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The Latest: 3 jailed for fatal shooting at Kan. motel

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Murphy photo Sedgwick Co.

Williams photo Sedgwick Co.

Bailey photo Sedgwick Co.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a 55-year-old man that occurred on Sunday morning and have three suspects in custody.

Just after 5 a.m., police were dispatched to a shooting call at the Countryside Inn located in the 800 block of South Broadway in Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

Upon arrival, officers located the victim identified as Timothy Austin who had been shot once in the upper body. He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and died.

Investigators have learned that Austin was involved in a disturbance in the parking lot of the motel involving three suspects including Bryant Bailey, 49, Robyn Murphy, 52, and Annette Williams, 60, all of Wichita. Police took the suspects into custody. The incident is not random and is believed to be drug related, according to Wichita Police Captain Brett Allred. All three suspects are being held on a requested charge of first-degree murder.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a 55-year-old man that occurred on Sunday morning.

Just after 5 a.m., police were dispatched to a shooting call at the Countryside Inn located in the 800 block of South Broadway in Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

The investigation has revealed that the victim was involved in a disturbance with a group of individuals in the parking lot when he was shot.

There were no other injuries, and this is not a random incident. No arrests have been made.

Police are encouraging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Section at (316) 268-4181. They can also call the See Something, Say Something Hotline at (316) 519-2282, or they can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (316) 267-2111.

 

Judge denies claim that religious exemption form for vaccines unconstitutional

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photo BIGSTOCK

By DAN MARGOLIES

A federal judge has rejected a Kansas City charter school student’s claim that Missouri’s official religious exemption form for vaccines is an unconstitutional infringement of religious freedom.

The child, identified as W.B., and his parents, Zach and Audrey Baker, sued the Crossroads Academy and Missouri’s health agency, the Department of Health and Senior Services, over the language in the official form.

The Bakers objected to wording encouraging parents to immunize their children. But Senior U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs rejected their argument that by requiring them to sign the form, the state was engaging in “compelled speech.”

“The State’s freedom to advocate vaccination as governmental policy is also well settled,” Sachs wrote in a 10-page ruling Friday denying the Bakers’ request for a preliminary injunction. “The official form containing modest advocacy is divided into parts which separate the advocacy language by the State from the wording to be used by a parent claiming an exemption. It thus passes muster as constitutionally acceptable.”

Missouri law requires students to be immunized, subject to exemptions based on “religious beliefs or medical contraindications.” All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring specified vaccines, and all of them grant exemptions for medical reasons. Forty-five states and Washington, D.C., grant religious exemptions and 15 states also allow philosophical objections.

Sachs noted that the Bakers could still fill out an official exemption form to exempt their child from vaccination. Any harm resulting from W.B.’s suspension from school, he wrote, would be the parents’ fault.

Sachs deferred his ruling until Dec. 16 to give the Bakers a chance to secure an exemption for W.B. if they wish.

W.B.’s grandfather, Stilwell, Kansas, attorney Linus Baker, represents the family in the lawsuit, as well as three other families.

He also represents another grandchild, whom he has since adopted, in a similar case in federal court in Kansas. That case is pending.

Reached for comment on Sachs’ decision, Baker said that he disagreed with the ruling.

“He (Sachs) clearly said that (the Department of Health and Senior Services) was targeting these parents and trying to convince them of the government’s message, in contradiction of their religious beliefs,” Baker said. “He said they don’t have to be neutral.”

An overwhelming number of studies have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of vaccines in saving lives and preventing disease.

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

Police catch Kansas felon in reported stolen pickup

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Jerry Bishop / photo Saline County Sheriff

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects in connection with a pickup that was reported stolen from a car lot in Salina Thursday afternoon. The vehicle was located early Saturday morning in the East Crawford Recreation Area, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

A patrol officer noticed a blue 2012 Ford F150 parked at the East Crawford Recreation Area shortly after midnight Saturday. Because the rec area in the 800 block of Markley Road has a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew, the officer made contact with the driver, Jerry Bishop, 40, of Salina, and his passenger, Brittany Tucker, 37, of Abilene, Forrester said.

Brittany Tucker

The officer was aware that Bishop had an arrest and detain warrant from the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) and that he was a suspect in the theft of a blue 2012 Ford F150 from A and C Motors, 1501 West Crawford Street, on Thursday afternoon, Forrester said.

While a Kansas license tag of 745 LYL was attached to the pickup, it was determined that the tag had been stolen Friday from another vehicle at the Log Cabin Motel, 440 North Broadway Boulevard, he said.

A search of the pickup revealed the dealer tag that had been afixed to the pickup when it was driven off the car lot on Thursday, Forrester said. The search also located a backpack with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia that allegedly belonged to Tucker, he said.

According to Forrester, Bishop was arrested on requested charges that include the KDOC arrest and detain warrant, Felony theft and Possession of stolen property. He has previous convictions for theft and burglary, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Tucker was arrested for alleged Possession of methamphetamineand Possession of drug paraphernalia

The Latest: Suspect in Kan. woman’s stabbing death in custody

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McCaleb photo Sedgwick County

Police on the scene of the investigation Saturday photo courtesy KWCH

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal stabbing and have a suspect in custody.

Just after 4a.m. Saturday, police responded to a domestic disturbance call at a residence in the 2400 Block of South Washington in Wichita, according to Police Captain Brett Allred. There was a verbal disturbance between 44-year-old suspect Jason McCaleb and his roommate 28-year-old Devin Cook and no crime had been committed.

After officers left, a physical altercation occurred between the two men. Officers returned to the location and arrested McCaleb as he left the residence, according to Allred. Officers found Cook inside the home with multiple stab wounds. She was transported to a local hospital where she died.

MCCaleb is being held on a $500,000 bond on requested charges of premeditated first-degree murder, according to online jail records.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal stabbing and have made an arrest.

Just after 4 a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a stabbing call at a residence in the 2400 block of South Washington in Wichita, according to officer Keven Wheeler.

Upon arrival, the officers located a 28-year-old woman inside of the residence who had been stabbed multiple times. She was transported to a local hospital where she later died from her injuries.

At the residence, police questioned a 44-year-old man later identified as Jason Leigh McCaleb. He was later arrested and is being held on a $500,000 bond on requested charges of premeditated first-degree murder, according to online jail records.

There were no other injuries, and this was not a random incident. Name of the victim has not been released.

Prosecutor: Kan. deputy acted in self-defense in fatal shooting

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The airsoft pistol recovered at the scene photo Sedgwick Co. Sheriff

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors have found that a Kansas deputy acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man who brandished an airsoft gun that resembles an actual firearm but shoots only nonlethal plastic pellets.

 

David Michael Bosiljevac-photo Sedgwick Co.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennet said Friday in a 22-page report that the shooting happened in January after 55-year-old David Michael Bosiljevac threatened to hurt his ex-girlfriend’s roommate if she didn’t meet him at a storage unit. The woman instead tipped off a bondsman that Bosiljevac would be there because he had failed to appear in court on a probation violation hearing for a drug-related case and she had cosigned his bond. The bondsman contacted deputies.

One of the deputies said that during the arrest attempt, Bosiljevac pointed the airsoft pistol. The deputy then fired 16 shots, hitting Bosiljevac at least nine times. A toxicology report found that he tested positive for meth.

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Police shoot, wound 16-year-old in northeast Kansas

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Police on the scene of the shooting investigation photo courtesy KCTV

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say police shot and wounded a 16-year-old while investigating a robbery in suburban Kansas City.

Police said that the shooting happened just after midnight Monday in Olathe. Police say officers were conducting a follow up on a previous home burglary in which handguns were taken when they spotted two people who were armed. The post says the situation “escalated,” and officers fired their guns.

The wounded teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police arrested the second person. The shooting is under investigation. No other details were immediately released, including the name of the wounded teen or what he was doing before he was shot.

Black farmers in Kan. hope new office can reverse land loss trend

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By CARLA ECKELS

Kansas News Service

The number of black farmers in the U.S. is shrinking — down to less than 2% of total farmers — and many are losing their land.

Members of the Kansas Black Farmers Association are working with the state in hopes of reversing that trend.

JohnElla Holmes, the group’s executive director, comes from a long line of wheat farmers in Graham County near the historic town of Nicodemus. Holmes’ great-great grandparents settled in the area in 1877, on pieces of land the family still owns.

However, more than 2,000 farming acres in Nicodemus alone have been lost in the last five years.

“Land loss is a real concern,” Holmes said. “That’s our way of life in Nicodemus. We’re an agriculture community and that’s our main product. That’s our lifeline, that’s where we have our jobs, that’s where we have our livelihood … through the farming community.

“If you no longer have the land to farm, what do you do? How do you survive? How do you make the transition forward?”

Several issues are driving the loss of land: high debt, years of less-than-stellar crop production, and minimal support from federal agencies. Lack of access to funding is a major problem.

From left, KBFA member Maurice Parks, Kansas Rep. Willie Dove, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, KBFA executive director JohnElla Holmes, and Kenya Cox, executive director of the Kansas African American Commission. Courtesy

Members of the black farmers group recently met with state officials, including Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, to learn more about the new Office of Rural Prosperity to see how the two can work together.

One of the issues they talked about, Holmes explained, is how black farmers can get more loans, grants and subsidies from the USDA Farm Service Agency. She says many black farmers struggle to access those resources, including one of her relatives who quit his job in Arizona to return to the family’s farm in Kansas.

“Even with a farmer who would mentor, provide equipment and train him, he still could not get a farming number so ultimately there was nothing we could do but sell the land,” she said.

Holmes says her group’s meeting with the lieutenant governor shed light on needed support for black farmers.

“Our issues are one in the same,” she said. “Land loss, grants, providing education for those farmers, identifying those farmers and their needs, and that’s exactly what this office is going to be doing.”

The Office of Rural Prosperity has designated a representative to work with black farmers in Kansas to help address some of their needs. Holmes says she appreciates having a direct line of contact at the office.

“I think their wanting to work with diverse populations is sincere,” she said.

Holmes says there is a real passion and surge for farming, and it includes the African American farmer.

The 2017 ag census showed there were 210 black farmers in Kansas — though Holmes estimates the number is much smaller than that.

“One of the things we asked the lieutenant governor was, ‘Who are these farmers? Where are they at? How did you identify them as African Americans?’” she said. “Because even if we went county by county, we couldn’t find that many black farmers here in Kansas.”

Carla Eckels is director of cultural diversity and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Sheriff: Body found during search for missing Kan. man

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JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement, friends, family and emergency personnel continued the search Sunday for 51-year-old Brian K. Wood of Netawaka.

According to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse, Wood had not been seen since November 16th near 266th and US Highway 75.

Several searches of the immediate area and surrounding wooded areas were conducted, along with other attempts to find Wood’s whereabouts.

On November 21, the sheriff’s office requested the assistance from the public in locating Wood who had been suffering from a severe leg infection and was believed to be disoriented.

On Sunday searchers found clothing on the west side of the highway approximately 1 mile north of 266th Road, according to Morse.

Just before 11:30a.m., searchers found the body of deceased person in a large culvert that runs underneath 75 Highway.

Official identification of the body has not yet been made. The District Coroner was on scene and ordered an autopsy, according to Morse. If anyone has any information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 785-364-2251.

Kan. felon caught with stolen driver’s licenses, checks

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SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon

Fulfer photo Sedgwick Co.

Just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police conducted a traffic stop on a 1996 Chevy in the area of Mt. Vernon and Emporia in Wichita for a traffic violation, according to office Charley Davidson. Upon stopping the vehicle, officers contacted the driver identified as 34-year-old James Fulfer of Wichita.

During the investigation of the stop, Fulfer was found to be in possession of illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, and multiple stolen items, including social security cards, driver’s licenses, and checks.

Police arrested Fulfer on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and traffic charges.

Fulfer has over two dozen previous convictions that include theft, making false writing and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

Kan. woman charged with murder of her boyfriend

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Peters photo Sedgwick County

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas woman arrested for the fatal shooting of her boyfriend made her first court appearance Friday, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.

Stacey Peters, 45, Haysville, is charged with intentional second-degree murder. She remains jailed on a $250,000 bond, according to online jail records.

Just after 2:30a.m. Tuesday police responded to a shooting inside a former tire warehouse in 3000 Block of South Hillside in Wichita, according to Captain Brent Allred.

At the scene officers found a 41-year-old man with a single gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Allred.

Police also spoke to a 45-year-old woman identified as Stacey Peters of Haysville at the scene. Peters was leasing space in the building to sell items online, according Allred.

 

Through interviews, recovering a gun at the scene and reviewing evidence, investigators learned Peters and the man were in a relationship, and while at the location, Peters fired a handgun at the victim striking him.

 

Late Tuesday, police reported they had arrested Peters. Name of the victim has not been released.

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