LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped felony drug charges against the owners of a Kansas CBD store for selling hemp flower, which looks and smells like marijuana but contains only trace amounts of THC, the compound that gives pot its high.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson’s office said in a brief statement Thursday that charges against Annie Martin, her fiancé, Sean Lefler, and an employee of their Free State Collective store in Lawrence were dropped without prejudice — meaning they can be revived — “pending further review.” It offered no explanation.

Prosecutors had been scheduled to present their case against the couple on Friday.

Just weeks earlier, Branson announced his office would stop filing criminal cases for simple marijuana possession offenses.

Martin, a former elementary school teacher who could have faced more than 17 years in prison if convicted, says she’s “relieved,” and that she believes the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which twice raided the store, misunderstood the distinction between marijuana and hemp, which is a legal crop in the United States.

Martin said the case has cost her family upward of $100,000 in legal fees and that law enforcement seized equipment, inventory and cash.

“It’s been a complete and total nightmare,” she said. “I never in my wildest imagination would have thought this could turn into what it did.”

The store had lab reports from manufacturers showing their products contained only tiny amounts of THC. KBI documents showed some of the store’s products contained none at all. Other products were shown to contain some THC, but no testing was done to determine the actual percentage of THC, said Sarah Swain, the couple’s defense attorney.

Branson’s office declined to answer The Star’s questions in August about whether it distinguishes between marijuana and hemp in prosecuting cases. A representative said only that charging documents “reflect our position that marijuana was being sold at a CBD product store.” Those charging documents allege the pair possessed products containing more than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of THC.

Lefler said the couple plans to close the Lawrence store this month and open a business in Kansas City, Missouri.

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning in Lawrence.

Just before 8:30 a.m., police responded to 4706 Overland Drive, the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, regarding a medical emergency involving a possible drowning of an adult, according to Sergeant Amy Rhoads.

Upon their arrival, officers discovered an unconscious, 76 year-old man and immediately began lifesaving efforts. Despite the efforts of the officers and LDCFM personal, the man could not be revived. This death appears natural, and there is no indication of drowning or foul play. Authorities have not release the victim’s name.

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DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning in Lawrence.

Just before 8:30 a.m., police responded to 4706 Overland Drive, the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, regarding a medical emergency involving a possible drowning of an adult, according to Sergeant Amy Rhoads.

Officers and LDCFM arrived on scene and despite first responders’ lifesaving efforts, the patient could not be revived.

There does not appear to be any foul play suspected and the victim was not a student, according to Rhoads.

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a Thursday arrest.

Just after 2:30 PM, a Great Bend Police Detective stopped a vehicle in the 5500 block of 10th Street for a traffic violation.

The Great Bend Police Department K-9, Menta, was called to perform an exterior sniff on the vehicle. Menta indicated to the odor of narcotics. A search of the vehicle was conducted and Methamphetamine, Marijuana and Drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle.

Police arrested 38-year-old  Christopher Whiting and transported him to the Barton County Detention Center where he was booked in lieu of bond.

Whitting has four previous drug convictions and one for driving while suspended.

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Health officials say a woman’s death is the second in the state associated with the use of vaping products.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Friday that the unidentified woman was in her mid-50s. The department says that it concluded through discussions with the woman’s doctors that vaping contributed to a chronic lung condition.

The agency says that since August it has found 35 cases of lung injury from e-cigarettes or vaping.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said the total of confirmed and probable cases nationwide is now at 2,172. More than 40 people have died.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 17-year-old boy originally charged with murder in a high school student’s death in Olathe has pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Rolland Kobelo pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated robbery and distribution of Xanax. The plea deal calls for him to be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Kobelo was initially charged with felony murder in the death of 17-year-old Rowan Padgett in March.

Authorities say Padgett was shot during an unsuccessful drug deal for $8 of Xanax.

Prosecutors accuse the would-be buyer, 18-year-old Matthew Lee Bibee Jr. of shooting Padgett. Bibee faces several charges, including capital murder. Jordan Denny, who was 16 at the time, is also charged with felony murder.

Kobelo admitted that he helped set up the drug deal.

BELTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a driver fled after crashing into a suburban Kansas City home and seriously injuring an 8-year-old child who was inside the home.

The suspected driver was arrested shortly after the crash was reported around 8:15 p.m. Thursday in Belton. Police say the child was taken to a hospital with injuries that are believed to be serious. No one else was hurt.

The crash is under investigation.

SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting that left two dead and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 3:30p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a shooting at a home in 2400 block of SE Maryland in Topeka.  Upon arrival,
officers located two individuals identified as as 15-year-old Owen M. Hughes and 21-year-old Reginald L. McKinney Jr., both of Topeka suffering from life-threating injuries, according to Lt. Andrew Beightel.

Both were pronounced dead by medical personnel on scene.

On Thursday police arrested Larry D. Huggins III, 19, of Topeka in connection with this investigation, according to Lt. Jennifer Cross.

Huggins was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of murder, aggravated
burglary, and attempted aggravated robbery.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and House impeachment hearings (all times local):

Watch the hearing

The House has opened a second day of Trump impeachment hearings with Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was suddenly recalled back to the U.S. by President Donald Trump.

Yovanovitch is expected to testify about her ouster, which another diplomat has called a “smear” campaign against her by Trump allies.

The live public hearings by the House Intelligence Committee are being held to determine whether Trump should be removed from office over his actions toward Ukraine.

The investigation centers on Trump’s July 25 phone call when he asked the new Ukraine president for a favor — to investigate Democrats and potential 2020 rival Joe Biden — as the White House was withholding military aid to the Eastern European nation.

Yovanovitch and others have described Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, as leading what one called an “irregular channel” outside the diplomatic mainstream of U.S.-Ukraine relations.

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8:35 a.m.

The former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine has arrived on Capitol Hill to testify in the Trump impeachment inquiry.

Marie Yovanovitch is the witness for the second day of public hearings. She’s expected to tell lawmakers about her sudden ouster as President Donald Trump recalled the career ambassador back to the United States.

Other diplomats testifying in the investigation have defended Yovanovitch, saying she was the target of “smear” campaign by the president’s allies. She has served both Democratic and Republican presidents.

The rare impeachment inquiry is focused on Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. Democrats say it amounts to bribery, as the president withheld military aid to Ukraine while he pushed the country to investigate rival Democrats, including Joe Biden.

Trump calls the probe a hoax and says he did nothing wrong.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The four Catholic dioceses in Kansas will not support expanding Medicaid to thousands more low-income adults and children unless the state passes a constitutional amendment and new laws restricting abortion, the head of the Kansas Catholic Conference said.

Chuck Weber, the group’s executive director, told a joint House and Senate committee on Wednesday that the dioceses in Dodge City, Salina, Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas, want an amendment to the state constitution to clarify that it does not include a right to abortion, in response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year that the constitution protects that right. The dioceses also are seeking a law allowing medical professionals or health facilities to decline to perform certain procedures for religious reasons, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Hundreds of thousands of Kansans are members of the Catholic church and, on social issues, it is influential with conservative Republicans, who hold the top leadership positions in the GOP-controlled Legislature.

Weber’s statements came as the committee ended two days of hearings on expanding Medicaid to 130,000 low-income adults and children in Kansas. Medicaid currently covers about 342,000 low-income, elderly and disabled Kansas residents.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who chairs the committee, said Wednesday that the panel won’t advance a bill on Medicaid expansion to this year’s Legislature and won’t recommend passage of a bill. The committee’s decision to not advance a bill is not binding and lawmakers are still expected to take up Medicaid expansion in this year’s session.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has made Medicaid expansion one of her top priorities for the upcoming session. Her Republican predecessors, Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer, successfully blocked expansion by the GOP-led Legislature. During last year’s legislative session, the House passed an expansion bill that was not acted on by the Senate. A special Senate committee in October endorsed an alternative developed by Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning of Overland Park.

The committee did approve a motion by Rep. Will Carpenter, R-El Dorado, that would prohibit Medicaid expansion from broadening access to abortion and would allow health care providers to refuse to provide patient care, such as birth control, based on the providers’ personal beliefs.

“You don’t care about religious beliefs of patients?” said Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Mission Hills Democrat running for the U.S. Senate.

“I’m not concerned with that,” Carpenter said.

Lee Norman, a physician and secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said a religious exemption in Kansas could be “perilous” and that placing ethical boundaries on Medicaid could make it difficult to attract health care providers.

The joint committee also voted to add a requirement that Medicaid applicants who are able must work at least 20 hours per week or enroll in 12 credit hours of college courses to be eligible. The federal government has approved work mandates for other states but all have been blocked by the courts.

April Holman, executive director of the Alliance for a Health Kansas — the state’s largest coalition supporting Medicaid expansion — said the House bill and Senate committee proposal required low-wage people signing up under Kansas’ expanded Medicaid system to pay monthly insurance premiums that could be difficult to afford. She also questioned a provision in the House bill that permanently locks out of Medicaid any person who misses three premium payments and the Senate committee’s preference to lock people out for six months if a premium payment was missed.

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating an alleged sex crime and have a suspect in custody.

On Thursday, the Riley County Police Department reported deputies in Texas arrested 41-year-old Sean Morgan in New Braunfels, Texas on a Riley County District Court Warrant for rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, attempted rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual battery.  He remains jailed on a $200,000 bond in Guadalupe County, Texas awaiting extradition, according to the RCPD and online jail records.