SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Sunday shooting in Salina and have made an arrest.

Just before 3 p.m.,  police were called to the 400 block of Montrose Street in Salina for the report of a person shot, according to  Police Captain Paul Forrester.

At the scene, police made contact with Deric Bell, 28, who was suffering from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Bell and a passenger in a Chevrolet Tahoe, Eric Enslow, 34, Salina, reported the incident occurred in the vehicle, which Bell was driving. Enslow was in the front passenger seat 37-year-old Jermain Thomas was in the back seat.

Thomas allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Bell, who exited the vehicle while it was still moving and ran east toward Montrose Street, according to Forrester.

The Tahoe came to a stop when it hit the curb at the intersection of South Clark Street and Armory Road in Salina.

Thomas then allegedly pointed the gun at Enslow and demanded money.  Enslow gave Thomas an undisclosed amount of cash, and Thomas exited the vehicle, running westbound.

EMS transported Bell to Salina Regional Health Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Bell was not acquainted with Thomas, however, Enslow was according to Forrester.

Late Sunday,  police arrested Thomas at a residence in the 100 block of West Beloit Avenue. A woman had called to report a bat in the residence, Forrester said. A police investigation had identified the residence as a possible location for Thomas.

While talking with the woman outside about the bat, officers were able to confirm that Thomas was, indeed, in the residence. Although the SWAT team was called in, a detective was able to talk Thomas out of the house without incident.

Forrester said Thomas was arrested on requested charges of aggravated battery, One count of aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery, intimidation of a witness, damage to propert, theft,  aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon.

Forrester said some of the requested charges were because of two alleged incidents in October. On Friday, a 22-year-old female reported that at about 9 p.m. Oct. 25, Thomas had kicked in her back door, threw her on the living room floor and strangled her, causing injury to her neck, Forrester said. Thomas left the residence about 4 a.m. the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a box containing a fetus was found in Wichita.

Just before 5p.m. Sunday, police responded to a call involving a small box found on a sandbar in the area of Skinner and Greenway in Wichita, according to Captain Brent Allred.

A 57-year-old woman told police she found the box and that there was bloody material and a fetus inside so she called 911. Authorities took the box to the coroner’s office.

Police believe the fetus was two weeks or younger, according to Allred. They don’t know if anything criminal occurred but are waiting for more information from the coroner.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge in Kansas has delayed the trial of an Army infantry soldier who prosecutors say is a Satanist hoping to overthrow the U.S. government and distributed information about building bombs.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Topeka on Monday granted a request from attorneys for Jarrett William Smith to postpone a trial from early December until at least mid-January. Smith pleaded not guilty in September to charges of distributing explosives information and making a threatening interstate communication.

His attorneys said they needed more time to review evidence.

Smith was a private stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He’s accused of providing information about explosives to an FBI undercover agent and threatening to burn down the house of a far-left-leaning “antifa” member.

Authorities say he also wanted to car bomb a major news organization.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Portland, Oregon put on hold a Trump administration rule requiring immigrants prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted a temporary restraining order that prevents the rule from going into effect Sunday. It’s not clear when he will rule on the merits of the case.

Seven U.S. citizens and a nonprofit organization filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday contending the rule would block nearly two-thirds of all prospective legal immigrants.

The lawsuit also said the rule would greatly reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants who enter the United States with family sponsored visas.

“We’re very grateful that the court recognized the need to block the health care ban immediately,” says Justice Action Center senior litigator Esther Sung, who argued at Saturday’s hearing on behalf of the plaintiffs. “The ban would separate families and cut two-thirds of green-card-based immigration starting tonight, were the ban not stopped.”

The proclamation signed by President Donald Trump in early October applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abroad — not those in the U.S. already. It does not affect lawful permanent residents. It does not apply to asylum-seekers, refugees or children.

The proclamation says immigrants will be barred from entering the country unless they are to be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have enough financial resources to pay for any medical costs.

The rule is the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit immigrant access to public programs while trying to move the country away from a family based immigration system to a merit-based system.

The White House said in a statement at the time the proclamation was issued that too many non-citizens were taking advantage of the country’s “generous public health programs,” and said immigrants contribute to the problem of “uncompensated health care costs.”

Under the government’s visa rule, the required insurance can be bought individually or provided by an employer and it can be short-term coverage or catastrophic.

Medicaid doesn’t count, and an immigrant can’t get a visa if using the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies when buying insurance. The federal government pays for those subsidies.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan immigration think tank, 57% of U.S. immigrants had private health insurance in 2017, compared with 69% of U.S.-born, and 30% had public health insurance coverage, compared with 36% of native-born.

The uninsured rate for immigrants dropped from 32% to 20% from 2013 to 2017, since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to Migration Policy.

There are about 1.1 million people who obtain green cards each year.

“Countless thousands across the country can breathe a sigh of relief today because the court recognized the urgent and irreparable harm that would have been inflicted” without the hold, said Jesse Bless, director of federal litigation at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Earlier this year, the administration made sweeping changes to regulations that would deny green cards to immigrants who use some forms of public assistance, but the courts have blocked that measure.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding an individual found bound and unconscious in a vehicle on the LVS campus in the parking lot at Lawrence Virtual School, 1104 East 1000 Road, the former Wakarusa Valley school building southwest of Lawrence late Saturday night, according to a message to parents and students from USD 497

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirms that none of the crimes involved occurred in Douglas County nor had any connection to the school district or USD 497 school property other than that is where the vehicle was parked and located by law enforcement.

Authorities in Osage County released no additional details early Monday.

The CDC and public health and regulatory officials in several states including Kansas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Dublin infections linked to ground beef, according to an advisory issued by the Center for Disease Control.

Ten people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Dublin have been reported in Kansas, California, Colorado, Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma.

According to the advisory illnesses in this outbreak are more severe than expected for Salmonella. A total of 8 people were hospitalized, including one death reported from California.

Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that ground beef is a likely source of this outbreak. A single, common supplier of ground beef has not been identified.

In interviews, ill people report eating different types and brands of ground beef purchased from many different locations.

Laboratory testing identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Dublin in repackaged leftover ground beef collected from an ill person’s home in California.

This outbreak investigation is ongoing and CDC will update the public if more information becomes available.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — More than 100 students who took the ACT this fall at a Kansas City high school will likely have to retake the college entrance exam because the results are missing.

ACT officials said that 111 exams that were taken Sept. 14 at Park Hill High School weren’t in the testing package when it arrived at their offices.

ACT spokesperson Ed Colby says searches have been conducted of the school and FedEx facilities on the route of the package. He says that ACT staff will continue to work with the test center and FedEx to search for the missing documents.

Colby says ACT officials will keep looking for the answers, and then they’ll grade them if they find them. In the meantime, they’re offering students a free makeup test on Nov. 9 or any other future date.

MANHATTAN — The Manhattan City Commission will consider an amendment to Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance at Monday’s legislative meeting, according to a media release from the city.

First adopted in 2003, the existing ordinance makes it unlawful to publicly display female breasts or male or female buttocks or genitals.  The ordinance contains exceptions from prosecution, including for breastfeeding mothers. 
 
The proposed amendment removes the female breast from the definition of public nudity, in reaction to a court case that applies in Kansas.  If the amendment is adopted, Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance will continue to prohibit the display of male or female buttocks or genitals in public. Even as amended, Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance will still be stricter than many areas of Kansas. 
 
“The State of Kansas does not have a state law that prohibits general public nudity,” said City Attorney Katie Jackson.  “To prohibit general public nudity within a city’s limits, the city must adopt an ordinance similar to Manhattan’s.” 
 
Even with the amended ordinance, the City of Manhattan’s public nudity law will still be stricter than many smaller cities and unincorporated areas of Kansas, because Manhattan would still prohibit public display of female or male genitals or buttocks.  However, it is still critical to understand that these communities are also subject to the same state and federal laws as Manhattan, and public nudity in these communities could be prosecuted if the facts violate state or federal law.  
 
“Federal and state criminal laws apply throughout Kansas,” said Jackson.  The facts may violate the “lewd and lascivious” state law, or if a minor is involved, child pornography or other sex offense laws.  “If the facts surrounding a display of female toplessness violate a federal or state law, the offender can be prosecuted in federal or state court regardless of what a city ordinance says.” 
 
Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson agreed.  “Manhattan’s proposed change to its public nudity ordinance will not impair our ability to prosecute displays of public nudity or female toplessness that result in violations of state law.”  The County Attorney’s Office also prosecutes offenses related to public nudity that occur in the unincorporated areas of Riley County.  Unlike Manhattan, these areas have no local regulations prohibiting general public nudity.

The ordinance “decriminalizes” female toplessness, but only from the City’s ordinance.  If the definition is changed, the City will not be able to prosecute a public display of female toplessness in the Manhattan Municipal Court.  But this is not the same as “legalizing” female toplessness, which implies that a public display of female toplessness does not violate any law.  Depending upon the facts, state or federal laws may be violated.
 
“A city ordinance amendment does not change state or federal law.  Manhattan cannot legalize conduct that the federal or state laws make illegal,” said Jackson.
 
If the City Commission amends the ordinance on November 5, it retains the ability to amend it again in the future if the law changes or as issues arise.  At first reading of the ordinance, the Commission noted that the ordinance can be revisited before the City’s swimming pools open.  “This is an evolving area of the law, and we may have more guidance from federal or state courts in the next several months,” said Jackson.
 
A private business owner or organization may require a patron to wear a shirt or other clothing upon their private property.  If a topless male or female enters the location, they can be asked to adhere to the dress code or leave, and be cited for criminal trespass if they refuse.

 

ATCHISON COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 5a.m. Sunday in Atchinson County.

A Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to stop a 2004 Saturn Ion driven by Robert Neal Kirk, Jr. 56, Topeka, in the area of 254th Road. and US Highway 75  for traffic infractions, according to Shawnee County Sheriff Tim Morse.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Jackson County Kansas deputy was eastbound on Kansas 9 Highway three miles north of Muscotah in pursuit of a 2004 Saturn Ion driven by Robert Neal Kirk, Jr., 56, Topeka.

The vehicle continued north on W Road to K-9 Highway then east through the city of Whiting and east into Atchison County. The driver failed to negotiate the curves at 159 Highway and continued east off the road and rolled and came to rest on its top.

EMS transported Kirk to the hospital in Hiawatha. EMS transported a passenger Ronald E. Snowberger, 49, St. George to the Atchison Hospital.

Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident.  The incident remains under investigation, according to Morse.

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ATCHISON COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 5a.m. Sunday in Atchinson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Jackson County Kansas deputy was eastbound on Kansas 9 Highway three miles north of Muscotah in pursuit of a 2004 Saturn Ion driven by Robert Neal Kirk, Jr., 56, Topeka.

The driver failed to negotiate a split in the roadway, and left the roadway. Vehicle rolled and came to rest on its top.

EMS transported Kirk to the hospital in Hiawatha. EMS transported a passenger Ronald E. Snowberger, 49, St. George to the Atchison Hospital.

Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident. The Jackson County Sheriff’s office has not released details on what prompted the chase.

LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drug trafficking operation — and possible human trafficking ring — after troopers conducting a traffic stop found a 15-year-old girl with several pounds of methamphetamine strapped to her abdomen.

The traffic stop occurred Tuesday on Interstate 70 in western Missouri. Troopers say a 22-year-old California woman was driving, and the girl was a passenger. When an officer called the girl’s mother, she told him she thought her daughter was at school and had no idea who the California woman was.

When questioned, the girl told officers she had 5.5 pounds of meth strapped to her.

The woman was charged Wednesday with drug trafficking, endangering the welfare of child and other counts. The teen was returned to her mother, and police say no charges against her are expected.The patrol is working with federal law enforcement on the case.