KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A judge has dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against one of five defendants in the death of a 10-year-old Kansas boy on a water slide.
Wyandotte County District Court Judge Robert Burns on Wednesday dropped charges against Schlitterbahn Waterpark of Kansas City, Kansas, in the 2016 death of Caleb Schwab on the Verruckt water slide.
The Kansas City Star reports Schlitterbahn Waterpark does not exist as a legal entity. The park includes two entities: SVV 1, which owns the land, and KC Waterpark Management, which operates the park.
Assistant Kansas attorney general Adam Zentner said he would seek a new grand jury indictment against the proper corporate defendant.
Also Wednesday, two defendants waived their right to a speedy trial, which means the trial will not occur on Sept. 10 as previously scheduled
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City police are investigating the shooting death of a utility worker at a job site.
Police on the scene of the shooting investigation-image courtesy KCTV
Police say the man was shot Monday morning. He was working at the construction site for a company that contracted with Spire Energy.
The man’s name has not been released. Police say the motive is unknown.
The Kansas City Star reports witnesses said the shooter walked up to a group of workers and briefly spoke to them before pulling out a gun and firing several shots and then walking away.
Gov. Greitens booking photo courtesy St. Louis Police Department
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis judge on Thursday rejected a request from Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to dismiss a felony criminal indictment against him, but sanctioned prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence as soon as they should have.
Greitens was indicted in February on a charge of invasion of privacy. He’s accused of taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015, before he was elected. Greitens has admitted to what he says was an “entirely consensual” affair and has denied criminal wrongdoing.
Attorneys for Greitens say a private investigator hired by the prosecutor has repeatedly lied to the court. They also allege that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner knew he lied, and that her office has withheld evidence from the defense.
Circuit Judge Rex Burlison’s sanctions allow the defense to retake depositions with the woman who is at the center of the case and with the private investigator. Both are expected next week, said Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the circuit attorney’s office.
Attorneys for Greitens have said prosecutors withheld a videotaped deposition with the woman until an hour before a special state House committee released a report last week that cited allegations of unwanted sexual aggression, and has been slow to turn over other evidence.
Defense attorneys also said 11 pages of private investigator William Tisaby’s notes from a deposition of a friend of the woman, requested weeks ago, were not turned over until Sunday, and only after Greitens’ lawyers threatened to go to court to ask for them.
“These rules are not mere rules of etiquette,” the judge said. “Clearly in this case the state has committed sanctionable discovery violations of the rules of criminal procedure.”
Greitens’ attorneys have also argued that Tisaby has repeatedly lied to the court. For example, he said he didn’t take notes during an interview of the woman, but photos and a video showed him taking notes. In another instance, Tisaby said he checked his laptop for notes during a deposition lunch break, but later said the laptop wasn’t even in St. Louis, defense attorneys said.
Prosecutors have said they made a mistake in relying on Tisaby but that it didn’t warrant dismissing the case.
Tisaby has not returned phone and email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Greitens’ trial is scheduled for May 14. It’s among many worries for the Republican governor. A growing number of lawmakers, including all of the top Republicans, have called on Greitens to resign.
Those resignation calls increased after Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley said Tuesday that an investigation by his office determined that Greitens may have committed another crime by using a donor list from the veterans’ charity he founded, The Mission Continues, to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign without the charity’s permission. Since the alleged crime happened in St. Louis it will be up to Gardner, a Democrat, to decide whether to file charges.
Ryan declined to speculate Thursday on whether new charges would be filed.
Hawley also turned over his findings to the House investigatory committee, which is to recommend in the coming weeks whether to pursue impeachment proceedings to try to remove Grietens from office.
House Speaker Todd Richardson said Thursday that the panel is moving “as expeditiously” but “as thoroughly” as possible and has no particular deadline. The Legislature is to end its regular work May 18. Richardson said a “substantial” number of Republican House members have already signed a petition to call the Legislature into a special session if needed to consider impeachment.
GLADSTONE, Mo. (AP) — A former treasurer of the Gladstone firefighters union pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $26,000 from the union.
Charles Duddy, 58, of Platte City, entered the plea Tuesday in federal court after waiving his right to a grand jury.
Duddy was the former fire inspector for the city of Gladstone. He also was treasurer of Gladstone Firefighters IAFF Union Local 3228 from 2012 to April 2016.
Proescutors say Duddy had access to the union’s debit card only to pay for the union’s expenses.
During his plea hearing, Duddy admitted that he used $26,479 in union money for personal expenses, including paying property taxes, groceries and dining.
Duddy has paid $10,000 in restitution and will be required to pay the remaining $16,479.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Senate is moving to enable the state ethics commission to consider a complaint filed against Gov. Eric Greitens.
Vacancies on the commission mean it has too few members to meet with a quorum, and Greitens has not indicated when he will appoint new members. The committee has before it a complaint about whether Greitens’ gubernatorial campaign told the truth about how it gained access to a list of donors.
The measure approved Thursday would immediately drop the commission’s membership from six to four, meaning the three members still on the board would create a quorum.
The Senate needs to vote on the proposal again before it heads to the House. The ethics commission’s next scheduled meeting is April 25.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has passed legislation to require parents receiving food stamps to comply with work requirements or face losing benefits.
Lawmakers voted 107-43 Tuesday to send the bill to the Senate.
The measure is aimed at requiring able-bodied parents aided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to seek work or job training.
People who fail to meet federal work requirements would be disqualified from the program for three months for the first violation and six months for a second violation.
A third violation would mean a loss of food assistance for two years.
Republican backers argued the change could push people away from dependency on government help. Although the bill wouldn’t take away children’s benefits, Democratic critics said practically speaking it would hurt them by removing their parents’ aid.
CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) – Authorities in a southwest Missouri county are looking for someone who apparently is setting arson fires made more dangerous by dry conditions.
KSPR reports three homes were the apparent targets of fires set Wednesday afternoon near Camdenton. The homes are near Missouri State Highway 5.
No serious injuries were reported.
The owner of one home, Nikki Byler, said she called 911 as soon as she saw the fire but by the time firefighters arrived, the entire valley was in flames.
Fire Chief Scott Frandsen says arson is suspected because two fires were started in nearly the same area, just minutes apart. A third fire that authorities believe was intentionally set was reported Thursday afternoon near Macks Creek.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Time to set your clocks and watches one hour ahead.
The shift from standard to daylight saving time officially comes at 2 a.m. Sunday across much of the country. Daylight will last longer into the evening but take an hour longer to emerge in the morning.
No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas. Florida could eventually join that list if GOP Gov. Rick Scott signs the “Sunshine Protection Act” passed this week and Congress goes along.
It’s a good time to consider installing fresh smoke detector batteries.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Eric Greitens has announced a new initiative to crack down on opioid over-prescription in the state.
In a press release Monday, Greitens said Medicaid providers who did not follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for opioid prescriptions would be warned twice. They then would be referred to the state Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and state licensing boards, which could potentially revoke their licenses.
A spokesman for the governor says providers are currently given more opportunities to reform their practices.
The release also says increased cooperation between the Department of Social Services, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health and Senior Services will improve enforcement in the state.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Senate has updated its sexual harassment policy to require more frequent training for lawmakers and staff.
Until recently, the Senate had required members and staff to undergo sexual harassment training only once, upon taking office.
The new policy will require that initial training to occur within 30 days of starting work. Additional training sessions will be required every other year, starting in 2019.
The Senate’s policy change comes as legislatures around the country have been strengthening their sexual harassment policies in response to a series of misconduct allegations against powerful people in politics, entertainment and the media.
Even with the update, the Missouri Senate policy still lags behind the House, which requires annual sexual harassment training. The House training is in-person while the Senate’s is by computer.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Eric Greitens has announced a new initiative to crack down on opioid over-prescription in the state.