KU Wins Big 12 Tournament with 74-65 Win over Texas Tech
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — David McCormack had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Ochai Agbaji made a pair of clinching foul shots with just over a minute to go, and 6th-ranked Kansas beat 14th-ranked Texas Tech 74-65 to win the Big 12 Tournament title. Agbaji finished with 16 points, Christian Braun had 14 and Jalen Wilson and Remy Martin 12 apiece for the Jayhawks.
==========
Trial to Begin in Fatal Shooting of Washburn Football Player
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The trial begins Monday for a man accused in a 2019 shooting in Kansas that killed a college football player and wounded a teammate of the victim, a man who now plays in the NFL. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Francisco Mendez is the only person arrested and charged in the case even though a prosecutor said at least three guns were used to fire 18 or more shots in the April 28, 2019, shooting. Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons was killed in the shooting in Topeka. Corey Ballentine was shot and survived. Ballentine is a cornerback and kick returner for the Atlanta Falcons.
===========
Relatives Identify Worker Killed at Wichita Construction Site
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Relatives have identified the man killed on the job at the site where a new water plant is under construction in Wichita. The Wichita Eagle reports that the victim was 55-year-old Manuel Esparza of Wichita, a superintendent for UCI Industrial Construction Services. The company is a subcontractor on the Wichita Water Partners team hired by the city. The accident happened Thursday morning at the construction site of the Wichita Northwest Water Facility. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Esparza’s death.
==========
Court Upholds Sentence in 2018 Junction City Murder
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed a sentence given to a man who was pleaded guilty to killing a Junction City woman and her unborn child on Christmas Day in 2018. The court on Friday upheld the sentence of Dion Jamal Green. He pleaded guilty to two counts of felony first-degree murder in the deaths of 31-year-old Jenna Schafer, of Junction City, and her unborn child. He was sentenced to consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years. Green challenged the procedures the Geary County District Court used to sentence him. But the court unanimously affirmed the sentences.
==========
Kansas Corrections Investigate Death of Derby Convict
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas corrections officials say a Derby man who was convicted of killing his girlfriend and stabbing her son has died. The department says 48-year-old Charles Beck died Friday at a Hutchinson hospital. The cause of his death is being investigated but officials said it is not believed to be related to COVID-19. Beck was serving a hard-25 sentence plus nearly 14 more years for convictions in Russell and Sedgwick counties. Beck was convicted of stabbing and killing 43-year-old Lonnie Staggs in Derby in September 2013. He also stabbed and tried to kill Staggs' teenage son. His crimes in Russell County included battery against a correctional officer.