TOPEKA— A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday against a Topeka man who is accused of driving a getaway car in two armed robberies, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Justin Alexander McClelland, 30, Topeka, Kan., is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting robbery and two counts of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a robbery. The first robbery count alleges McClelland took part in a robbery on Jan. 6, 2017, at Plato’s Closet, 1580 S.W. Wanamaker Road in Topeka. The second robbery count alleges he took part in a robbery on Jan. 20, 2017, at Kentucky Fried Chicken, 1812 N.W. Topeka Boulevard in Topeka.

Joshua Alexander Musgraves, 24, Topeka, was charged in the same robberies. He pleaded guilty and he is set for sentencing May 14. The Topeka Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

McClelland has previous convictions for drugs, criminal threat, domestic battery and obstruction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bipartisan group of Kansas lawmakers is pushing to restore job protections for public school teachers that conservative legislators previously stripped from them.

The House gave first-round approval Wednesday to a bill that would guarantee tenure for thousands of teachers statewide. The 72-48 vote advances the measure to another, final vote Thursday.

The bill would require school districts that do not want to renew a three-year teacher’s contract to allow the teacher to have the matter decided by an independent hearing officer.

Teachers statewide had such a right before conservative Republicans enacted a 2014 law leaving the issue to local school boards and most decided against such reviews.

GOP conservatives argued that the change made firing bad teachers easier. But the bill’s supporters said Kansas needs to respect teachers.

EUGENE, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in the rubble of a mid-Missouri farm house after a fire.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that the Miller County home was engulfed in flames when firefighters responded Tuesday night. It took crews 45 minutes to extinguish the blaze, and the woman’s body was found in a back bedroom. Her name wasn’t immediately released.

Firefighters were called back to the home early Wednesday for a report of an explosion and fire at the same address. The first arriving units found the structure had collapsed, and what was left was in flames.

The Miller County sheriff and coroner were notified of the fire, along with the state fire marshal.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – The Interfraternity Council for the University of Missouri has announced that it is halting all new-member activities in response to hazing allegations.

The Columbia Missourian reports that the Tuesday announcement on Twitter says the activities will be paused until March 19.

IFC official Matthew Oxendale declined in an email to name any specific fraternities, citing an active investigation. The investigation is a joint effort between national fraternity headquarters and the university’s Office of Student Accountability and Support.

Oxendale says regular chapter activities will continue as normal.

A consulting firm released a report last year critical of the university’s Greek life and hazing practices. At least 14 fraternities were placed on probation between April 2015 and October 2016.

University spokesman Christian Basi says the school appreciates IFC’s commitment to student safet

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials with the Kansas Department for Children and Families are pushing a transparency bill amid criticism of the state’s handling of abuse-related child deaths.

The House Judiciary Committee heard on Tuesday a bill proposed by Gov. Jeff Colyer that would require the release of basic information after an abuse-related child death.

The Department for Children and Families disclosures would include a summary of previous reports of mistreatment, the department’s recommendation of services for a child, date of the fatality and the child’s age and gender.

Shayla Johnston is an attorney representing the family of Evan Brewer, a deceased Wichita boy whose case documents agency officials admitted to altering. Johnston says the bill is a smoke-and-mirror attempt to obscure the state’s failure to prevent abuse-related deaths.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has added another attorney to his defense team as he fights an invasion-of-privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that attorney Scott Rosenblum is joining Greitens’ legal team.

Rosenblum has represented the rapper Nelly, former Rams football player Leonard Little and former state Rep. John Bowman in past criminal cases.

Greitens already is represented by several members of the Dowd Bennett law firm and attorney Jack Garvey, a former St. Louis circuit judge.

The Republican governor is accused of taking a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman in March 2015 and transmitting it in a way that could be accessed by a computer. He has acknowledged an affair, but his attorneys say he is innocent of the criminal charge.

CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of three Missouri police officers (all times local):

11:10 a.m.

Authorities say a 37-year-old man is the suspect in a shooting that killed one Missouri police officer and wounded two other officers.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the suspect in a tweet Wednesday as James Waters, of Clinton. He was found dead early Wednesday in a Clinton home where the officers were shot hours earlier while trying to apprehend him.

The suspect in the killing of Clinton, MO, Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton has been identified as James E. Waters, 37, from Clinton. #ClintonPD

— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) March 7, 2018

 

The slain Clinton officer was identified as 30-year-old Christopher Ryan Morton. One of the wounded officers is hospitalized with moderate injuries, and the other has minor injuries.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg says the officers went to the home in Clinton on Tuesday night in response to a 911 call in which a disturbance could be heard. Clinton is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

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8:30 a.m.

Authorities say a Missouri police officer killed in a shooting that wounded two other officers served with “distinction.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol tweet ed Wednesday that Christopher Ryan Morton was a full-time Clinton police officer from February 2015 through January 2017, when he temporarily became a reserve officer. He returned to full-time duty last September, one month after another Clinton officer was shot and killed.

Morton was fatally shot Tuesday night while trying to apprehend a suspect at a home. One of the wounded officers is hospitalized with moderate injuries and the other has minor injuries. The patrol says a SWAT team entered the home early Wednesday but found the suspect dead.

Clinton, with about 8,800 residents, is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

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8 a.m.

Authorities say a man shot and killed a police officer and wounded two others at a home in Missouri.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg says the officers went to the home in Clinton on Tuesday night in response to a 911 call in which a disturbance could be heard.

Clinton, MO, Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, served with distinction for the citizens of Clinton as a full-time Police Officer from 2/12/2015 until 1/10/2017. He stayed with the department as reserve officer until he returned again to full time duty 9/24/2017. #ClintonPD pic.twitter.com/3XCzgL5kUK

— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) March 7, 2018

The patrol says shots were fired at the officers soon after they arrived at the home at around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Clinton Officer Christopher Ryan Morton was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. One of the wounded officers is hospitalized with moderate injuries and the other has minor injuries.

The patrol says a SWAT team entered the home at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday but found the suspect dead.

Stosberg says the cause of the suspect’s death is under investigation. A woman also was taken into custody at the home.

Clinton is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

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CLINTON, Mo. (AP) — Officials say a police officer was killed and two other officers injured after responding to a Missouri residence.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said during a news conference that the Clinton County 911 center received a call Tuesday evening at 9:20 where two women could be heard screaming in the background. Clinton Police officers responded.

Update – Officer Involved Shooting in Clinton, Missouri: Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, was shot and killed in the line of duty on March 6, 2018. #ClintonPD #UltimateSacrifice

— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) March 7, 2018

Shortly after their arrival Lowe says the officers were shot at by the suspect from inside the residence. Lowe says officers went inside in an attempt to apprehend the suspect who then fatally shot one officer and wounded the others. They were transported to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.

Lowe says a SWAT team entered the residence but found the suspect dead at 12:10 a.m.

No further details were released.