FORD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged attempted murder.
After a four-month search, police have finally arrested 19-year-old Xavier Alejandro Masts, according to a social media report.

Detectives with the Dodge City Police Department, the Ford County Sheriff and the KBI working with information provided by an anonymous public tip were able to take Xavier into custody without any further incident Monday from a residence in the 200 block of W. Oak St, in Dodge City.

On July 24, Officers from the Dodge City Police Department were dispatched to a mobile home at 201 E. McArtor for a shooting, according to a media release.
When Officers arrived, they found two adult men suffering from gunshot wounds. During the investigation, Detectives determined the victims were standing outside the trailer when they were shot.

Maestas is being held for Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Aggravated Assault – Use of a deadly Weapon, and Criminal Discharge of a Firearm – Shooting into an occupied dwelling, according to police.

PUERTO RICO —Soldiers of the Kansas National Guard’s 242^nd Engineer Company have kept busy over the past several weeks assisting authorities in Puerto Rico with recovery operations from Hurricane Maria.

According to a media release from the the Adjutant General’s office, the unit’s first mission tasked 16 soldiers skilled in heavy hauling to support operations in Aguadilla on the western coast. Heavy rains during the hurricane caused water to overflow Guajataca Lake Dam and washed out the bottom of the earthen structure. Their mission, coordinated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, moved rock from a nearby quarry to repair the dam and return its reservoir to service.

The remaining personnel began clearing the roadways in the mountainous region near Utuado and Aricebo. Rainfall and high winds caused mudslides, downed trees and power lines, and undermined roads. The 242^nd engineers used heavy equipment to push debris off roadways, remove dangerous overhangs, and clear passage for locals and agencies providing service to remote areas.

Engineers have been working on debris removal and improvement along Route 111, a major highway in the western half of the island, and along Route 123, which leads into Ponce on the island’s south central coast. The operation along Route 111 is expected to be completed within the next 48 hours and reconnaissance is being conducted of Route 157 in the central and eastern part of the island to make improvements to this route. Recon missions are also being conducted along Routes 608 and 615.

The soldiers are also supporting local schools with cleanup and debris removal from playgrounds, as time permits.

“To see a child playing there again, that would make my day,” said Capt. Kevin Hubbard, company commander.

Approximately 60 soldiers of the 242nd Engineer Company, augmented by soldiers from other engineer units, departed Nov. 7 to relieve a National Guard unit from another state. They are expected to be in Puerto Rico for 30 days.

The mission was arranged by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a multistate, mutual aid agreement that facilitates interstate assistance in response and recovery operations during a disaster.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — An investigative news report has found that more than 180 people have filed sexual misconduct complaints against Massage Envy spas, franchises’ employees and the national company.

The report by BuzzFeed News found that those who complained filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports and other complaints.

The website reports many of those who complained believed their claims were mishandled or ignored by employees, owners of individual Massage Envy spas and by the national company.

Massage Envy issued a statement late Monday afternoon saying that the complaints documented by BuzzFeed News spanned a period of more than 15 years. It called each account heartbreaking.

Massage Envy general counsel Melanie Hansen told BuzzFeed News that the company holds franchise owners accountable and has created rigorous policies for hiring, screening and training therapists.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A federal court has dismissed two lawsuits filed by former rowers who alleged the University of Kansas didn’t respond properly to their reports of being sexually assaulted on campus.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports lawsuits filed in 2016 by Daisy Tackett and Sarah McClure were dismissed last week at the request of the two women and the university.

Tackett reported a Kansas football player raped her in 2014 and McClure alleged she was assaulted by the same man a year later. The women claimed the school violated Title IX because officials should have anticipated a heightened risk of sexual assaults at the apartments where football players live.

In February, U.S. District Judge Thomas Marten dismissed the portion of the lawsuits that claimed university officials were officially liable for the sexual assaults.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a Nebraska law that bars protests around funerals.

Nebraska enacted the law in 2006. It prohibits protests near a cemetery, mortuary or church from one hour before the beginning of a funeral to two hours after.

Members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church challenged the law but have lost in lower courts. Members of the church routinely conduct anti-gay protests outside military funerals. The protests have been a way of drawing attention to their incendiary view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The Supreme Court said Monday it would not take up the church’s challenge to Nebraska’s law.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a murder and asking the public for help with information.

Just before noon on Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a suspicious vehicle in the 7800 Block of East Pagent in Wichita, according to Lt. Todd Ojile.

Officers located the vehicle parked in the street and found a man’s body inside the trunk of the vehicle. An investigation determined there had been an attempt to locate for the vehicle along with the owner of the vehicle who was identified as 26-year-old Hasan Raham, the victim in the trunk, according to Ojile.

Rahman was a pizza delivery driver and was reported missing late Saturday after delivering two pizzas in the 1100 Block and 1300 Block of North Williamsburg. He did not return to work after the deliveries. Co-workers sent to look for him found items from Pizza Hut near the last delivery but did not find him. Anyone with information is asked to call police.

SABETHA, Kan. (AP) — A high school football team in northeastern Kansas is coping after a head-on collision killed three family members of teammates.

The Sabetha High school football team won a state championship game on Saturday. But on the way home, players Tanner and Carson Ukele were told that three of their relatives died in a two-vehicle highway crash.

Their 42-year-old mother Carmen Ukele, 11-year-old sister Marlee Ukele and 62-year-old uncle Stephen Ukele were killed in the collision on U.S. Route 75. Their 59-year-old father Lee Ukele was also in the vehicle. He was in stable condition as of Sunday.

A police report says the two people in the other vehicle were injured and taken to a hospital.

Head coach Garrett Michael says Tanner and Carson have the support of the community and “50 brothers who are going to be surrounding them in our school.”

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JACKSON COUNTY — Authorities have released additional details on a fatal Saturday night Kansas crash.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Chevy Equinox driven by   Maria D. Perez-Marquez, 48, Omaha, was southbound on U. S. 75 just north of 318 Road. The driver attempted to pass another vehicle.

The driver swerved to the shoulder to avoid a collision and struck a northbound 2008 Chrysler Town and Country driven by Carmen K. Ukele, 42, Sabetha, head on.

Ukele and passengers in the Chevy Marlee G. Ukele, 11 and Stephen M. Ukele, 62, all of Sebetha, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another passenger in the Chrysler Lee F. Ukele, 59, Sabetha, and the driver of the Perez-Marquez were transported to KU Medical Center.  A passenger in the Chevy Rosalao G. Perez, 29, St. Joseph, MO., was transported to Stormont Vail was transported to a Topeka Hospital and later transferred to KU Medical Center.

The occupants of the Chrysler were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP. The KHP did not have information on seat belt usage by those in the Chevy.

SEDGWICK COUNTY  — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman’s suspicious death and have made an arrest.

Just after 11 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to an unknown call for EMS at a residence in the 800 block of north Litchfield in Wichita, according to Lt. Todd Ojile.

Upon arrival officers located 25-year-old Bryena Mcqitty, a resident of the home who was unresponsive.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators did find trauma on the victim, according to Ojile.

Investigators interviewed the Mcquitty’s boyfriend and her roommate.

The investigation revealed the victim and boyfriend had come home early Sunday and had a loud, verbal argument, according to Ojile.  “At some point during or just after the argument the woman was struck and killed.”

Police arrested the 33-year-old boyfriend identified as Aaron Ray Suiter into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of 2^nd degree murder, according to the jail booking report.

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SEDGWICK COUNTY  — Law enforcement authorities are investigating of a woman’s suspicious death.

Just after 11 a.m. Sunday,  officers responded to an unknown call for EMS at a residence in the 800 block of north Litchfield in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival officers located a 25-year-old woman resident of the home who was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police do not believed the death is a random incident and are expected to release additional details Monday.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Republican tax overhaul (all times local):

A group of Republican senators appears optimistic after meeting with President Donald Trump about a GOP-led tax plan.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn says the current plan is to vote on the tax bill this week on the Senate floor. He says the Senate bill has made some “substantial improvements” from the House version of the bill, but they will sort out those differences in a joint House-Senate conference committee.

In addition, a Senate Republican says GOP leaders are working on a potential revenue “backstop” in case the party’s tax cut legislation fails to produce hoped-for levels of growth and tax receipts.

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said he and other Republicans are working on “just-in-case options” to add to the measure during Senate floor debate this week. He appears to be talking about a mechanism that could automatically force tax rates back up if revenues fall short.

Lankford cited the experience of states like Oklahoma and Kansas, which are now facing big shortfalls after aggressively cutting taxes. He added that lawmakers “should build in the ‘what if?’ What if this doesn’t work?”

The Republican tax plan would cut corporate and personal taxes by $1.5 trillion over the coming decade. Lawmakers are working on ways to pay for those cuts.

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10:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump says changes are to the Republican tax bill are coming, as he looks to win over holdout GOP senators in an effort to pass the package by the end of the year.

In a Monday morning tweet, the president says, “With just a few changes, some mathematical, the middle class and job producers can get even more in actual dollars and savings.”

Trump is suggesting openness to making unspecified changes to the way millions of “pass-through” businesses are taxed, a sticking point for some lawmakers.

Trump is set to meet Monday afternoon with five members of the Senate Finance Committee, all of whom are on board with the GOP plan. He will travel to Capitol Hill Tuesday to personally lobby Republican senators.