DOUGLAS COUNTY — Three people died in an accident just before 6p.m. Friday in Douglas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Classic driven by Tiffany Cox, 20, Ottawa, was southbound on U.S. 59 Two miles south of Lawrence.

The driver lost control of the vehicle and crossed over the grassy median in to the northbound lanes of traffic. A northbound 2019 Nissan Sentra driven by Craig Russell McKinney, 62, Topeka struck the Chevy broad side.

Cox, and passengers in the Chevy Kiffany Mietchen, 19; Azreal Ubelaker, 8-months, both of Baldwin City were pronounced dead at the scene.

EMS transported McKinney to KU Medical Center. Mietchen was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for attempted kidnapping.

Just after 1p.m. Thursday, police responded to a kidnapping call at the Burlington Coat Factory in the 8100 Block of East Kellogg in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. A 28-year-old woman at the store told police a suspect identified as 30-year-old Jasmine Patterson approached her and asked if she would call police if she took her daughter.

Patterson then allegedly grabbed the woman’s 4-year-old daughter and began to walk away, according to Davidson. The woman quickly grabbed her daughter away from Patterson, left the store and called 911.

When police arrived, they located Patterson leaving the store and arrested her without further incident. The child was not injured. Investigators determined that Patterson may have a mental disability that contributed to the incident, according to Davidson.

Patterson remains jailed on requested charges of Attempted Kidnapping, according to Davidson. Police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney.

HALL COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a Thursday traffic stop.

At approximately 3:00 p.m., a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol observed an eastbound Toyota 4Runner following another vehicle too closely on Interstate 80 near Wood River ( 3 hours north of Salina), according to a media release.

During the traffic stop, the trooper discovered a meth pipe and a gram of methamphetamine on the driver’s person.

Troopers then searched the vehicle and found 68 pounds of marijuana hidden inside several large, gift-wrapped boxes. The driver stated the boxes were gifts for a new baby.

The driver, Joseph Hullinger, 56, of Santa Rosa, California, was arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and no drug tax stamp. Hullinger was lodged in Hall County Jail.

FORD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and USD 443 officials are investigating an alleged school threat and have made an arrest.

Just after 4:10 p.m. Thursday, the police were given information about a possible bomb threat to the Dodge City Middle School, according to a media release.

Officers learned that a 13-year-old female Middle School student received a phone call from a blocked number while present in a classroom at the end of the school day.

The male caller started using profanity, and the student hung up the phone. The blocked caller immediately called back, and the female student put the phone on speaker for the teacher to listen. During that second call, the unknown male caller stated that he was going to blow up the school.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Two people injured in an accident just after 9a.m. Friday in Sedgwick County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 International semi driven by Gabriel Arreola-Flores, 34, was westbound on Kansas 96 on the ramp to southbound Interstate 135. The vehicle left the roadway and overturned.

EMS transported Arreola-Flores and a passenger Tomas Reyes, 44, to St. Francis in Wichita for treatment. First responders had to cut through parts of the crushed semi to reach one of the men.

The crash closed the westbound K-96 ramp to I-135 south for several hours. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on U.S.-China trade talks (all times local):

The United States is suspending a tariff hike on $250 billion in Chinese imports that was set to take effect Tuesday, and China agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products as the world’s two biggest economies reached a cease-fire in their 15-month trade war.

The two countries are leaving the thornier issues — including U.S. allegations that China forces foreign countries to hand over trade secrets in return for access to the Chinese market — until later negotiations.

The tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports was set to rise Tuesday from 25% to 30%.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor said her office will re-examine the 2017 fatal shooting of a suspected shoplifter by a Kansas City-area sheriff’s deputy after the same deputy was charged with shooting a scooter rider in the back while trying to arrest her.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Bake’s decision on Thursday — a reversal from a statement her office released a day earlier — comes amid public demands by the dead man’s family. In both shootings, Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Lauren Michael said she fired during struggles over her stun gun.

Donald Sneed Jr. said 29-year-old Michael is “trigger happy” after she was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the August shooting that wounded Brittany Simeck. Sneed’s son, Donald Sneed III, was fatally shot by Michael two years ago outside a Walmart in Raytown, reports The Kansas City Star.

Michael’s bond is set at $30,000. No attorney is listed for her in online court records. The Sneed family already filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

“Because there are similarities to the 2017 shooting, we thought it would be best to look at it again,” said Michael Mansur, a spokesman for Baker.

In Simeck’s case, Michael was conducting traffic enforcement patrols in a bar and entertainment area with other deputies when they noticed two people allegedly riding a scooter on the wrong side of the street. A deputy followed them in a patrol car and moments later collided with the scooter. The male driver of the scooter was immediately arrested, but Simeck ran away.

Michael caught up with Simeck and a struggle ensued. Michael pulled out her service handgun and shot Simeck in the back and buttocks.

In the charging documents, prosecutors allege that Michael was not truthful when she told investigators that Simeck tried to grab her stun gun. Simeck told investigators that Michael shot her in the back as she tried to run away, according to court records. Simeck, who is retired from the U. S. Coast Guard, wasn’t charged in the incident.

“We respect the hard job law enforcement does, however law enforcement is not above the law and when excessive force is used it is imperative that they are held accountable,” said Mike Yonke, a civil attorney who is representing Simeck.

The other shooting happened in May 2017 when employees at the Walmart where Michael was working off-duty security stopped Sneed III because they suspected him of shoplifting. He allegedly became violent, and Michael tried to help the employees. Michael later said Sneed grabbed her stun gun and shocked her in the neck with it before she shot and killed him.

The father, Sneed Jr., said he doesn’t believe that. He said Michael shot his son multiple times and that his son wasn’t attacking her when she fired the shots, but rather was being held down. The sheriff’s office said he had been wanted on felony warrants for robbery and tampering with a motor vehicle. Michael was given the medal of valor for her actions during the incident, which the family’s attorney, Jermaine Wooten, described as “almost insulting.”

Michael referenced that shooting in the moments immediately following the August incident involving Simeck, telling her supervisor: “I am not as comfortable with this one as the last one,” according to court documents.

Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forté Michael said in a tweet that Michael has been placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the criminal case stemming from Simeck’s shooting, which is a standard practice when criminal charges are filed. He declined further comment.

MARSHALL COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are alerting parents after finding vaping and liquid flavored nicotine in pens taken from students at Marysville Elementary School, according to the Marysville Police Department.

The students involved were 5th and 6th graders. They were putting the flavored nicotine in pens and using them to dab it on their tongues during recess.

Police reminded parents to have a discussion with your children about vaping and the harmful effects of nicotine.  

 
 

SALINA — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a teen who allegedly brought a gun to school in Salina.

On Thursday, Salina Central High School administrators received information of a student in possession of a firearm at the school, 650 E. Crawford in Salina, according to a media release.

The school administration confronted the student who then fled the school on foot. The Salina Police Department School Resource Officer pursued the subject on foot, and the student Samuel Cheney, 16, Salina, was apprehended a few blocks away by a Saline County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Upon searching the immediate area where Cheney was apprehended, a 9mm pistol was recovered. The gun was reported stolen by a family member after being contacted by the Salina Police Department.

There is no indication at this point that Cheney had threatened anyone with the firearm.

Cheney was transported to the North Central Kansas Regional Detention Center Facility in Junction City, on requested charges of  Criminal Use of a Weapon, Criminal Carrying of a Weapon, Interference with Law Enforcement, Battery, Theft of a Firearm and Probation Violation

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and after asking the public for help to identify and locate two suspects have made two arrests.

Just before 6:00 a.m., Wednesday, police were dispatched to the Kwik Shop located at 1700 SW
Topeka Boulevard in Topeka in reference to an aggravated burglary to a vehicle, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Koenen.

A female suspect reportedly entered the vehicle which was occupied by a passenger. The suspect forced the passenger out of the vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle was located a short time later, unoccupied, near NW Jackson and Crane in Topeka.

On Wednesday, police arrested 28-year-old Samantha R. Stephens and booked her into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery.

The male suspect was interviewed and found to not be related to the case. He was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for multiple felony warrants associated with a separate investigation, according to Koenen.

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SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and asking the public for help to identify and locate two suspects.

Just before 6:00 a.m., Wednesday, police were dispatched to the Kwik Shop located at 1700 SW
Topeka Boulevard in Topeka in reference to an aggravated burglary to a vehicle, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Koenen.

A female suspect reportedly entered the vehicle which was occupied by a passenger. The suspect forced the passenger out of the vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle was located a short time later, unoccupied, near NW Jackson and Crane in Topeka.

Police are attempting to identify two persons of interest in this case and have released security camera images.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to contact the Topeka Police.