Violent Weekend in KC; 3 Teens Shot Outside T-Mobile Center
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) - It's been another violent weekend in Kansas City. Police say three teenagers were shot and wounded outside the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City Saturday night. All three suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police do not have a suspect in custody. KMBC TV reports that the shooting involved teenagers who had attended the Cornucopia Festival in the Power and Light District. The shooting of three teenagers Saturday night comes on the heels of another shooting in Kansas City Friday afternoon, in which five adults were shot and wounded. All are expected to survive. Friday's shooting took place in east Kansas City, the 3300 Block of East 10th Street.
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KHP Seized 116 Pounds of Fentanyl in 2022
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The Kansas Highway Patrol seized 116 pounds of fentanyl in 2022, but that number is down significantly this year. The highway patrol only took 26 pounds of fentanyl in the first six months of 2023. The reduction does not appear to be from a drop in smuggling the drug. KHP superintendent Erik Smith says the patrol’s drug team was understaffed when he took over in July. The drug team now has more officers who are taking more drugs off the street. “I would expect by the end of the year, those numbers will start trending back up," he said. Fentanyl has been driving a rise in overdose deaths across the country and in Kansas.
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Olathe Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction Charge in January 6 Attack on Capitol
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Proud Boys member who joined others from the far-right group in attacking the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Monday to obstructing the joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.
William Chrestman, 49, of Olathe, Kansas, also pleaded guilty to threatening to assault a federal officer during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly is scheduled to sentence Chrestman for his two felony convictions on Jan. 12. Estimated sentencing guidelines for his case recommended a prison term ranging from four years and three months to five years and three months.
Chrestman brought an axe handle, gas mask, helmet and other tactical gear when he traveled to Washington, D.C., with other Proud Boys members from the Kansas City, Kansas, area, On Jan. 6, he marched to the Capitol grounds with dozens of other Proud Boys leaders, members and associates.
Chrestman and other Proud Boys moved past a toppled metal barricade and joined other rioters in front of another police barrier. He shouted a threat at officers and yelled at others in the crowd to stop police from arresting another rioter, according to prosecutors.
Facing the crowd, Chrestman shouted, “Whose house is this?”
“Our house!” the crowd replied.
“Do you want your house back?” Chrestman asked.
“Yes!” they responded.
"Take it!" Chrestman yelled.
Chrestman also pointed his finger at a line of Capitol police officers, gestured at them with his axe handle and threatened to assault them if they fired “pepper ball” rounds at the crowd of rioters, according to a court filing accompanying his guilty plea.
Chrestman “assumed a de facto leadership role” for the Proud Boys from Kansas City, leading them around the Capitol building and grounds and serving as “the primary coordinator" of their efforts to disrupt police, prosecutors said in a February 2021 court filing.
“Encouraging others to do the same, the defendant impeded law enforcement's efforts to protect the Capitol, and aided the armed, hourslong occupation of the U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists,” they wrote.
Chrestman was captured on video communicating with Proud Boys chapter leader Ethan Nordean outside the Capitol. A jury convicted Nordean and three other Proud Boys, including former national chairman Enrique Tarrio, of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a plot to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
Chrestman, a U.S. Army veteran, has been jailed since his arrest in February 2021.
“It's been a long process, your honor,” his attorney, Edward Martin, told the judge.
A grand jury indicted Chrestman on six counts, including a conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors said Chrestman may have tried to conceal his participation in the riot by disposing of clothes and gear he wore on Jan. 6 and giving his firearms to somebody else to hold.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Chrestman to be detained while awaiting trial. Kelly upheld her ruling in July 2021.
Chrestman was charged with five other Proud Boys members and associates.
A co-defendant, Ryan Ashlock, was sentenced last November to 70 days of incarceration after pleading guilty to a trespassing charge. Two others, Christopher Kuehne and Louis Enrique Colon, pleaded guilty to civil disorder charges and await separate sentencing hearings. Two co-defendants from Arizona — siblings Felicia Konold and Cory Konold — have change-of-plea hearings set for Nov. 1.
More than 1,100 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 60 of them have been identified as Proud Boys leaders, members or associates.
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Sheriff: 3 Dead After Building Explosion in Southwest Kansas
FORD COUNTY, Kan. (JC Post) - Law enforcement authorities are investigating the cause of a deadly explosion in southwest Kansas. Ford County authorities received calls of an explosion in Bucklin Saturday evening. The JC Post reports that three people were found dead inside a building. A fourth person was taken to a hospital in Dodge City. The Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office is assisting in the investigation.
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Kansas Courts Now Operating on Paper Due to IT Issue
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS/KWCH) - The Kansas courts remain open as staff members investigate a security breach, but its online systems are mostly offline. The courts are calling it a security incident that has disrupted access to its system. The judicial branch hasn't said exactly how many online systems were compromised or how it happened. But outside help will investigate the security issue. The systems that are down include electronic filing for attorneys and the payment center. The online application for protection from abuse orders is also unavailable. Attorneys will need to file documents by paper or fax. KWCH TV reports that until the problem is resolved, attorneys and other court users must submit filings in paper or by fax.
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Cruelty Charge Sought Against Kansas Police Officer After K-9 Dies in Extreme Heat
PARSONS, Kan. (KAKE) - A police officer in southeast Kansas could face an animal cruelty charge after the K-9 in his care died in the August heat. A joint release from the Parsons Police Department and Labette County Sheriff's Office said the charge is being requested against Parsons police officer Devin Wisdom. KAKE TV reports that the investigation into the K-9's death began on August 21. Parsons police say the officer and the dog worked a 12-hour night shift and then the animal was placed in his outdoor kennel. The officer later found the 4-year-old K-9 dead. Police say an examination determined that the extreme temperature on the day in question stands as the sole factor contributing to the dog's death.
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Hundreds of Residents Rally in KC in Support of Palestinians
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) - Hundreds of Kansas City residents gathered over the weekend at Mill Creek Park to support Palestinians. They also called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza. The weekend rally comes a week after Hamas militants living in Gaza killed more than 1,300 people in Israel and 27 American citizens in a terrorist attack. The attack prompted the Israeli government to declare war against Hamas. In the days since, more than 2,200 Palestinian civilians have been killed and thousands more displaced. Israel cut off food, electricity, fuel and medicine from the region. The water supply to Gaza has since been restored. KCUR Radio reports that many demonstrators in Kansas City waved the Palestinian flag and held protest signs.
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Shawnee County Gets New State Representative
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - Residents of Shawnee County have a new state representative. Over the weekend, Republicans voted to name Kyle McNorton the next representative of District 50. He replaces Fred Patton, who resigned in September. KSNT reports that McNorton will finish Patton's term and then run for re-election in 2024. McNorton, a lifelong Kansan, says he’s excited to get to work in his hometown. District 50 covers the northern and western parts of Shawnee County. McNorton begins his first day as a member of the Kansas House today (MON).
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2 Men Arrested in Kansas Suspected of Trafficking People from Arizona
SYRACUSE, Kan. (AZCentral.com) - Two men have been arrested in southwest Kansas on charges of human trafficking. The arrests took place late last week in Wallace and Hamilton counties. Authorities suspect the men trafficked a dozen people from Arizona to an unknown destination. The websiteAZCentral.com reports that 51-year-old Antonio Castro Tienda, of Mesa, Arizona, was taken into custody in Syracuse, Kansas. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says Castro is suspected of being part of a human trafficking organization in the Phoenix area. Another man was arrested in nearby Wallace County but his name has not been released.
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Child Rights Advocates Ask Why State Left Slain 5-Year-Old Kansas Girl in a Clearly Unstable Home
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Zoey Felix's short life was filled with turbulence. Before the 5-year-old Topeka girl was raped and killed, worried neighbors say they saw her wandering, dirty and hungry. Police were called to her home dozens of times. Teachers raised alarms when she missed preschool. Both parents alleged abuse. Zoey's mom was jailed for a drunken car crash with Zoey in the front seat. State welfare officials were notified.
In September, Zoey and her father moved out, and neighbors believe they began camping in a nearby vacant lot. Weeks later, Zoey was killed — efforts to save her in a gas station parking lot were unsuccessful — and Mickel Cherry, a 25-year-old homeless man, was charged in her death. Public anger over Zoey's October 2 death has focused on her parents. But child advocates are asking why police and the state's embattled Department for Children and Families left the bubbly and curious girl in a dangerous environment. "Our society's collective failure to support and protect Zoey is heartbreaking and unconscionable," said Shakti Belway, executive director at the National Center for Youth Law, which sued the state over problems with its child welfare system.
Cherry is charged with first-degree murder, rape and capital murder, and could face the death penalty. Cherry's attorney, Mark Manna, of the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, has declined to comment. Cherry's family didn't respond to messages. Authorities confirmed that Cherry once lived at the same address as Zoey, but he was homeless when he was arrested. The Associated Press examined dozens of court records and police reports that paint an image of Zoey's chaotic home environment.
Court records show her father had a protection-from-abuse order to keep Zoey's mother away. The mother told the AP in a Facebook message that she was married to Zoey's father but that he had temporary custody. She declined to respond to other questions. "I can't talk to you," she wrote. "I'm sorry."
Neither parent responded to phone messages, and a person who identified herself as a grandmother declined comment. Zoey's father worked at the gas station where rescuers tried to save her life, but its manager and corporate owner also declined comment. Police say their investigation is ongoing, but it's not yet clear that anyone else will be charged. Laura Howard, the top administrator for the Department for Children and Families, described Zoey's case as "tragic" during an October 4 legislative committee hearing, but didn't elaborate. The agency has yet to release any information. "How was that child not removed? It doesn't make any sense," said Mike Fonkert, deputy director of Kansas Appleseed, whose group also sued the state over its child welfare system.
On the block where Zoey had lived, neighbor Shaniqua Bradley said the girl took to calling her mom. Bradley and other neighbors said Zoey sometimes wore the same outfit for a week. They bathed her and gave her clean clothes. When water and electricity were cut off at Zoey's house, she asked them for water or a place to cool off. Bradley washed the girl's matted hair, fed her, and said she called child welfare. Bradley, who has four kids of her own, said she asked Zoey's mother if she could help in her care. "I want to blame myself so much for it, because I continuously told everybody, like: 'I don't want to send her back home. Like, I want her mom to sign her over to me.' But her mom would not," Bradley said.
Court records show Zoey's mother was convicted in Nevada of disorderly conduct and violated a protection-from-abuse order there before moving to Topeka, and police reports show Topeka officers were frequently at the family's home. The turbulence came to a head in July 2022, when Zoey's mom called police to report a disturbance. Police returned later that day after Zoey's teenage sister said her mother had overdosed and that Zoey was home. The report says the mother appeared healthy. Still, Zoey's mother was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery against her husband. Released on bond, she was directed to have no contact with him.
At this point, both parents sought protection orders against each other, but a judge rejected the requests. In August 2022, Zoey's mother was arrested for domestic battery, with her teenage daughter listed as the victim. Amid the turmoil, Zoey sometimes showed up to preschool dirty, without socks, underwear or a coat, said Sasha Camacho, a paraprofessional in Zoey's class who notified the school social worker. Then in November came news that Zoey would miss school because she had been in a crash. A criminal complaint accused Zoey's mother of driving drunk with an open container — and Zoey — in her car. Prosecutors later subpoenaed hospital records for Zoey. Zoey's father obtained a protection-from-abuse order against his wife ordering her to stay away from him through the end of December 2023. The judge gave him custody of Zoey.
Zoey's mother remained in jail through March of this year, and a judge referred the case to the state Department for Children and Families, court records show. Camacho said Zoey met with child welfare officers at least twice that fall. Dad took over caring for Zoey, but she missed a lot of preschool and in March stopped attending entirely, Camacho said. That same month, Zoey's mom pleaded guilty to felony aggravated battery and driving under the influence, and was sentenced to probation. Aggravated child endangerment and two misdemeanor battery cases were dismissed. The plea agreement said she could have no contact with Zoey and restricted her contact with her teenage daughter.
Court records show Zoey's situation grew increasingly unstable when her father and his girlfriend were evicted from their apartment after falling behind on the rent. The couple broke up and neighbors said Zoey and her father moved back in with her mother, along with Cherry, a friend of Zoey's teenage sister. Zoey's mom called the police on July 22 to report that her husband had moved back in, despite his protection-from-abuse order.
The school district said Zoey didn't attend kindergarten this fall. Cherry's presence heightened neighbors' anxiety.
On September 5, neighbor Desiree Myles called police, saying Zoey had been "home alone since yesterday with a strange man — there is no water or electricity at the home." She said that when she asked Zoey who the man was, Zoey couldn't tell her and didn't know where her mother was.
City spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said officers confirmed there was no electricity and were told by Zoey's father that she wasn't living there. Spiker said officers met with Zoey, saw she was in "good spirits" and made a report to child welfare. The home was temporarily condemned. Fonkert, of Kansas Appleseed, said it would be a "huge failure" if no one from child welfare followed up to establish where Zoey was living.
Police returned September 19, and Bradley said she heard Zoey's mom saying everyone had to leave. A police report said Zoey's mother had shoved her teenage daughter, and an officer later stood outside as belongings were retrieved from the house.
Police reports do not explain where Zoey, her sister, her father and Cherry went, but neighbors said they were living in a makeshift camp among trees in the vacant lot. Just before 6 pm on October 2, the first call — "5 yo unresponsive" — summoned emergency crews to the gas station.
A fire department incident report says Zoey's father said her body was taken to him at the gas station, although it does not say by whom. A police report said a man and woman the same ages as Cherry and Zoey's sister were present. Emergency responders performed life-saving measures at the scene but Zoey was pronounced dead at a hospital. The police report doesn't say how she died. Crime scene tape surrounded a tent and tarp in the vacant lot, and a memorial for Zoey appeared nearby with flowers, balloons and toys. "This is devastating," said Sharon Williams, another neighbor who had called child welfare and has been answering her granddaughter's haunting questions since her playmate died: "She asked, 'Did Zoey go to heaven?' And I said, 'Yes, she did.'"
(-Related-)
Report: Ten Children Killed in Topeka So Far this Year; Six Were 10 Years Old or Younger
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) - Ten children, including four this month, have been killed this year in Topeka. Six of the 10 were 10 years old or younger. By contrast, only one of the city's 17 homicide victims last year was younger than 18. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Sunday that there have been 30 homicides in Topeka so far this year.
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The Deadline to Register to Vote in City Elections is Tuesday
LAWRENCE, Kan. (The Lawrence Times) - Tomorrow (TUE) is the last day to register in order to vote in local city elections coming up November 7. In Lawrence, three out of five City Commission seats and five out of seven school board seats will be on the ballot. Voter can register to vote or double-check their voter registration at KSVotes.org.
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Kansas Tops Preseason Men's AP Top 25 Rankings
UNDATED (AP) – Bill Self likes to remind his team that the faces may change at Kansas but the expectations within his program never do.
Expectations outside the program? Turns out they are as high as possible this year.
The Jayhawks were the clear No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll released Monday, earning 46 of 63 first-place votes to easily outdistance No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Purdue. It's the fourth time since Self's arrival in Lawrence that his team will start the season on top but the first time since the 2018-19 season.
“You know you'll have a target on your back playing at Kansas,” said Kevin McCullar Jr., who decided to return for a second season with the Jayhawks and fifth in college hoops. "We'll have that chip on our shoulder, you know, prove everybody wrong, and state why you should be the No. 1 team in the nation. You go out there and use that. You use that as fuel every day.”
The Jayhawks had a disappointing follow-up to their 2022 national title last season, losing to Texas in the Big 12 championship and falling to Arkansas in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Self missed both of those events after having a valve in his heart replaced, but the 60-year-old coach is back on the sideline and chasing a third national title in the 75th anniversary season of the AP poll.
He has three returning starters in McCullar, DaJuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams, along with top-50 recruit Elmarko Jackson and Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson, perhaps the biggest prize of this past summer's portal moves.
"With our returning starters and the players we’ve added, I can see the writers putting us high in the rankings,” Self said. “We welcome being preseason No. 1, but the goal is to be playing to that rank when it counts the most, at the end of the season.”
Duke picked up 11 first-place votes to land at No. 2 in Jon Scheyer's second season, and Purdue got three first-place nods as they try to avenge a stunning end to last season. AP player of the year Zach Edey and the Boilermakers became the second men’s No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed when they lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament.
Edey's deadline-day decision to return to the Boilermakers, rather than turn pro, kept them a national title contender.
“We had a tough finish to the season losing in the first round. Hopefully that sits with us as a coaching staff and really as a program to make us better, so we can have more success in March,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “But as you guys all know, it doesn’t start there. The process starts all over, and you can’t miss any steps.”
Michigan State was fourth with one first-place vote, its highest ranking since December 2020, and Marquette rounded out the top five with AP coach of the year Shaka Smart returning a loaded squad led by third-team All-American Tyler Kolek.
That's the highest ranking for the Golden Eagles since they were No. 3 in March 1978, when they were known as the Warriors.
Defending national champion UConn was sixth with two first-place votes after losing standouts Adam Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins. The Huskies were followed by Big 12 newcomer Houston, Creighton, Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, which returns just about everyone from the team that went 35-4 and made a surprising Final Four run last season.
“We have some guys that are ready to play, have been ready to play but under circumstances have had to take a back seat," said Owls coach Dusty May, whose team has jumped from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference.
“We'll be a little different," May said, "but we'll still be versatile and we'll play a lot of guys.”
Gonzaga was No. 11 followed by Arizona, Miami, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Kentucky came in at No. 16 with national runner-up San Diego State next, while Texas, North Carolina and Baylor rounded out the top 20.
The final five were Southern California, Villanova, Saint Mary's, Alabama and Illinois.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The SEC led the way with five teams in the preseason poll, with Tennessee in the top 10. The Big 12 and Big East had four apiece with the latter landing three among the top eight in Marquette, UConn and Creighton. The ACC and Big Ten had three apiece.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Wisconsin, Colorado and UCLA are the first three outside the Top 25; the Bruins were No. 7 in the final poll last season. Also on the outside were Xavier and Kansas State, both of whom were in the top 15 entering last year's NCAA Tournament. MARK YOUR CALENDAR The season begins for most teams Nov. 6 with some big-time matchups in the first couple of weeks. That includes the annual Champions Classic doubleheader, this time in Chicago, where No. 2 Duke will play fourth-ranked Michigan State and top-ranked Kansas will face No. 16 Kentucky.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.