder didn't immediately return a request for comment.
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Kansas Governor Announces October 4 Hearing on Ambassador Nomination
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says a U.S. Senate committee hearing is set for next week on his nomination for ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. But Brownback told reporters Wednesday he's not sure how quickly the Senate could vote on his nomination after the October 4 hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. President Trump nominated the two-term Republican governor for the ambassadorship in late July. Brownback said he'll step down as governor when the Senate confirms him. Brownback's departure will automatically elevate fellow Republican Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer to governor. Brownback already was term-limited. Colyer and seven other candidates have announced campaigns for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. Five Democrats have said they're running.
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3rd Teenager Enters Kansas Governor's Race
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A third teenager says he wants to be the governor of Kansas. Ethan Randleas is a 17-year-old from Wichita who says he will join two other teenagers as candidates in next year's gubernatorial race to replace incumbent Republican Governor Sam Brownback. Kansas has no law governing the qualifications for governor. The Kansas City Star reports that Randleas is running as a Republican. He's a student at Wichita Heights High School. He calls himself is a "conservatarian," which he says is a mix of conservative and libertarian. The other teenage candidates are 17-year-old Republican Tyler Ruzich, of Prairie Village, and 16-year-old Democrat Jack Bergeson, of Wichita. Without circulating petitions, a candidate pays $2,207 to file a governor/lieutenant governor team. A candidate who gathers 5,000 signatures pays $670.
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Tyson Considering Cloud County for Chicken Processing Plant
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Saline County commissioners are supporting an effort to bring a Tyson chicken plant to Cloud County and Concordia. The commission has signed a letter in support of the $300 million project. The Salina Journal reports that the commission says the plant would benefit the entire region because Tyson will invest $100 million to help farmers and ranchers raise poultry. Tyson was planning to build the plant near Tonganoxie but put those plans on hold after fierce opposition from nearby residents. Governor Sam Brownback's administration had pledged an undisclosed amount of tax breaks to persuade Tyson to locate on a 300-acre site south of Tonganoxie.
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Majority of New Kansas Prison to Be Double-Bunked When Open
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas corrections officials say most cells in a new state prison they're planning would house two inmates when the facility opens. Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood told a legislative committee Wednesday that cells in the new Lansing prison would be large enough to meet national standards for double bunking, including in maximum-security inmates. The department plans to build a new prison in Lansing to replacing the state's oldest and largest correctional facility there. The project could cost up to $155 million; three companies submitted proposals last week, and the department hopes to have a final contract in November. Some legislators have questioned whether additional double-bunking of inmates has led to unrest at state prisons in recent months. But Norwood told legislators that the practice is common across the nation.
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Police Arrest Third Suspect in Fatal Lawrence Motel Shooting
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police have arrested a third man in connection to a fatal shooting at a Lawrence motel earlier this month. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that police arrested the 22-year-old suspect on Wednesday. Lawrence Police officials say he'll be brought to Douglas County to face charges. The fatal shooting took place September 2 inside a Motel 6 guest room. Police say responding officers found three shooting victims, including 23-year-old Cameron Hooks, who died from his injuries. The two other victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Two 19-year-old men have already been charged in the shooting. Tyrone Carvin and Shawn Smith are each charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault. Police say the newly arrested man is expected to face the same charges. The investigation is ongoing.
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Man Charged in Rural Scott County Homicide
SCOTT CITY, Kan. (AP) - A man charged in a shooting death in western Kansas is now charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Fifty-year-old Rene Inguanza made his first court appearance Wednesday. He is charged in the September 22 death of 44-year-old Darryn Rodenberg, who was found dead of a gunshot wound at a rural Scott County home. Deputies found Inguanza in a pickup truck about a half mile from Rodenberg's home. The Hays Post reports investigators believe Inguanza was angry with Rodenberg for selling drugs to his son. Inguanza remains jailed in Scott County on a $500,000 Bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 11.
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Federal Court Rejects Appeal in 2002 Kansas Murder at Pool
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has dismissed an appeal from a man convicted in the 2002 killing a teenager at a Leawood swimming pool. The Kansas City Star reports the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the appeal of Benjamin Appleby. Appleby, now 42, is serving a life sentence for capital murder and attempted rape of 19-year-old Ali Kemp in the pump room of a swimming pool where she worked. Appleby was arrested in 2004 in Connecticut and confessed to the killing. The Kansas Supreme Court later upheld his murder conviction and life sentence but dismissed the attempted rape conviction. Among other things, Appleby's appeal argued that his confession was not legally obtained and his trial attorney was ineffective.
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5th Suspect Charged in Topeka Triple Homicide
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ A fifth suspect has been charged in a triple homicide in Topeka on the same day that three others were ordered to stand trial. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kora Liles was charged Wednesday with two first-degree murder counts. A preliminary hearing also ended with Brian Flowers, Joseph Lowry and Shane Mays being bound over for trial. A police detective testified at the hearing that 19-year-old Matthew Leavitt, 38-year-old Nicole Fisher, and 20-year-old Luke Davis were strangled or smothered to death with trash bags in March. Deutsch says the violence stemmed from a rape allegation. The defense argued that Mays was forced to participate to save his life. He, Flowers and Liles are charged in Fisher and Leavitt's death. Lowry and a fifth person are charged in all three deaths.
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3 Arrested in 2014 Drive-By Shooting that Killed Kansas Girl
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Three men are in custody in a 2014 drive-by shooting that killed a 10-year-old girl inside a Kansas City, Kansas, home. Police also are looking for a fourth suspect in the killing of Machole Stewart. The spokesman for the Wyandotte County prosecutor's office didn't immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Machole was killed when bullets from a passing vehicle sprayed a home while she was at a family gathering inside. No one else inside the home was injured. Police have said the intended target was a 19-year-old relative. Machole's grandmother says the girl was "robbed" of "a beautiful life with her family."
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Kick-Boxing Instructor Fights Off Trail Attacker
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A man got more than he bargained for when he attacked a kick-boxing instructor as she ran on a suburban Kansas City trail.The Kansas City Star reports that 51-year-old Stephanie Steiniger, of Overland Park, Kansas, ripped her arm free and kicked him in the groin. Police say the apparent kidnapping attempt happened Tuesday night.On Wednesday, Steiniger warned other women in a public plea while wearing a purple tank top that read, "Strong is the new pretty." She says she always believes "everything happens for a reason" and that "maybe it's so I can warn other women to be aware." Overland Park Police spokesman John Lacy says fighting back is important in a kidnapping attempt, even if the assailant has a weapon. Police are looking for a suspect.
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Kansas Girl Scout Camp to Cease Operations
DOVER, Kan. (AP) — Girl Scouts of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri have announced plans to close one of its camps. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that programming and activities at Camp Daisy Hindman will cease November 30 in Shawnee County. Girl Scouts CEO Joy Wheeler says the decision was based on a steady decline in the resident camp program and operating at a loss of nearly $200,000. The camp has been renovated several times in the past five years, including upgrades to its water and electrical infrastructure. The program also installed new cabins, a natural playground and a spray park. A Facebook post by Sophie Devanney says she "found a home at Camp Daisy Hindman this summer." She says she's upset to hear about the closure but will "cherish every memory" she has.
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Nebraska County Reserves Beds in Kansas County Jail
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's Gage County has reserved beds at a jail across the state line in northern Kansas and at a jail in south-central Nebraska. The Beatrice Daily Sun reports that the Gage County Board of Supervisors approved a contract Wednesday for 10 beds in the Washington County, Kansas, jail and five at the jail in Nebraska's Dawson County. Both one-year contracts call for a rate of $45 a bed per day, regardless of whether they're used by inmates from Gage County. Contracting with other jails intensified this summer as the number of inmates reached double the Gage County jail's capacity of around 27. The overflow inmates were housed at up to seven different counties at one time, causing transportation problems for jail workers.
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Homeless Teenager Charged in Independence, Missouri Killing
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - A homeless teenager is accused in a suburban Kansas City shooting that killed a man and wounded a woman. Seventeen-year-old Antonio Stocker III was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Eliud Lisboa at an Independence apartment complex. Bond is set at $100,000. Court records say the shooting happened Tuesday after an altercation that was recorded on a cellphone. Stocker told police he shot Lisboa because he was scared. He said other people involved in the confrontation were armed, although Lisboa wasn't when he was shot. Stocker said that he and another person disposed of their clothing and the gun in a creek bed after the shooting.
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University of Kansas Museum Unveils T. rex Skeleton
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is now home to a Tyrannosaurus rex fossilized skeleton thanks to a team who helped dig up the specimen and bring it to Lawrence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the crew spent the past four summers in Montana excavating the skeleton little by little. University paleontologist David Burnham says he and his crew have nicknamed the female dinosaur Lucy. The university's Biodiversity Institute labs are still cleaning some of the bones. Burnham says they'll eventually be added to the exhibit at the school's Natural History Museum. Burnham, a team of students and volunteers, and donors had unearthed about 25 percent of Lucy's skull, about 60 percent of her hip bones and 45 percent of her leg bones. The paleontologist estimates she died at about 15 years old.
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Royals Rally to Beat Detroit Tigers, 7-4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals' Paulo Orlando hit a two-run homer, his first of the season, as Kansas City rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Detroit Tigers 7-4 on Wednesday night. The Tigers are 4-22 in September and have been outscored 68-30 in the skid. Orlando's home run was his first since September 19, 2016, going 117 at-bats between long balls. Scott Alexander (5-4), the third Kansas City pitcher, picked up the victory with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. The Royals padded their lead with a three-run eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Alcides Escobar. Whit Merrifield scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch by Chad Bell.
