HARVEY COUNTY — Four people were injured in an accident just before 8p.m. Sunday in Harvey County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Hyundai Tucson driven by Hannah P. Becker, 16, Hesston, was attempting to merge onto Interstate 135 from US 50 just south of Newton.
As the Hundai merged onto the Interstate left lane, a northbound 2017 Audi SUV driven by Stephen J. Schmidt, 59, Hays, attempted to slow to allow the vehicle to enter.
A northbound 2012 Chevy Camaro driven by Ethan L. Moodie, 19, McPherson rear-ended the Audi and struck the Hyundai.
Becker was transported to a hospital in Wichita.
Schmidt, a passenger in the Audi Jean M. Schmidt, 56, Hays, Moodie and a passenger in the Camaro Jentry F. Strothman, 22, Moscow, were transported to Newton Medical Center.
The occupants of the Camaro were not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
Law enforcement authorities on the scene of Friday’s shooting, standoff photo courtesy WIBW TV
MANHATTAN, KAN. – The suspect in Friday’s shooting and standoff with police in Manhattan is being held on a $2,000,000 Bond. The suspected identified as 38-year-old Mark Jason Harrison is jailed on requested charges of attempted capital murder, according to a media release from the RCPD.
Just after 12:30 p.m., officers with the Riley County Police Department responded to the report of a domestic situation in the 3700 block of Hawthorne Woods Circle. When officers arrived on scene, there was an active shooter situation. One officer was shot and received a non-life threatening gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital and is currently undergoing treatment.
Location of Friday’s barricade situation and officer shooting -google map
Additional officers responded to the scene for an adult male barricaded subject. The subject Mark Jason Harrison was taken into custody uninjured shortly before 3 p.m. Friday. He is being held at the Riley County Jail.
In an effort to ensure transparency, RCPD has asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to lead the investigation into the shooting of the officer and the discharge of a firearm during the barricade incident. The Riley County Police Department Crime Scene Investigations unit will process the crime scene.
Kansas is looking to replace the aging prison in Lansing, but isn’t sure yet whether to commission a private company to lease it a new one. WIKIPEDIA
A deal to farm out the next new prison in Kansas to a private firm — one that would replace the outdated facility in Lansing and lease it to the state — hit a delay Thursday.
The State Finance Council, which would have to sign off lease-to-buy contract, said it needs two weeks to further study the details of a plan to pay CoreCivic Inc. $362 million over 20 years.
Several members of the council said they didn’t want to approve the deal until the state and the company finalized their contract negotiations.
“I don’t want something inserted tomorrow after we sign off today,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican.
The concerns of some council members go beyond the contract. House Minority Leader Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat running for governor, said he didn’t consider CoreCivic a “reliable partner.”
“They have a history of not telling the truth,” Ward said, citing a report issued in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Justice inspector general that was critical of the company’s security record and a lawsuit filed by CoreCivic shareholders contending that the company’s leadership had failed to disclose information about risks to its government contracts.
Damon Hininger, CEO of Nashville, Tenn.,-based CoreCivic, said the vast majority of its government clients renew their contracts.
“If we’re not doing a good job, if we’re not making the mark on quality, if we’re not being cost effective,” he said, “they’re going to cancel our contracts.”
A new prison would lower the cost of housing inmates in Lansing and that the lease agreement would protect the state from cost overruns and spiraling maintenance costs, Kansas Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood told the council.
In September, corrections officials said they wanted to sign an agreement by the end of 2017.
A state audit completed in the summer of 2017 challenged prison officials’ argument that a lease-purchase deal would prove cheaper than a state-built facility financed with bonds. But Norwood said the auditors used faulty assumptions to reach that conclusion, noting that their calculations mistakenly included a balloon payment at the end of the lease.
The new Lansing facility, located on the outskirts of Kansas City, would hold about 2,400 inmates, about 100 more prisoners than the existing compound.
Norwood said most of the construction dollars would stay in the state, listing Kansas City’s J.E. Dunn as the general contractor and a handful of companies from Johnson County and Topeka as the architects, plumbers, electricians and concrete specialists.
The new facility would cut the labor needed to man the prison roughly in half to a little over to about 370 staff.
“Our estimated staff savings is a little more than $17 million per year,” Norwood said.
Ditching the deal, he said, would burden the state with the cost of urgently needed renovations at the state’s 155-year-old prison.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback didn’t object to the delay but said the state badly needs a new prison, noting that the existing facility “predates Abraham Lincoln.”
“It desperately needs help,” Brownback said. “It smells. It needs a lot of work.”
The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a new Lansing prison last year, but before the Finance Council scrutinized any contract. In December, top GOP lawmakers said they were on board with a lease with CoreCivic.
Members of the Finance Council are Brownback, and eight legislative leaders, six Republicans and two Democrats.
The buy-or-lease decision comes as the state’s prison system appears increasingly beleaguered. It’s overcrowded and some inmates were moved from Lansing to El Dorado Correctional Facility, which then saw an hours-long uprising in June.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
MCPHERSON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. Friday in McPherson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Peterbilt truck driven by Carl A. Emerson, 75, Amarillo, TX., was exiting from southbound old U.S. 81 highway to westbound Kansas 153 highway.
The truck left the roadway and overturned.
Emerson was transported to the hospital in McPHerson. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Location of the officer involved shooting-google map
3:30 p.m. UPDATE: RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities have resolved the domestic disturbance at a home in the 3700 Block of Hawthorne Woods Circle in Manhattan, according to RCPD Director. One suspect is in custody. Schoen did not release his name or possible charges.
The investigation of the officer-involved shooting will take time, according to Schoen. One RCPD officer was wounded and transported for treatment of not-life threatening injuries.
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RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are working an officer-involved shooting at a home in Manhattan.
Just after 12:30 PM Friday, officers with the Riley County Police Department responded the report of a domestic situation at a home in the 3700 block of Hawthorne Woods Circle, according to RCPD Director Brad Schoen.
When officers arrived on scene, there was an active shooter situation and one officer received a non-life threatening gunshot wound. The officer is currently being treated at a local hospital.
Additional officers responded to the scene for a barricaded subject. This is still an active situation.
Police advised that those who live in this area stay sheltered until further notice.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting near the 3700 block of Hawthorne Woods Circle northwest of the Kansas State campus in Manhattan.
One officer was shot and suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound, according to the Riley County Police Department. Residents who live in the area are advised to stay indoors until further notice.
GRAHAM COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Graham County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the murders of two individuals which occurred yesterday in Graham County, Kan.
According to a media release from the KBI, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday, a 911 call was made to the Graham County Sheriff’s Office. When first responders arrived at 2756 170th Ave., Penokee, Kan., a Hispanic male and a white female were found deceased. The names of the deceased will be released after positive identifications are made and all next of kin are notified.
As a result of the initial investigation, a subject of interest was identified as 29-year-old Efren Mascarenas, Jr. After a search by area law enforcement, Mascarenas was located deceased Thursday night in northeast Graham County.
There is no longer any threat to the public related to this incident.
The Hill City Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and several other area law enforcement agencies have assisted in this case.
GRAHAM COUNTY —The suspect in a Graham County homicide has been located and is no longer a threat. Authorities released no additional details on the search. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation or the Graham County Sheriff may release additional details later today.
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GRAHAM COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities reported that the suspect in the Graham County homicide is still at large as of 8a.m. Friday.
Deputies have returned to Phillips County and have maintained increased patrol in the Logan area, according to the sheriff’s department.
The Sheriff’s department also reported that they did not have any control over what the area schools do due to this situation.
Residents in the region should remain alert and notify law enforcement by dialing 911 to report sightings and suspicious activity.
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GRAHAM COUNTY —Law enforcement officials in Graham County are investigating an apparent double homicide that occurred Thursday and are looking for a suspect identified as Efren Lloyd Mascarenas. He is described as 5-foot-2, 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
He was last known to be driving a Blue 2005 Dodge Charger with a passenger side mirror broken. Authorities say the vehicle belonged to one of the victims and has been abandoned.
The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Residents in northeast Graham, southeast Norton, southwest Phillips and northwest Rooks counties should secure their property and remain indoors.
Mascarenas has previous convictions for aggravated battery in Ellis and Trego County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Just after 3:30 Thursday, law enforcement were called to an unresponsive male subject in rural Graham County, according to a statement from the Graham County Sheriff
When officials arrived on scene, they found two homicide victims, according to the statement.
Officers from the Graham County Sheriff’s office, Hill City Police Department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation are assisting with the investigation.
WINNESHIEK COUNTY, Iowa – A Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) investigation has led to the arrest of a former Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy.
According to a media release, on Thursday, Jan. 4 at approximately 1:30 p.m., David Huggins, 45, of La Cygne was arrested with the assistance of the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office in Decorah, Iowa, for aggravated indecent liberties with a minor and sexual exploitation of a child.
On Oct. 30, 2017 Linn County Sheriff Paul Filla requested KBI assistance when information was brought forward by Pleasanton School District Superintendent Travis Laver. Huggins had been assigned as a school resource officer.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office and school district cooperated fully in the investigation. Huggins was removed from his role at the school on Oct. 20, was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 29, and was terminated from the Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 3.
Following his arrest, Huggins was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail. Extradition to Kansas will be pursued. Special prosecutor Jerry Merrill is expected to prosecute the case.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach filed charges against two people on Thursday contending they vote twice in the 2016 election. FILE PHOTO / Kansas News Service
His landmark nationwide panel to root out illegal voting abandoned by the White House, Kansas Secretary of Kris Kobach spent Thursday rooting out alleged voter fraud in his home state.
Armed with powers not usually assigned to a secretary of state, Kobach filed a pair of criminal complaints against two people he said voted when, and more, than they had the right to.
In 2016, Kobach contends, Que J. Fulmer voted in both Hamilton County, Kansas, and in Colorado. He charged Bailey Ann McCaughey of voting twice in the same election, in Finney County, Kansas, and Colorado. Both Hamilton and Finney counties sit in western Kansas.
“These prosecutions will help deter voter fraud in the future,” Kobach said.
Kobach, a likely frontrunner among Republicans running for governor, has marked much of his career battling voter fraud. He insists it’s far more common than most experts believe. Legislators gave Kobach’s office the power to file criminal charges in election fraud cases in 2015. He’s the country’s only top election official with that authority.
While he warns of illegal voting by non-citizens — immigration control is another signature issue for him — all of the dozen-plus people he’s charged with election fraud in Kansas are U.S. citizens.
Twelve of the 14 voter fraud cases that he’s filed have been for double voting, which Kobach contends is a serious crime.
“The consequences of double voting are the same as the consequences of voting by a non-citizen,” he said. “You still have an illegal vote cast and that illegal vote might tip the election.”
The day before the charges, Kobach saw a federal judge rule on a pending case on his efforts to demand more reliable proof of citizenship for voter registration. That lawsuit goes to trial in March.
The court ruling excluded some testimony for Kobach’s cause because the judge said it lacked the necessary expertise to back it up.
Republicans typically argue it’s too easy to register to vote, that officials should insist on birth certificates and other documents to screen out non-citizens and that states need to compare their lists with each other to stop people from voting in two places.
Democrats commonly respond that voter fraud is rare and tougher I.D. demands make it unreasonably hard for the poor or the elderly to cast ballots. They also think that programs such as Crosscheck designed to identify people registered in multiple states could exclude citizens who simply have the same name as another voter.
Kobach has an ally for his cause in President Donald Trump, who installed the Kansas Republican as the key player on a national commission created to document how much voter cheating takes place.
That panel quickly ran into trouble when many of Kobach’s fellow secretaries of state across the country refused to turn over voter records, often state citing laws that barred them from sharing the information.
So when Trump scrapped the voting commission, Kobach’s rivals in Kansas leapt to declare it a failure of the man they need to beat in the governor’s race.
“We see that the only thing Kris Kobach accomplished was wasting taxpayer money,” said Ed O’Malley, a former state representative and another candidate in the GOP field. “If voter fraud is a major problem and Kris Kobach spearheaded this effort, he failed to bring the commission together to produce meaningful and measurable outcomes, which means the problem will continue.”
Kobach said the work scuttled by opposition from left-leaning organizations will now be done by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he will continue to play a role.
“Absolutely I’ll be involved,” he said. “Now that we are doing the investigation through the Department of Homeland Security things will happen a lot faster.”
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
HARVEY COUNTY — Four people were injured in an accident just before 8p.m. Sunday in Harvey County.
