BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — A Mexican man charged with killing an Iowa college student worked on a dairy farm for years under a false name just a few miles from where the young woman was allegedly abducted while running last month, his employer said Wednesday.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera was a good employee who showed up on time to take care of the cows and got along well with his co-workers, said Dane Lang, manager of Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa.

The 24-year-old kept coming to work after Mollie Tibbetts disappeared July 18, and “nobody saw a difference” in his demeanor, Lang said. His colleagues were stunned Tuesday to learn that he was not only the suspect in Tibbetts’ death, but that he had a different real name than what he went by on the farm, he said.

“Our employee is not who he said he was,” Lang said at a news conference at the farm. “This was shocking to us.”

When Rivera was hired in 2014, he presented an out-of-state government-issued photo identification and a matching Social Security card, he said. That information was run through the Social Security Administration’s employment-verification system and checked out, he said.

Rivera’s defense attorney, Allan Richards, acknowledged Wednesday that his client received his paycheck under a different name and that he was uncertain of his immigration status. He said he was prepared to argue that his client was in the country legally, noting that he came to the U.S. as a minor and had worked and paid taxes for years.

“He showed up every day, and he did his job. He was patted on his back. They turned a blind eye to the reality of documentation,” Richards said.

Rivera made his initial court appearance Wednesday on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student.

Investigators say they believe Rivera was in the country illegally when he abducted Tibbetts as she went on an evening jog, killed her and dumped her body in a cornfield. A judge on Wednesday agreed to increase his bond to $5 million from $1 million after prosecutor Scott Brown noted he was a potential flight risk who was charged with a “heinous crime.”

Rivera sat stone-faced through much of the hearing, wearing a striped jail jumpsuit, handcuffs and speaking only briefly through a Spanish-speaking interpreter.

His attorney, Richards, lashed out at President Donald Trump for publicly declaring his client guilty at a rally Tuesday night in which he called the nation’s immigration system a disgrace. He said his client was a hard worker with the equivalent of an eighth-grade education, had no prior criminal record and deserved the presumption of innocence and a fair trial.

“Sad and Sorry Trump has weighed in on this matter in national media which will poison the entire possible pool of jury members,” Richards wrote in a court filing.

Trump noted the arrest at the rally in West Virginia: “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman. Should’ve never happened. Illegally in our country.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have lodged an immigration detainer for Rivera, a move that means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation.

Yarrabee Farms is a small family farming operation that dates back to 1860 and has been owned for six generations by the Lang family, which is prominent in the community, farming circles and Republican politics. Dane Lang said the farm had received dozens of disturbing phone calls and messages since the employee’s arrest, including threats to kill his dog and burn down his buildings.

“This is a scary situation,” he said.

His father and farm co-owner Craig Lang, a former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau who ran earlier this year for state agriculture secretary, said the farm was cooperating with investigators and had already turned over Rivera’s hiring records. He said now was not the time to debate immigration but to grieve the loss of Tibbetts, who was about to start her junior year studying psychology.

Rivera led investigators Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Brooklyn, where she was last seen, police said.

Rivera allegedly confessed to following her and then panicking when she threatened to call police. He told authorities that he blacked out and then dumped her bloody body in the secluded location.

Investigators have not released the cause and manner of Tibbetts’ death and did not release any information following an autopsy conducted Wednesday.

Rivera’s Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It’s about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco.

Authorities said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area.

A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which does not have the death penalty.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man has been charged with sexual assault after impersonating a ride-sharing driver and offering two women free rides home.

Greene County authorities say 34-year-old Tyson Fairley, of Brookline Station, was charged Wednesday with rape, sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse.

Springfield police say in a probable cause statement that the two women reported being assaulted after being offered free rides home by a man who claimed to drive for Uber or Lyft. They had recently left bars in downtown Springfield when they were approached.

Ozarksfirst.com reports Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson says the investigation indicated there may be more victims. He urged any potential victims to call Springfield police.

BARRY COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 1:30p.m. Wednesday in Barry County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2018 Harley Davidson driven by Edward W. Harkreader, 58, Henderson, AR., was westbound on Highway 76 five miles north of Shell Knob. The motorcycle slid off the road and hit a tree.

A passenger Dawn E. Davis, 59, Hacket, AR., was pronounced dead at the scene. Harkreader was transported to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to 79 months in federal prison for five bank robberies in four states, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Dakota Shareef Walker, 21, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to the following robberies:

· U.S. Bank, 5730 Southwest 21st, Topeka, Nov. 28, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 221 West Gregory Blvd, Kansas City Missouri, Nov. 23, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 748 Main Street, Evanston, Wyo., Dec. 6, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 25 East 50 South, Malad City, Idaho, Dec. 14, 2016.
· Wells Fargo Bank, 5 North State Street, Preston, Idaho, Jan. 9, 2017.

LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Two men have been charged in a shooting that erupted after a high school graduation at a church in suburban Kansas City, Kansas.

The May 17 shooting wounded two people, including a newly graduated student, outside the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Hundreds of people attended the ceremony for graduates of Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

Police said the shooting erupted during a fight and that more than a dozen shell casings were found at the scene.

Leawood police say 21-year-old Damon Gwinn was charged Tuesday with one count of aggravated battery. Twenty-year-old Rasheed Henderson has been charged with fleeing and eluding police.

Gwinn’s bond is set at $250,000 and Henderson’s is set at $100,000.

JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal Kansas crash have filed charges against the driver.

Marie Perez-Marquez, 48, Omaha, has been charged with 3 counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and aggravated battery for the November 25, 2017 crash, according to Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Chevy Equinox driven by Perez-Marquez, was southbound on U. S. 75 just north of 318 Road near Holton.

The driver attempted to pass another vehicle, swerved to the shoulder to avoid a collision and struck a northbound 2008 Chrysler Town and Country driven by Carmen K. Ukele, 42, Sabetha, head-on.

Ukele and passengers in the Chevy Marlee G. Ukele, 11 and Stephen M. Ukele, 62, all of Sabetha, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another passenger in the Chrysler Lee F. Ukele, 59, Sabetha, and Perez-Marquez were transported to KU Medical Center.  A passenger in the Chevy Rosalao G. Perez, 29, St. Joseph, MO., was transported to a Topeka Hospital and later transferred to KU Medical Center.

Ukele and family were returning home from watching Tanner and Carson Ukele play in the Sabetha High School football 3A state championship game.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Victims of clergy sexual abuse are calling for a wide-scale investigation of sex crime allegations against Catholic priests in Missouri, and whether the church participated in a cover-up.

A victim of clergy abuse, a woman whose son committed suicide after being abused as a teenager, and an attorney for victims spoke Wednesday outside the St. Louis office of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley. They called for a grand jury investigation similar to one in Pennsylvania that uncovered more than 1,000 cases of abuse.

David Clohessy of St. Louis, a longtime victims’ rights advocate who was abused as a child, says more than 170 priests in Missouri have been accused in recent decades.

Hawley’s office has said it doesn’t have jurisdiction to launch an investigation, but the victims’ advocates disagree.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) – Priest sex abuse victims are demanding that Missouri and Kansas officials conduct a comprehensive investigation into clergy misconduct and cover-ups similar to the one that revealed widespread problems in Pennsylvania.

Rebecca Randles, who has represented hundreds of victims in priest sexual abuse lawsuits, made the case for the investigation at a news conference Monday with four men who said they had been sexually abused.

Randles said the findings of the Pennsylvania investigation were “shocking” and led her to sit down to try to figure out how many priests in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas had been similarly abusive. She came up with 230 names. But she said only a handful of priests have been charged and one bishop punished.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

Troubled Medicaid contractor Maximus could soon have a new contract with Kansas officials that pays it more to do less.

State officials say that appears to be the price of getting the job of processing applications for the privatized Medicaid program, KanCare, done right.

The deal would also penalize Maximus millions of dollars for past problems, most centered around long waiting periods created by the contractor’s backlogs.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Jeff Andersen on Tuesday told a committee of lawmakers overseeing KanCare that Maximus initially underbid to secure the contract.

“In many cases, Maximus was not adequately staffed,” Andersen said. “In some cases, you get what you pay for.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Maximus said the company’s bid was based on the original contract proposal, but the scope of the work has expanded over several years.

“As a result, Maximus has funded significant financial investments in additional resources,” the statement said.

Some 400,000 Kansans are enrolled in KanCare, which manages the delivery of care to low-income, elderly and disabled.

The current contract with Maximus runs out at the end of this year. Andersen said the state and Maximus had reached a new agreement that extends through the middle of 2019, with the option to add another six months. The new contract has yet to be finalized and signed.

Under the plan, Andersen said the state would take back some responsibilities, including training and processing some of the most difficult claims.

In the end, the state will take on an added cost of $2 million in the current fiscal year to cover both the cost of its new duties and the steeper payments to Maximus.

“Technically, we will pay Maximus more, because we need to do the job right,” Andersen said.

Republicans and a Democrat on the committee expressed frustration at the idea of sending more money to the company after the past problems.

Democratic Sen. Laura Kelly, her party’s nominee for governor, said the plan rewards Maximus for initially underbidding for the job.

“Now we’re saying, ‘OK, we’ll go ahead and pay you what you really should have been getting paid, and we’ll pay you the same or more for doing less,’” she said. “That just makes no sense.”

Republican Rep. Dan Hawkins echoed those concerns, calling the agreement “kind of weird.”

The short timeframe before the current contract expires necessitates the move, Andersen said. He took over the job in January, when the issues with Maximus were already entrenched.

“We have a good long-term plan,” he said. “There’s some short-term pain to get out of this hole.”

As part of the negotiations, the state will not sue Maximus. Andersen said the new agreement would include more accountability measures and Kansas would be entitled to up to $10 million in concessions for past problems.

Maximus said it’s ready to continue work with the state.

“We have made meaningful progress on our performance,” the company statement said. “We are committed to continuing to process applications timely and accurately.”

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A man has been charged with killing his ex-girlfriend and two others last year during a drug deal in Kansas City.

Twenty-seven-year-old Deaundre Brown, of Kansas City, was charged Monday in a warrant with three counts of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Prosecutors say he killed his ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old Yessenia Ahumada, along with 30-year-old Jennifer Zimmerman Portillo and her husband, Victor Portillo, in November.

A police detective wrote in the probable cause statement that a witness said Brown wanted to buy 20 pounds of marijuana from Portillo.

But Portillo didn’t have that much and told Brown to return the next morning. Police say the shooting happened during that meeting.

The witness said Ahumada was to receive $2,000 for setting up what was supposed to be a $30,000 sale.