Three Men Sentenced in Foiled Garden City Bomb Plot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three militia members who were convincted in a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. The alleged ringleader, Patrick Stein, was sentenced to 30 years; Gavin Wright, 26 years; and Curtis Allen, 25 years. The men 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 Diocese Releases Names of 22 Clerics Accused of Abuse
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.
=====================
Man Charged with Murdering 75-year-old Olathe Woman
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.
=====================
Two 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.
=====================
Water Park's Attorneys Seek Dismissal of Charges in Boy's Death
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.
=====================
Rebuilt WWII Bomber on Display 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 held 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.
=====================
Victim Criticizes Police after DNA Ties Man to Rape of Johnson County Deputy
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman who was raped in front of her 2-year-old daughter several months before prosecutors say her assailants abducted and sexually assaulted a Kansas sheriff's deputy is accusing police of mishandling 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 "being dramatic." She spoke in court 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.
=====================
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.
