JEFFERSON COUNTY (AP) — A Missouri man already facing state charges of animal abuse is now facing federal charges, too.

A federal indictment announced Thursday charges 39-year-old Paul Garcia of Barnhart with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges Garcia already had a felony record when he possessed a weapon on Sept. 14. No further details about that crime were released.

Garcia was charged earlier this month after a Jefferson County deputy found a small dog in a ditch and wrapped in tape. Fingerprints from the tape led police to Garcia, who allegedly told authorities he believed the animal was spying on him for police.

The dog recovered and was reunited with its owner.

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JEFFERSON COUNTY (AP) A man faces charges accusing him of binding a dog’s legs and mouth with tape and throwing the animal into a ditch, where it was found 12 hours later in the bitter cold.

Jefferson County Missouri Sheriff Dave Marshak on Thursday announced the arrest and charges against 39-year-old Paul Garcia of Barnhart. He is jailed on $50,000 bond on charges of animal abuse and armed criminal action.

The rescued black and brown dachshund, Jimmy, is improving.

The small dog was found early Saturday along Highway M. Marshak says electrical and duct tape was wrapped around Jimmy’s mouth and muzzle; the front legs were bound together by tape, as were the back legs.

 

A deputy found the dog. Authorities believe Jimmy had been at the spot for around 12 hours.

ARNOLD, Mo. (AP) — An 85-year-old Missouri man who fatally shot his wife and didn’t call for medical help has been sentenced to five years of probation.

Edwin Hipp, of Arnold, was placed on probation as part of a plea deal in the April 2016 death of his wife, 82-year-old Irma Hipp at their home.

Hipp pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder. The plea deal suspended a 20-year prison term and requires him to remain under house arrest. He can leave his home only for medical and legal appointments.

Investigators say Hipp killed his wife during an argument. Charges said Irma Hipp retrieved a gun during the argument and her husband took the gun from her and shot her twice.

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JOHNSON COUNTY — Lenexa police reported Thursday they had identified the suspect in the alleged checkbook theft. The investigation continues, according to police. They released no additional details.

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JOHNSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged theft.

According to Wednesday afternoon social media report from Lenexa police, a victim accidentally left behind a checkbook on the store check-out counter.

Here’s the story: vic accidentally left her checkbook on the store counter. This shopper (suspect) picks it up and rather than turning it in to the clerk, stuffs it into her purse (theft of lost or mislaid property). If you can help us ID this suspect, DM or call 913-825-8097 pic.twitter.com/P3tHwWeKEq

— Lenexa Police (@LenexaPolice) February 20, 2019

The shopper(suspect) in the security camera video picks it up, and rather than turning it in to the clerk, stuffs it into a purse. This is a theft of lost or mislaid property, according to police.

If you can help  ID this suspect and the victim, send a direct message to Lenexa Police or call 913-825-8097.

By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Rural state lawmakers are pushing a plan to allow the Kansas Farm Bureau to offer health insurance coverage to members without having to comply with federal Affordable Care Act mandates in hopes that the influential agriculture group can offer a lower-cost product.

But the proposal is drawing strong criticism from Democrats and health groups because the Farm Bureau would not be required to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. The Farm Bureau also would face relatively little regulation, and critics of the bill worry that the group could lure healthy individuals away from other, more-regulated plans, making them less affordable.

The state Senate approved the bill Wednesday on a 28-11 vote , sending it to the House. The bill’s support came mostly from Republicans, who see it as an opportunity to give consumers a choice after spikes in health insurance rates that they blame on the 2010 federal health overhaul championed by former President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

The Kansas bill also was inspired by a long-standing law in Tennessee and new ones in Iowa and Nebraska.

“The goal has been stated many times, to increase the number of Kansans with coverage,” said state Sen. Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican. “Let’s allow Farm Bureau members across the state to help reach these people, who find the ACA plans unaffordable.”

The bill would allow the Kansas Farm Bureau to provide “benefit coverage” to members and their dependents to cover their health costs.

While its coverage might work like health insurance, the measure, like the Iowa law enacted last year, declares that the coverage “shall not be considered insurance.” That would effectively exempt it from federal mandates and most state insurance regulations.

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, a Republican, have not yet taken a public position on the legislation.

The Kansas Farm Bureau has about 100,000 members, and the Senate vote was a testament to its political clout, particularly with rural Republicans. All but one GOP senator — Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican — supported the bill.

Farm Bureau officials said they expect about 42,000 people eventually to take its coverage if the law passes and that rates will be significantly lower than plans that comply with Affordable Care Act mandates. They said their coverage would be targeted to individuals who either have no coverage now or people who are struggling to find or pay for individual coverage.

Kansas has seen the number of individual coverage plans offered through the federal ACA marketplace decline to 23 for 2019 from 42 in 2016, according to the Kansas Insurance Department. While average rate increases for 2019 were smaller than in past years, they’ve sometimes previously topped 25 percent, according to the department’s annual reports .

House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said the bill has appeal among GOP lawmakers outside rural areas because, “a lot of people look at that as a free market thing, giving people choice.”

But Democrats noted that people don’t have to be farmers or work in agriculture to join the Farm Bureau, only pay a $50 annual membership fee. Also, the bill requires only that Farm Bureau file a certified statement of its coverage plan’s reserves annually with the Kansas Insurance Department.

And they honed in on how Farm Bureau would be able to set higher rates or reject coverage for people who have pre-existing medical conditions, a feature of the Iowa law . Groups including the American Diabetes Association, the Cancer Action Network and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society have opposed the bill for that reason.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, proposed an amendment to require the Farm Bureau’s plan to cover pre-existing conditions. But it was voted down, 24-15 , with Republicans arguing that such a requirement would eliminate the flexibility Farm Bureau needs to offer an affordable product.

“Consumers with pre-existing conditions will almost certainly surely be turned away or offered excessive prices,” said Sen. Tom Hawk, a Democrat from Manhattan, where the Kansas Farm Bureau has its headquarters.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been charged with infecting a woman with HIV and then offering her money to not cooperate with law enforcement.

Charging documents say 36-year-old Marcus Price didn’t tell a woman he had tested positive for HIV before having unprotected sex with her last year in Springfield.

He was charged under a state law criminalizing HIV exposure that dates back to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. The charge carries a possible life sentence, and lawmakers have been under pressure to rewrite it amid complaints that it’s outdated. Price also faces a witness tampering charge.

Prosecutors say he’s “an ongoing danger to the community” because he recently posted a Facebook ad asking for cuddles. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says state lawmakers are “grandstanding” by holding numerous hearings to discuss a tax refund problem caused by a mistake on state tax withholding tables.

Parson on Wednesday defended Revenue Director Joel Walters handling of the problem, which could cost thousands of Missouri taxpayers on their state income tax returns for 2018.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Parson noted that Walters has testified at 10 hearings so far about the issue. He says the revenue department has worked to fix the 15-year-old miscalculation on withholding tables, and Walters is focusing on solutions, rather than political grandstanding.

The miscalculation, which has been corrected, could sharply reduce or eliminate many people’s state refunds.

Some lawmakers say the revenue department did a poor job of warning Missourians about the problem.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears to be ruling out a Kansas Senate race in 2020.

Pompeo, who represented Kansas’ 4th Congressional District from 2011 to 2017, says he’ll serve as secretary of state as long as President Donald Trump wants him to.

“It’s ruled out.” @SecPompeo says of running for an open Senate seat in Kansas in 2020 pic.twitter.com/mrVCrEFu6o

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 21, 2019

Pompeo was asked on NBC’s “Today” show Thursday if he’s interested in running for the Senate and replied, “I love doing what I’m doing.” When an interviewer said Pompeo sounded as though he wasn’t ruling it out, Pompeo said, “It’s ruled out.”

Last month, Pompeo deflected speculation he might run for retiring Republican Sen. Pat Roberts’ seat, telling Fox News he was focused on his current job.