OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a fatal police shooting in Overland Park was justified.
Law enforcement authorities on the scene of the weekend fatal shooting-photo by Grady Reid courtesy KCTV
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe and Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez announced Tuesday that no charges will be filed against officers involved in the Jan. 20 shooting of 17-year-old John Albers.
Police have said that Albers was shot by officers as he drove a car out of his family’s garage toward a police officer.
Officers were called to the home after receiving a call from someone who saw the teenager on FaceTime and believed he was suicidal.
First responders on the scene of the investigation-image courtesy KYTV
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Springfield police are investigating after someone passing by a wooded area spotted skeletal remains.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that the remains were found Monday afternoon in southwest Springfield. A witness told police he saw bones in a line of trees.
Police have not yet identified the victim or determined a cause of death. An evidence collection vehicle was on the scene Monday while detectives wore protective suits at the crime scene.
St. Joseph Police are urging caution Tuesday morning as overnight freezing rain has created slick conditions on some roads.
The St. Joseph Police Department, in a Nixle alert issued around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, urged motorists to use caution on 59 Highway from the St. Joseph City limits to Atchison due to slick roads.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – A popular music festival in suburban Kansas City is suspending operation this year because it lacks sufficient sponsors.
The Kansas City Star reports that Jazz in the Woods organizers hope to bring it back in 2019, but only if a major corporate sponsor steps forward. The event has taken place for the past 28 years in Corporate Woods and was put on by volunteers with the Overland Park South Rotary Club.
The jazz festival cost more than $200,000 to produce. Club president Theresa Jones says sponsorship came up short this year, while expenses for staging the concert and insurance kept going up.
Temperatures will remain nearly steady overnight as a front stalls southeast of Kansas City, meaning that currently below-freezing temperatures are not expected to recover before the next batch of rain moves in during the early morning hours. Road temperatures will also fall, allowing untreated roads and elevated surfaces to become very slick and making travel hazardous in the Advisory area as freezing rain falls. Ice accumulations up to a few tenths of an inch are expected in the Winter Weather Advisory area. Elsewhere, temperatures will remain mainly above freezing. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Cloudy. Freezing rain in the morning, then a chance of freezing rain possibly mixed with sleet early in the afternoon. Much colder. No sleet accumulation. Ice accumulation of up to two tenths of an inch. Highs in the upper 20s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 15. North winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 30s. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Cloudy. Chance of snow showers in the evening, then snow showers possibly mixed with freezing rain after midnight. Lows in the lower 20s. Northeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Thursday: Cloudy. Chance of freezing rain in the morning, then a chance of rain showers possibly mixed with freezing rain in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 30s. East winds around 10 mph in the morning becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
Thursday Night: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers possibly mixed with freezing rain. Lows in the upper 20s.
Friday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
Friday Night And Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers and snow showers. Lows in the lower 30s. Highs in the mid 40s.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s.
Sunday Through Monday: Mostly clear. Highs around 50. Lows in the upper 20s.
Crews on the scene of Monday’s fire in Topeka-photo courtesy WIBW TV
TOPEKA — One person was injured in a fire Monday in Shawnee County.
Just after 3p.m., fire crews responded to a home in the 3200 Block of Skyline Drive in Topeka.
Upon arrival, fire crews found the two-story wooden frame residential structure with smoke showing. Firefighters began an offensive fire attack keeping it confined to the structure of fire origin. All occupants made it outside of the house before firefighters’ arrival.
Firefighters performed a search of the structure and confirmed there was nobody left inside. One infant patient was transported by AMR from the scene to a local hospital for injuries sustained from the fire.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. They reported the fire damage was $40,000 to the structure and $10,000 contents loss. There were no working smoke detectors in the home at the time of the fire, according to fire officials.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri House has passed a bill to ban marriages of children under 15 years old.
House members voted 95-50 Monday to send the bill to the Senate. Backers say it would help stop abuse through coerced marriages, while opponents argue it would take away parents’ rights to decide whether to allow their children to marry.
Children ages 15-17 now can get married with a parent’s permission. Those younger than 15 need approval from a judge.
The bill would require 15-17 year olds to get a judge’s approval following a court hearing. Children 14 years old or younger couldn’t marry.
The measure would also ban marriages if one partner is at least 21 years old and the other is younger than 17.
KANSAS CITY – Two Kansas City men were convicted by a federal trial jury of charges related to the kidnapping and murder of another man, according to Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Ross-photo Mo. Dept. of Corrections
Raynal King, 26, and Howard R. Ross, III, also known as “Lil’ Howard” and “Shooter,” 23, both of Kansas City, were found guilty of multiple counts related to the carjacking, kidnapping and murder of Jaime Patton on Sept. 6, 2016.
King and Ross were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of aiding and abetting a kidnapping resulting in death, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a kidnapping that resulted in a first degree felony murder, one count of robbery of a motor vehicle (carjacking) resulting in death, one count of using a firearm in furtherance of carjacking that resulted in a first degree felony murder, and one count of aiding and abetting each other as felons in the possession of a firearm.
Patton was returning home from the hospital, where he had been caring for a family member, sometime after 5 a.m. that day when King and Ross kidnapped him and stole his 2014 Jeep Patriot. They held Patton at gunpoint and drove him around in his Jeep to ATM machines, attempting to force him to provide his PIN number for his debit card so they could withdraw cash from his bank account.
Patton was unable to provide a working PIN number to withdraw cash. While held at gunpoint by King and Ross in the Mazuma Credit Union parking lot, he called his wife to obtain the working PIN number, but he was unable to do so. King and Ross became upset with the lack of cooperation from Patton and shot him in his upper thigh to make sure he knew they were not playing around.
King and Ross then drove Patton in his Jeep south on Holmes Road while they discussed what to do with him. At approximately 6:30 a.m., shortly after traveling south on Holmes Road through the intersection with 135th Street and further out of the city, Patton jumped out of his Jeep while it was moving. Patton was shot multiple times while attempting to jump and he fell to the roadway. King and Ross then fled from the area in Patton’s Jeep, leaving him to die on the side of the road.
According to evidence introduced during the trial, King and Ross began planning to commit a robbery a couple of days earlier. King had recently purchased a silver Pontiac Grand Prix but was unable to make his car payments or pay the sales tax fees. Text messages between King and Ross (recovered from their phones) shows that only days before the kidnapping King communicated with Ross about his problems and about a potential robbery.
Ross, who was on state probation for robbery at the time of the crime, was held in the Jackson County Jail after his arrest. While in the Jackson County Jail, Ross made multiple recorded phone calls to others regarding disposing of various items of evidence. Ross discussed with friends and family the location of his iPhone, which led to search warrants and the recovery of Ross’s iPhone and further evidence on his iPhone.
Investigators recovered evidence from Ross’s iPhone that showed weeks before the kidnapping Ross had a Springfield Armory .45-caliber pistol. Patton was murdered with a .45-caliber bullet. Ross took photos of himself carrying the pistol; he messaged those photos to others and posted photos on social media sites. Shortly after the murder, Ross attempted to sell the pistol to an acquaintance.
When forensic examiners were able to search King’s Android phone, several messages, photographs, and relevant Internet searches were recovered as evidence. King took photos of the stolen Jeep and messaged with others in an attempt to sell the Jeep to obtain sufficient money to make his own car payment on his Silver Pontiac Grand Prix before it would be repossessed.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for just under three hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.
Under federal statutes, King and Ross each face mandatory life imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Republican Party has voted to oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity.
The party’s state committee endorsed the statement after a debate on human sexuality at the party’s annual meeting during the weekend.
The resolution says God’s design for gender is determined by biological sex and not by self-perception. It opposes surgical or hormonal efforts to alter a person’s body to conform with gender identity.
Eric Teetsel, president of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, sponsored the statement. He says the resolution was prompted by love and noted it recognizes the dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
LGBT advocates criticized the resolution. Equality Kansas director Tom Witt called it an undignified and crass assault and a cheap election year attack.
