SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged battery, kidnapping and have made an arrest.
Just after 11p.m. Monday, police responded to a home in the 2400 Block of SW 24th Street in Topeka, according to Lt. Chris Heaven.
Harris-photo Shawnee County
Witnesses told police man was seen arguing with and dragging a woman through a yard as she yelled for help. They also pointed out the residence where the man dragged the woman.
Officers went to the home to check the welfare of the woman. As officers approached the residence, she ran out the front door, to the officers, according to Heaven. She was transported to the Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed by a detective.
The two were found to be boyfriend and girlfriend. The woman had been the victim of Domestic Battery and was forcibly dragged into the home by the man, according to her statement to police.
The man, later identified as Cain Harris, 27, Topeka, was initially reluctant to exit the residence but after some time and discussion with the officers came out on his own accord.
Police transported Harris to the Department of Corrections on charges of Aggravated Kidnapping and Domestic Battery.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Latest on the arrest of a water park company’s co-owner in Texas in connection to a Kansas criminal case
The family of a 10-year-old Kansas boy killed on what was promoted as the world’s largest waterslide says a criminal indictment shows that issues with the water park company “go far beyond” the boy’s death.
The family of Caleb Schwab released a statement in reaction to a 20-count indictment released last week of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and one of its co-owners.
Another co-owner, Jeffrey Henry, was arrested Monday and booked into a Texas jail on suspicion of murder, child endangerment and other charges. He’s expected in court Tuesday.
The Schwab family says they have “full faith and trust” in Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and know he’ll “take appropriate steps in the interest of public safety.”
Caleb was killed in August 2016 while riding the waterslide at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The indictment released last week alleges the slide met few, if any, industry standards and that necessary repairs were avoided or delayed.
Henry-photo Cameron Co. Sheriff
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of a water park company’s co-owner in Texas in connection to a Kansas criminal case (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
A Texas judge has ordered the co-owner of a water park company held without bond as a criminal case proceeds in the death of a 10-year-old boy at one of the company’s parks in Kansas.
Victoria Cisneros, spokeswoman for the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, says 62-year-old Jeffrey Henry appeared for a hearing Tuesday.
She says county prosecutors asked that Henry be held without bond at the request of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Henry was earlier being held on a $500,000 bond. He’s facing charges in Kansas of murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment.
Henry will remain at the Cameron County jail in far South Texas as he awaits extradition to Kansas. Cisneros didn’t immediately have details on when extradition may occur.
Henry’s arrest Monday follows a Kansas grand jury’s indictment last week of the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and a former operations director on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Caleb Schwab in 2016.
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8:45 a.m.
Jail records show the co-owner of a Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy died on a giant water slide is being held in Texas on suspicion of murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment.
Cameron County jail’s brief online records cite a “Kansas agency” in the booking charges against Jeffrey Henry. The records don’t provide any detail, but a spokeswoman for the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, said Monday that Henry had been arrested in the 2016 death of Caleb Schwab.
The office of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt hasn’t responded to phone calls and emails seeking details about possible charges against Henry. The Kansas indictment is sealed.
A Cameron County booking clerk says Henry is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
A Kansas grand jury last week indicted Schlitterbahn and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter in Caleb’s death.
Henry is co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts. Online jail records did not list an attorney for him.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A water park company’s co-owner was expected to appear in court after his arrest in Texas in connection with a Kansas criminal case arising from a 10-year-old boy’s death on what was promoted as the world’s largest waterslide.
Records show that Jeffrey Henry, co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was booked into the jail in Cameron County, Texas. He was being held without bond, and a jail booking clerk said he would remain there until a court appearance Tuesday.
Henry’s arrest Monday follows a Kansas grand jury’s indictment last week of the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges. They included a single count of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Caleb Schwab in 2016.
Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said that considering last week’s indictment, the company is not surprised by Henry’s arrest. The company also promised to aggressively fight the criminal charges against Miles and the park, and respond to the allegations in the 47-page indictment “point by point.”
“We as a company and as a family will fight these allegations and have confidence that once the facts are presented it will be clear that what happened on the ride was an unforeseeable accident,” she said in an emailed statement.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking further comment, details about Henry’s arrest, or information about exactly what criminal charges he faces. The Kansas City Star reported that Henry was taken into custody by U.S. marshals out of Brownsville, Texas.
Prosapio said Schlitterbahn does not expect any changes to the Kansas City park’s season, which is set to open May 25 and run through Labor Day. The big slide there — Verruckt, or German for “insane” — has been closed since Caleb died.
The boy was decapitated after the raft on which he was riding went airborne. He was the son of Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab, of Olathe, and the family reached settlements of nearly $20 million with Schlitterbahn and various companies associated with the design and construction of the waterslide.
The two women who rode with Caleb suffered serious injuries and settled claims with Schlitterbahn for an undisclosed amount.
Miles-photo Wyandotte Co.
The indictment against Miles and the park alleges that Verruckt met few, if any, industry standards and that Miles delayed or avoided necessary repairs, even after the ride’s brake system failed.
The indictment also said Henry helped design the giant waterslide even though he had “no technical or engineering credentials” and that he set a “rushed timeline” for its construction.
Schlitterbahn said last week’s indictment is “full of false information,” and the company also rejected its allegations that Miles and the company withheld information from law enforcement officials. It said the allegation that Caleb’s death was foreseeable is “beyond the pale of speculation.”
Miles’ attorneys said in their own statement that they welcome the opportunity to prove his innocence in court.
“Not only had Tyler ridden the slide numerous times, but, as the State is aware, he had scheduled his wife, to ride it on the day of the accident,” the attorneys, Tom and Tricia Bath, said in their statement. “These are not the actions of someone who believed the ride to be dangerous.”
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas water park’s operator says it will open again as scheduled this spring and aggressively contest criminal charges arising from a 10-year-old boy’s death on a giant slide.
Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in a statement Monday that a grand jury indictment’s allegation that the 2016 accident was foreseeable is “beyond the pale of speculation.”
The company also promised to respond to the allegations in the indictment “point by point” in coming weeks.
A Wyandotte County grand jury indicted the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and former executive Tyler Miles on 20 felony charges. Miles’ attorneys also said he is innocent.
The charges include involuntary manslaughter in the death of Caleb Schwab in August 2016. He was decapitated on the Verruckt waterslide touted as the world’s largest.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is broadening his inquiry into the Mississippi County jail and the county’s former sheriff.
The investigation, announced in a report released Tuesday, comes after Hawley’s office decided not to charge former Sheriff Cory Hutcheson with homicide in connection with the death of inmate Tory Sanders. Sanders died in May after several officers forced their way into his cell. Medical experts concluded that Sanders died because of a medical condition known as “excited delirium,” and not as a result of the officers’ attempts to subdue him, according to the report.
Sanders is the third person to die in the jail over the past few years, and Hawley’s office says those deaths warrant a broader civil and criminal inquiry into Hutcheson and the jail.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have approved tougher penalties for making false calls to police three months after an officer fatally shot a Wichita man during a deadly hoax emergency call.
The bill makes fake calls that result in death a felony comparable to second-degree murder. Any false call for emergency help would be at least a misdemeanor, becoming a felony if the caller uses a fake identity or electronically masks their identity.
Finch-photo courtesy Hillside Funeral Home
The practice is known as “swatting,” and occurs when someone makes a call to police with a false story of an ongoing crime in an attempt to draw a large number of police officers to a particular address.
The bill is named the Andrew Finch Act, after the man killed by Wichita police as they responded to a hoax emergency call in December that they thought was a hostage situation. The legislation was championed by his mother, Lisa Finch.
“Perhaps passing this bill will give her a little bit of peace,” Sen. Lynn Rogers, D-Wichita,
The bill is headed to Gov. Jeff Colyer after the Legislature passed it on Tuesday. The Senate approved House Bill 2581 on a 40-0 vote. The House approved it unanimously in February. The governor has 10 days after receiving legislation to sign or veto it.
Rogers read a statement from Lisa Finch on the Senate floor: “He loved his children the most and he was dedicated to making sure his family and the others he let into his life were comfortable and felt safe. He was everyone’s protector.”
Tyler Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles, has been charged with manslaughter in Finch’s death for allegedly making the bogus call.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would allow the State Fair to leave the city of Hutchinson after more than 100 years.
Rep. Schroeder
State Rep. Don Schroeder, R-Hesston, said the bill proposed Monday was inspired by the people “involved” with the fair who are unhappy with the city. He declined to identify anyone by name.
Schroeder said one of the contributing factors to the dissatisfaction is the city’s stormwater fees, which jumped to approximately $50,000 per year.
“Obviously, it’s not anyone that serves on the fair board,” said State Fair Board President Virginia Crossland-Macha about those who inspired the bill.
She said the board hasn’t discussed moving from Hutchinson.
“I don’t know where this comes from,” she said.
Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff said he also was “a little perplexed” by the legislation.
“We’re just not sure what’s driving this,” Deardoff said.
If passed, the bill would require the fair’s board to request proposals from other cities in Kansas to host the event. The board would also be required to submit a report detailing the results of the proposals to several legislative committees on or before Jan. 11, 2020.
State Reps. Steven Becker and Jason Probst, and state Sen. Ed Berger oppose the bill, saying Hutchinson is a perfect location for the fair.
“It is concerning to me, for sure,” said Becker.
Probst said the city has been managing the annual influx of the State Fairground’s visitors “very well” for more than a century. He added that it would be costly for a potential host city and for the state to replicate the fairgrounds.
The St. Joseph School District Board of Education voted Monday night to approve pay-to-participate, with some changes.
Before passing, an amendment was made to the plan which kept the high school fees at $35 instead of raising it to the recommended $50. A fee for middle school pay-to-participate was set at $25.
St. Joseph School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Newhart said the middle school fee is expected to generate $12,000.
“It’s a drop in the bucket and we don’t want to nickel and dime this thing, that’s not our approach to it, but when you look at all the other cuts and all the other programs, academically, that we’ve made, to not have included activities in some shape or form would have been not diligent on our part,” Newhart said. “It’s not the amount, in this case, currently, I wasn’t as concerned about that. It’s the sustainability and getting the ownership from parents and students that there is a cost to this program. So if that is communicated, we’ll be better off in the long run.”
According to Board of Education Vice President Lori Prussman, the $25 middle school fee will help cover the Missouri State High School Activities Association fees.
Lawmakers in the Kansas House rejected an effort Monday to allow medical marijuana in the state.
But they advanced a plan to allow the sale of some products made from cannabis — if the high-producing compounds have been removed.
Hemp oil, the part of marijuana that doesn’t produce a high, may get approved for use in Kansas. FILE PHOTO / HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA
The discussion over legalizing cannabis for medical purposes came as lawmakers considered regular updates to the state’s drug laws.
Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher offered an amendment that would have created a medical marijuana system in Kansas.
She said that her daughter was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and that the side effects of some of her medications have been severe. Marijuana, she said, might offer some relief.
“Please don’t make us lawbreakers,” Holscher said. “Give us an option for something that has been proven to work.”
Marijuana offered a safer alternative to medications such as opioids, Holscher argued.
Republican Rep. Abraham Rafie called research on the issue “noisy.” He said studies had shown medical benefits from medical marijuana use but had also showed dangers of using cannabis.
“There’s a motivation to find what each side wants to see in the research,” Rafie said.
Rafie also raised concerns about other complications from medicinal marijuana, such as greater availability of cannabis to minors and driving under the influence.
Several lawmakers lined up during the debate to offer stories of people fighting cancer or other ailments who could benefit from medical marijuana.
Republican Rep. Troy Waymaster said he had known someone with ovarian cancer who had used medical marijuana to ease pain. However, Waymaster said such a major policy change should not have been brought up through an amendment on the floor.
“I do acknowledge the benefits of it, I’ve seen it,” Waymaster said. “But to bring this forward in a 116-page amendment is not the right process.”
Other supporters of the amendment said the normal process hadn’t given medical marijuana a fair hearing in the legislature. Democratic Rep. Steven Crum serves on the House health committee and said the bill had not been given a chance to advance.
Crum said the proposal had been in the Legislature for multiple years.
“Yes, it’s in a 116-page amendment right now, but we have all had access to read what’s in this plan,” Crum said.
The proposal came up short of the 63 votes needed, failing on a vote of 54-69.
However, the underlying bill advanced. It contained a provision allowing the sale of some products containing a cannabis extract, cannabidiol, commonly called CBD. Those products can’t contain THC, the compound in marijuana that gets people high.
That measure survived a fight in the chamber. Republican Rep. John Barker tried to strike the CBD provision out of the bill. He said the product is illegal under federal law.
He said it would be easy to smuggle illegal THC-containing products into Kansas along with CBD products.
“It could be what we used to call in the old days a bootlegger’s paradise,” Barker said.
That’s not a realistic scenario, said Republican Rep. Willie Dove. He said the factories that manufacture the product are regulated and have oversight.
Republican Rep. Erin Davis said a friend had used the oil to treat seizures in his son, Eli. She said the treatment had cut down on his seizures and allowed Eli to take part in activities he never could before.
“Just this weekend, he participated in a Special Olympics basketball tournament,” Davis said. “Eli went from having several seizures per week to having none.”
House members still need to take a final vote on the bill. If they approve it, there will be conference committee including House and Senate lawmakers. When the legislation passed the Senate it did not include the CBD provision.
The legislation was also amended in committee to remove kratom from the list of illegal drugs. It’s a supplement used by people trying to wean themselves off opioids.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2020 U.S. Census will include a question about citizenship status, a move that brought swift condemnation from Democrats, who said it would intimidate immigrants and discouraging them from responding.
Image courtesy U.S. Census Bureau
The population count taken every 10 years is more than an academic exercise. It’s required by the Constitution and used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House as well as how federal funds are distributed to local communities. It helps communities determine where to build everything from schools and grocery stores to hospitals.
A coalition of state attorneys general urged the department last month to not add such a question, saying it could lower participation among immigrants and cause a population undercount.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the state will sue the Trump administration over its decision.
“We’re prepared to do what we must to protect California from a deficient Census,” he said. “Including a citizenship question on the 2020 census is not just a bad idea — it is illegal.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that adding such a question “will inject fear and distrust into vulnerable communities and cause traditionally undercounted communities to be even further under-represented, financially excluded and left behind.”
The Commerce Department said in a press release Monday that citizenship data will help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting rights. It said that between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form.
Census counts are taken by mail and by workers walking neighborhoods. The Census Bureau says that the 2010 census drew a massive response, with about 74 percent of the households mailing in forms and the remaining households counted by workers in neighborhoods.
Much of the rainy activity from Monday will continue across southern and eastern Missouri today, with just a few showers possible in areas from east central Kansas through central Missouri. This will allow water to begin receding across portions of the region. Temperatures will be a bit cool today, warming up just a little for the rest of the work week. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Cloudy, with a high near 49. North wind 8 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph after midnight.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. North wind 9 to 11 mph.
Thursday Night: A slight chance of showers before 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
Friday Night: A chance of rain showers after 1 a.m., mixing with snow after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: A chance of snow showers before 7 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Sunday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29.
