LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The murder trial of a Lawrence man who has been in custody for more than four years will be delayed to give attorneys time to assess new evidence from the victim’s recently unlocked phone, a judge has ruled.

Rontarus Washington Jr., 22, was set to go on trial Monday for first-degree murder and aggravated burglary charges in the November 2014 slaying of 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso. But Judge James McCabria this week pushed the trial back until September.

Washington has been held at the Douglas County Jail since March 2015. McCabria said he understood the delay was frustrating, but that he felt it was necessary to give time for attorneys to sift through the data from Mosso’s phone.

“It’s kind of a critical piece of evidence,” said prosecutor C.J. Rieg. “That’s why I’ve been trying to get it open for the past four years.”

Mosso was found stabbed and bludgeoned inside the Lawrence apartment of her estranged husband, Felipe Cantu Ruiz. Ruiz had testified that he moved out of town with a friend on Nov. 7 and had left her the keys.

Washington lived in an apartment on the same floor as Ruiz. Washington had told detectives he entered Ruiz’s apartment that night to steal money and found a dead woman in the bathroom.

Lawrence police said they found Mosso’s phone several weeks after the slaying on the roof of the apartment complex, wrapped in mismatched socks whose corresponding pairs were found in Washington’s apartment.

Rieg said she learned that the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Clay County, Missouri, had the software capabilities to open Mosso’s phone in February. McCabria ordered the FBI electronics lab to unlock the phone, and attorneys received the data earlier this month.

Washington’s attorney, Angela Keck, said it would be foolish to go to trial without looking through the phone data for evidence that could help the defendant.

Washington and attorneys will meet with the judge next week to set a new trial date, which is tentatively scheduled for mid-September.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The man believed to be the last Kansas City-area resident to survive the attack at Pearl Harbor has died.

96-year-old Dorwin Lamkin of Overland Park, Kansas, died March 17. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Born in Wisconsin, Lamkin joined the Navy in 1940. He was a corpsman on the USS Nevada when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.

Lamkin later served at several battles while on the USS San Francisco in 1943 and 1944. He was awarded several medals and citations.

He was the longtime president of a chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and helped lead the drive to create the Pearl Harbor Memorial Park in Mission, Kansas.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 3-year-old boy is dead after breaking away from his father’s hand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, running into traffic and being struck by a gas company truck.

The accident happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The boy was in critical condition when officers arrived, but died at a hospital. His name has not been released.

A preliminary investigation showed that the child and his father came out of a store on 11th Street when the child “broke away from his father’s hand” and ran between two parked vehicles into the street.

He was struck by a truck belonging to Spire, a company based in St. Louis.

Police say the truck driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police.

An investigation continues.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge that he drove to Missouri to meet what he believed was a mother who was willing to sell her 10-year-old daughter for sex, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Michael David Mitchell, 64, Ottawa, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel to engage in unlawful sexual conduct. The investigation began when investigators received information that Mitchell was looking for a woman with a minor child who he could make his sex slaves.

Mitchell communicated with an undercover investigator posing as a broker who could find Mitchell what he wanted. In his plea, Mitchell admitted that in June 2017 he drove from Ottawa, Kan., to Independence, Mo., to meet a woman he had been told was willing to make the deal. He brought money with him to pay a $5,000 finder’s fee.

Sentencing is set for April 24. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some crop art in Central Texas features the face of Democrat Beto O’Rourke as the former congressman runs for president.

A field near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has been carved out with a 2-acre circle, an image of the El Paso politician’s face and the words “Beto 2020.”

Kansas artist Stan Herd says he wanted to show his support for O’Rourke, who rose to prominence in his failed 2018 bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Herd says he used grass, mulch, clay to create the portrait, which was unveiled Sunday at Carson Creek Ranch on land donated for the project. Herd expects the portrait, visible from flights above the field, to last about two weeks before deteriorating due to weather.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission is backing a plan that would decrease the fine for possessing small amounts of marijuana to $1.

The commission voted 4-1 Tuesday to amend the city ordinance related to penalties for marijuana possession. The change would apply to people age 18 and older convicted of possessing 32 grams or less.

Commissioner Matthew Herbert says the vote sends a message to state lawmakers, especially since surrounding states have legalized marijuana in some form.

Missouri voters in November approved medical marijuana.

But Commissioner Stuart Boley, who cast the lone dissenting vote, says he’s concerned that people will be confused because while the fine for the first and second offenses will be $1, the third marijuana possession offense constitutes a felony under state law.

GALENA, Mo. (AP) — A man suspected of shooting at southwestern Missouri deputies is dead after apparently shooting himself during a lengthy standoff.

Deputies responded to a domestic call at a Stone County home around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday and found a woman outside. As deputies were talking to her a man allegedly fired several shots at the deputies. The deputies weren’t hit but three bullets struck a patrol vehicle.

Deputies entered the home after a five-hour standoff and found the man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The sheriff’s office says the deputies never fired their weapons.

The man’s name has not been released.

Three deputies were being evaluated for injuries from a barbed-wire fence sustained as they took cover from the shots.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after an explosion on the front porch of a home early Wednesday in Shawnee County.

Just after 12:30a.m., fire crews and police responded to a home in the 300 Block of SW Harrison in Topeka, according to Fire Chief Michael Martin.

An investigation revealed some type of explosive device was used. The explosion caused approximately $2000 damage to the home at 306 SW Harrison. Flying debris caused an additional $500 damage to the home at 302 SW Harrison, according to Martin. The Topeka Police Department bomb squad assisted at the scene to search for additional explosive devices.

There were no injuries reported.

By Grant Heiman
KU Statehouse News Service

TOPEKA — A recent bill introduced to the Kansas House of Representatives changes the criminal penalties for abusing a child.

House Bill 2394 decreases the level of severity for child abuse while adding the separate crime of aggravated abuse of a child.

“This legislation is extremely important to proportionately respond to extreme and serious abuse of a child,” said Kim Parker, prosecutor coordinator for the Kansas County and District Attorney’s Association.

The current Kansas statutes regarding child abuse group all acts of child abuse together as severity level 5 regardless of the amount of harm done to the child. For example, rape is a severity level 1 felony while a first-time misdemeanor is a severity level 10.

“Many of the acts of abuse perpetrated on children are overlooked by [the current] statute,” Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said in his testimony to the committee. “Furthermore, many acts of abuse against children vary in the nature of their severity, a consideration also not taken into account by our current statutory language.”

The bill would decrease the level of severity from 5 to 7, or 9, depending on the nature of the abuse. The change in severity would alter sentencing regulations to “proportionately respond to extreme and serious abuse of a child,” according to Parker.

The Office of Judicial Administration notes the bill could increase the number of cases filed in district court, which would result in more time spent by court employees and judges processing and deciding these cases. A financial effect cannot be estimated until the judicial branch has operated under the bill’s provisions.

The KCDAA and the Leavenworth County attorney supported the bill while the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Sheriffs Association and Kansas Peace Officers Association testified as neutral.

The neutral groups recognized the positive intentions of the bill but noted that the vagueness within the bill “may unintentionally include law enforcement use of force or restraints.”

Grant Heiman is a University of Kansas junior from Wichita majoring in journalism.