HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 31-year-old Hutchinson man with numerous convictions is in more trouble after a domestic case Aug. 22.

Arthur Pina Jr. is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated domestic battery, possession of methamphetamine and felony interference.

Police were called to a Hutchinson home on the report of a disturbance and tried to make contact with Pina. He refused to open the door, so officers had to break a window to gain entry. Once inside, they found Pina on top of the victim. He refused to follow their commands and was eventually placed into custody.

According to the criminal complaint, he may have choked the victim at some point as he held her down.

With the criminal charges filed, Pina is expected back in court next month.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Commission has chosen a search firm to find a new administrator. It is the same firm the county used 10 years ago when it selected Gary Meagher to be the Reno County administrator.

Meagher plans to retire at the end of his contract, which comes toward the end of this year. The commission wants someone hired to take his place.

Commissioners chose the Austin Peters Group over Baker Tilly. The group was chosen, in part, because of past experience with the commission. The group also has Kansas connections.

The Austin Peters Group was the cheaper option with a price of $15,750. However, there could be some additional cost with background checks. Those checks are $300 per candidate. Human Resources Director Renee Harris believes the total cost would be around $17,500. That is still cheaper than the other firm, Baker Tilly, who wanted $24,500.

Commissioners also want the firm to speed up the timeline, especially at the beginning. Harris believes that can be arranged. The commission wants to hire someone to start on Jan. 1.

Updated Aug. 28 at 2:11 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police have made two arrests involving the beating and possible strangulation of a Hutchinson woman who was found unresponsive in an alley in the 700 block of West 7th in Hutchinson.

Issac Irvin and Delshay Vinsonhaler are both jailed on $100,000 bonds for a charge of aggravated battery. However, those charges could change if the woman doesn’t survive.

The female victim was found around 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Police believe she may have been the victim of foul play. A resident in the area saw two people carrying the victim. At one point, she fell down. That resident asked if she was OK. They quickly picked up the victim and took her down an alley.

The woman suffered serious injuries and was first taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. She was later taken to a Wichita hospital. She is still unresponsive there and listed as critical.

The victim and her husband apparently answered an ad on Facebook. They were storing their belongings at a residence at 9th & Adams believed to belong to the suspects. This was reportedly done in exchange for sexual favors.

They believe she may have been at the location where she was found for several hours. Because it rained that morning, there were no tire tracks or footprints that might have helped in the investigation. She had bruising and other marks on her body, but no gunshot or stab wounds. She was found face down in the alley.

Police are still not releasing her name at this time, but that could come within the next few days.

The two suspects made an initial court appearance Wednesday morning and are expected back in court on Sept. 3.

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police have made two arrests involving the beating of a Hutchinson woman who was found unresponsive in an alley in the 700 block of West 7th in Hutchinson.

Issac Irvin and Delshay Vinsonhaler are both jailed on $100,000 bonds for a charge of aggravated battery. However, those charges could change if the woman doesn’t survive.

The female victim was found around 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Police believe she may have been the victim of foul play.

The woman suffered serious injuries and was first taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. She was later taken to a Wichita hospital. She is still unresponsive there.

Authorities believe the woman is homeless. Officers think she may have been at that location for several hours. Because it rained that morning, there were no tire tracks or footprints that might have helped in the investigation. She had bruising and other marks on her body, but no gunshot or stab wounds.

Police are still not releasing the victim’s name at this time.

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police continue to investigate who might have hurt a Hutchinson woman who was found unresponsive in an alley in the 700 block of West 7th in Hutchinson.

She was found around 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Police believe she may have been the victim of foul play.

The woman suffered serious injuries and was first taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. She was later taken to a Wichita hospital. She is still unresponsive there.

They believe the woman to be homeless. Authorities think she may have been at that location for several hours. Because it rained that morning, there were no tire tracks or footprints that might have helped in the investigation. She had bruising and other marks on her body, but no gunshot or stab wounds.

Police are still not releasing her name at this time. Officials have not identified any suspects.

Police detectives continue interviewing those who may know the woman and had contact with her recently.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police continue to investigate a robbery at Kwik Shop in Hutchinson earlier this month.

The 68-year-old employee reported that, just after 4:15 a.m. on Aug. 20, a white male entered the store and demanded cash. The suspect also allegedly battered the employee during the altercation. This occurred at Kwik Shop at 2617 N. Main.

Investigators say they are looking at surveillance video from the store. They are also trying to talk with those who were in the store just before the robbery.

Authorities say they have no suspects at this time.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a 10-minute public hearing, the Hutchinson school board approved its 2019-2020 budget.

That includes a slight decrease of the mill levy by 0.51 mills. The mill levy for this school year will be 54.372, compared to 54.884 in 2018-19.

Also during Monday’s meeting, the board approved the annual Child and Adult Care Food Program agreements. The updated procurement policy for the district was also approved. The updates match district language with federal requirements, but have no substantive changes for the district.

The board also held executive sessions for negotiations with NEA-Hutchinson and non-elected personnel.

Updated Aug. 27 at 1:01 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson fire crews were busy responding to two fires Tuesday morning.

Crews responded to a fire at 403 W. 15th Ave. around 3:45 a.m. On arrival, crews located a fire in an inside wall of a two-story apartment.

The fire started from an electrical line that was fed from the electric meter to the residence. The fire was contained to the area of origin by fire crews. Firefighters overhauled the area of concern for any remaining hot spots.

Then, around 6:20 a.m., fire units responded to 710 E. 10th for a report of a structure fire. On arrival, crews found a single-story residential home with smoke and flames visible. Fire crews performed an aggressive interior attack while other crews searched the home to see if someone was inside. Apparently, no one was home at the time of the incident.

Fire crews were able to get the fire under control, but not before it did extensive damage to the first-floor rooms and attic space. While containing the interior fire, fire crews battled heat and flames to save an adjacent home from catching on fire. That home was approximately 20 feet away. The home did suffer some siding damage because of the extreme heat.

Investigators believe the fire was burning for some time before it was called into 911 dispatch.

Crews remain on scene putting out hot spots while investigators work the incident to narrow down a cause.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The two people arrested back on April 23 for drug distribution and other charges entered pleas in the case Monday.

Aly Gibson, aka Amanda Woodmansee, and Brian Jung are both charged with distribution of methamphetamine and possession of distribution paraphernalia. Gibson is also charged with interference with law enforcement and aggravated escape from custody.

As part of a plea agreement, the state amended the complaint to simple possession of meth.

The case against the two started after a Hutchinson police officer learned Gibson had an outstanding warrant and was at a local storage facility in the 1000 block of north Halstead.

The officer arrived and found Gibson and Jung in a white pickup truck. The officer made contact and attempted to place Gibson in cuffs, but she was able to get loose. She ran from the area. An unsuccessful attempt was made to tase Gibson, however, she was eventually caught and taken to jail.

A K-9 officer was utilized to search for drugs and discovered a black bag containing methamphetamine, needles, baggies and a scale.

With both entering pleas, Reno County District Judge Joe McCarville set sentencing for Sept. 27.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police are investigating the situation involving a woman who was found unresponsive in an alley in the 700 block of West 7th in Hutchinson. It happened around 2:40 p.m. Saturday.

The woman has serious injuries and was first taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. She was later taken to a Wichita hospital.

Officials believe the woman to be homeless, but no other details, including her name, have been released.

Officers are still investigating what they are calling an aggravated battery case at this time.

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Hutchinson organization has been awarded nearly $104,000 in grants to provide services for victims of crime, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday.

BrightHouse, formerly known as the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Center, was awarded grants to support the following programs:

$60,000 will provide a secure and controlled environment in which supervised family visits and monitored child exchanges may occur.

$43,961 will provide victim-centered, trauma-informed domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy services.

The awards were made from the Protection from Abuse Fund and the State Child Exchange and Visitation Centers Fund. The Protection from Abuse Fund is funded by State General Fund appropriations, marriage license fees, county court costs and municipal court assessments. The State Child Exchange and Visitation Centers Fund is funded through marriage license fees and State General Fund appropriations.

This year, the attorney general’s office awarded more than $2.5 million in grants to local and state crime victim assistance organizations. More information on the grant programs and the full list of award recipients is available on the attorney general’s website at www.ag.ks.gov.