NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A transient who killed a Newton woman and her 4-year-old daughter pleaded guilty to capital murder but will not face the death penalty.
Twenty-year-old Keith Hawkins will serve life in prison without parole after entering the plea deal Friday. He admitted killing 24-year-old Alyssa Runyon and her daughter, Zaylynn Paz, in August at their duplex in Newton.
Investigators have said Runyon apparently was strangled and her daughter was stabbed.
Alyssa Runyon & Zaylynn Courtesy image
Hawkins was a homeless man who was visiting Runyon. He was arrested in Texas in August.
Harvey County Attorney David Yoder said the victims’ families agreed to the plea deal.
Hawkins was a sex offender but his prior conviction was not placed on the public offender registry.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a murder and have identified the victim.
On Thursday deputies and Investigators were dispatched to the Card Creek camping area in Montgomery County to meet with hunters who had discovered what they thought was a deceased female floating in the water approximately a quarter of a mile south of the boat ramp, according to a media release.
Deputies from MGSO and Paramedics from Independence Fire and EMS boarded the hunter’s boat and were taken to the location where the woman was last seen.
Paramedics loaded the woman later identified as Cindy “Pinky” Ann Easom, 33, Miami, Oklahoma, into the boat and transported her to Labbette Health Hospital in Independence where she was pronounced dead.
photos courtesy Montgomery Co. Sheriff
Investigators from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Bureau of Investigations are currently investigating the incident as a homicide.
Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to call the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Local officials say new limits on the ability to raise property tax revenues from one year to the next are hamstringing Kansas cities and counties as they attempt to cover rising health insurance costs for their employees.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that officials representing local governments voiced their concerns about the new law to an interim legislative committee Thursday. The law is commonly known as a property tax lid because it generally caps how much of an increase in property tax revenue cities and counties can levy from year to year at the rate of inflation, unless they get voter approval.
Opponents say cities throughout Kansas are facing increased costs for things like employee health insurance, and that the tax lid prevents them from keeping up with such costs.
Fake movie money that appeared in Central Kansas in May of 2016-
HASKELL COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are warning about the increased use of counterfeit money in the region, according to a media release.
The money indicates it is for use in movies and not legal currency, according to the sheriff’s department. They reminded residents that use of counterfeit money is a felony and encouraged residents who receive or have information on the fake bills to contact the sheriff’s department.
A distant view of the scene of the officer-involved shooting north of Hays
ELLIS COUNTY—According to a news release issued Friday by the Ellis County Attorney’s office, no charges will be filed in a Nov. 8, 2016, officer-involved shooting north of Hays.
“Following an investigation by Ellis County Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office and the Hays Police Department, it has been determined that the deputy acted in self-defense — that he reasonably believed shooting the suspect was necessary to prevent his own death or great bodily harm,” the release said. “Therefore, no crime occurred and no charges will be filed.”
While the release did not name the victim, he was identified by the Lincoln Journal-Star as 18-year-old Kenton Kobza, David City, Neb. The Ellis County Sheriff’s deputy involved in the shooting also was not identified.
“The names of the suspect and the officer involved will not be released as disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” the news release said.
LYON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 253 Emporia are investigating after two William Allen White Elementary students were approached by a stranger as they walked home from school Thursday afternoon, according to Superintendent Kevin Case.
The report came in around 4pm on Thursday afternoon. The man approached the students near East 9th Avenue and Cottonwood Street at the south edge of the school campus and reportedly yelled at two students to come home with him, according to Emporia Police.
A review of surveillance video in the area showed a person of interest. The video shows this man in the area at the time of the report.
The man appears to be Caucasian, wearing sunglasses, a hooded jacket or coat and light colored jeans or sweatpants.
They students back to the school to report the incident to a staff member. School officials immediately notified Emporia Police, and they came by the school to get a report.
“Both students were unharmed and we are especially proud of their smart and quick reaction,” according to Case.
He urged parents to take time to remind children to be watchful and to not interact with strangers near the playground or along the route to and from schools. “Teachers will emphasize the message at all of our schools as well, and our staff will be vigilant to watch for individuals who have no reason to be around the schools.”
Anyone with information about the identity of this man is asked to call the Emporia Police Department at 620 343-4200 or Lyon County Crime Stoppers at 620 342-2273.
RILEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Manhattan are investigating another alleged rape and have arrested a suspect
Just after 10p.m. Thursday, police arrested Marcus U. Martin, 37, Manhattan, at a residence in the 3000 Block of Kimball Avenue in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department arrest report.
In 2001, Martin was convicted for indecent liberties with a victim under the age of 16, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He was released from prison in 2007.
In July Riley County authorities reported the number of rapes reported in Manhattan and surrounding areas had doubled during the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same time last year.
A total of 40 rapes were reported in Manhattan in 2016.
STAFFORD COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities and officials at USD 349 Stafford continue to investigate an incident involving a gun at the school.
After many hours of searching investigators and USD 349, officials did not find any weapon in or on school property in Stafford, according to Police Chief Doug Brown.
Following several interviews and a search of a residence in the city of Stafford unrelated specifically to the weapon, police took a juvenile into custody for criminal threat and he was transported to Hutchinson.
An officer will be at the school Friday to ensure safety of students and staff and to put minds at ease, according to the police department.
On Thursday morning, parents in the school district were asked to pick up students. The district cancelled all classes and activities.
Over thirty officers from the Kansas Highway Patrol Ellinwood Police, Barton County Sheriff’s Office, KDOC Sort Team from Larned, Macksville Police, St. John Police and Stafford County Sheriff’s office assisted with the investigation.
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STAFFORD COUNTY— Parents in USD 349 Stafford were asked to pick up students Thursday morning.
There are no afternoon classes, according to the school. Just after noon, the district announced they had cancelled all other activities, according to their social media account.
School district officials were not available for comment on what prompted the abrupt in change in class schedule. Calls to law enforcement authorities were not immediately returned. The Stafford Chief of Police was still at the school, according to the police department.
Check the Post for additional details as they become available.
BARTON COUNTY ‑Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir has entered a not guilty plea on charges of mistreatment of a confined person which is a level A person misdemeanor.
Bellendir was scheduled to be in court Friday. He made the plea via journal entry and a hearing in the case is scheduled for a later date.
On November 1, Bellendir was issued a summons to appear in court following an investigation by the KBI.
According court records, Bellendir is accused of “ill-treating a man in handcuffs by speaking to him in a vulgar, insulting, rude or angry manner” while serving an arrest warrant on August 10th in Great Bend.
Bellendir is also accused of striking the confined man on the side of his head. That man has been identified as Nathan Manley of Ellinwood.
Manley-photo KDOC
In Kansas, a Class-A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail with a fine of up to $2,500.A conviction could mean problems for the Sheriff with the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. C-Post as it is called, could take action regarding Bellendir’s certification.
Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor has requested that Chase County Attorney William Halvorsen serve as special prosecutor for the case.
Manley has previous convictions for drugs and burglary, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas man who was released from prison after serving 23 years for two murders he didn’t commit has been offered a full scholarship to a Kansas City community college.
Lamonte McIntyre was offered the scholarship Wednesday by leaders of Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley.
McIntyre was released from prison in October after Wyandotte County prosecutors dropped charges in a 1994 double murder.
The Kansas City Star reports that while McIntyre was in prison he studied for his GED degree and took college courses.
McIntyre is already taking classes at a barber academy and hopes to one day open his own salon. He plans to study business at Penn Valley.
Kansas does not offer any compensation to people who are wrongly convicted in the state.
