CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County police are searching for a man who is stealing from elderly residents by posing as a water company worker.

Police spokesman Shawn McGuire said Thursday that the man victimized several people earlier this month. He approached elderly women, gaining entry to their homes after telling them he works for a water company.

While inside, the man stole jewelry and other items.

All of the victims told police they were grocery shopping and were approached by the man soon after arriving home.

Police released photos of the suspect and urged anyone with information to call St. Louis County police or CrimeStoppers.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback plans to hold a town hall meeting next week to discuss concerns about the potential transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Fort Leavenworth.

Brownback’s office announced that the meeting would be 4 p.m. next Thursday at the Riverfront Community Center. The Republican governor is a vocal opponent of any effort to move prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the Kansas post’s prison.

The Pentagon has confirmed that a team surveyed Fort Leavenworth’s prison last week and planned a similar assessment later this month of the U.S. Navy’s bring in Charleston, South Carolina.

Closing Guantanamo’s detention center is a top priority for President Barack Obama, but Brownback and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are threatening to sue if its prisoners are moved to their states.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors have rested their case in the capital murder trial of a Missouri white supremacist who acknowledges killing three people at two Jewish centers in suburban Kansas City.

Jurors on Thursday heard recordings of two phone calls Frazier Glenn Miller made from the Johnson County jail, in which he admitted killing a 69-year-old man, his 14-year-old grandson and a 53-year-old woman in Overland Park, Kansas, in April 2014.

District Attorney Steve Howe announced afterward that he was finished presenting his case.

Miller asked Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan to postpone the defense part of the case until Monday because he’s not prepared. Ryan reminded the 74-year-old he’s the one who demanded a speedy trial and fired his attorneys.

Ryan said he would rule on the request after speaking with Miller behind closed doors.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas oil industry continues to face pressure because of falling prices.

The Wichita Eagle reports the cash price of Kansas Common crude oil fell below $30 a barrel this week at the NCRA refinery in McPherson for the first time since the recession. And 13 oil rigs running in Kansas last week was fewer than half the number a year ago.

Industry experts say the oil price is falling to a point approaching producers’ cost of pumping it out of existing wells, which his called the lifting price. The lifting cost is between $20 and $30 a barrel in Kansas, depending on the well.

Jim Williams, owner of WTRG Economics, an oil industry consultant, said it’s too early for most oil producers to pull out of Kansas.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man who spent three years in prison before his robbery conviction was overturned has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of St. Louis, its prosecutors and police.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cornell McKay’s lawsuit accuses the plaintiffs of a “sham investigation” that failed to follow obvious leads that would have led to the true culprit.

McKay alleges authorities suppressed and falsified evidence and led a public relations campaign and conspiracy aimed at distracting attention from the mistakes.

Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said in a statement that she hasn’t been served the lawsuit yet, but is aware of its “general contents.”

Joyce said she is confident the court will find the lawsuit doesn’t have merit.

The city and police department have declined to comment.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man who once served as a St. Louis police officer has been acquitted of murder charges.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a jury on Tuesday found 36-year-old James Little not guilty of first-degree murder and other charges related to the death of 32-year-old William Dupree.

Little is a former police officer in St. Louis. At the time of the killing, he was working as a reserve officer in Pagedale as well as a security guard for the Metro mass transit agency. Dupree was a St. Louis County corrections officer.

Both men were off-duty on May 26th, 2013, when Little fatally shot Dupree after dropping off a child he shares with Dupree’s fiancé.

Little’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, argued that the shooting was in self-defense.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says gangs in places like Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, are populated with “rough dudes” who are in the country illegally. But officials in those cities say there’s no evidence to support him.

In Iowa this week, Trump said “a lot” of the gangs in the four cities consist of people who are in the country illegally. He made similar comments on Sunday news shows.

Representatives of three of the four cities said Wednesday Trump was wrong in his assertion. In the fourth city, Chicago, police say they don’t track the makeup of gangs.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 32-year-old Wichita man has pleaded guilty in the killing of a man after a dispute over which of them owned a pit bull.

The Wichita Eagle reports Justin Rourke pleaded guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter for the death of 41-year-old Roman Padilla. He had been initially charged with second-degree murder.

According to police, Rourke and others went to Padilla’s home on June 11 to retrieve a pit bull he believed belonged to him. Authorities say that during an argument, Rourke pulled out a gun and shot Padilla in the chest. They say he also shot and killed the dog, which apparently charged.

Rourke’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 16th.

SALEM, Mo. (AP) — The brother of Missouri’s Republican U.S. Representative Jason Smith has been found safe after being reported missing earlier this week.

Billy G. Smith was reported missing Monday after last being seen at a casino in St. Charles.

The Congressman’s office said in a statement that Billy Smith was found safe Wednesday.

The statement did not provide any other details about the disappearance and said the family was requesting privacy “following this difficult time.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita officials say an auction of items from the city’s old Mid-Continent Airport terminal is expected to net about $83,000.

The Wichita Eagle reports people bid on everything from bathroom signs to the lobby bar during the auction Tuesday. Sets of the airport’s Herman Miller seats went for as much as nearly $3,000 for a large lot to $1,100 for a smaller lot.

The Kansas Aviation Museum spent about $130 for the shelving and racks that were in the airport gift shop. The museum also bought a sign that reads, “Welcome to Wichita, air capital of the world.”

The money from the auction will go into the airport’s general budget for next year.

Crews are expected to start demolition work on the concourses at the old terminal in September.