SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been convicted in the stabbing death of a woman in a Sedalia apartment.
Justin Lewis photo Greene Co.
Pettis County jurors found Justin Lewis, of Lincoln, guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the January 2018 death of 33-year-old Heather McClellan.
Sedalia police Officer Bradley Arnold says he found McClellan lying on the floor in a blood-soaked shirt, gasping for air when he responded. Emergency crews took her to a hospital where she died. Court documents say she had eight stab wounds and a slit throat.
The prosecution’s case focused on witness testimony and DNA evidence found on Lewis’ shoes. The defense said law enforcement conducted a “lazy, sloppy investigation.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds gathered in Kansas to remember a Washburn University football player who was killed in a shooting that also wounded a friend who had been drafted hours earlier by the New York Giants.
Coach Craig Schurig said at Tuesday’s vigil for 23-year-old Dwane Simmons that the football field was his “piece of heaven.” The coach compared Simmons, a junior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, to the candles carried by mourners, saying he “shined the light on everybody.” The university plans to create a scholarship named for Simmons.
A GoFundMe T-shirt fundraiser will provide 100 percent of the proceeds for the Simmons family, according to Washburn Athletics.
The shooting early Sunday outside an off-campus party also injured cornerback Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants drafted Saturday in the sixth round. The university says Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. No one has been arrested.
Scattered thunderstorms are once again expected this evening as another round of rainfall develops over the lower Missouri Valley. While the overall severe weather chances remain low, some storms may produce large hail south of the Kansas City Metro. In addition to the isolated hail threat, flash flooding will also remain a concern this evening as localized heavy rains fall over already saturated soils. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Cloudy, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Cloudy, with a low around 51. North wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7 a.m., then a slight chance of showers between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. North wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday Night: A slight chance of showers after 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. East northeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday: A chance of showers, mainly before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. East northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 73.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers after 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 76.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Monday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. government searches of travelers’ cellphones and laptops at airports and border crossings nearly quadrupled since 2015 and are being conducted for reasons beyond customs and immigration enforcement, according to papers filed Tuesday in a federal lawsuit that claims going through electronic devices without a warrant is unconstitutional.
Photo courtesy Kansas City International Airport
The government has vigorously defended the searches, which rose to 33,295 in fiscal 2018, as a critical tool to protect America. But the newly filed documents claim the scope of the warrantless searches has expanded to enforce tax, bankruptcy, environmental and consumer protection laws, gather intelligence and advance ongoing law enforcement investigations.
Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement consider requests from other government agencies in determining whether to search travelers’ electronic devices, the court papers said. They added that agents are searching the electronic devices of not only targeted individuals but their associates, friends and relatives.
The new information about the searches was included in a motion the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
“The evidence we have presented the court shows that the scope of ICE and CBP border searches is unconstitutionally broad,” said Adam Schwartz, senior staff attorney for the EFF, based in San Francisco.
“ICE and CBP policies and practices allow unfettered, warrantless searches of travelers’ digital devices and empower officers to dodge the Fourth Amendment when rifling through highly personal information contained on laptops and phones,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. Both ICE and CBP said they did not comment on pending litigation.
When the suit was filed against the government in 2017, DHS officials said U.S. citizens and everyone else are subject to examination and search by customs officials, unless exempted by diplomatic status. The department has contended that no court has concluded that border searches of electronic devices require a warrant. Searches, some random, have uncovered evidence of human trafficking, terrorism, child pornography, visa fraud, export control breaches and intellectual property rights violations, according to the department.
The original case was filed on behalf of 10 American citizens and a lawful permanent resident from seven states who alleged the searches violated their constitutional rights. They asked the court to rule that the government must have a warrant based on probable cause before searching electronic devices at airports and other U.S. ports of entry.
A year ago, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston rejected the government’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to move forward. The ACLU and the foundation began gathering documents and deposition testimony. Based on the new information, they filed a motion Tuesday asking the judge to rule in their favor without a trial.
“This new evidence reveals that the government agencies are using the pretext of the border to make an end run around the First and Fourth Amendments,” said ACLU attorney Esha Bhandari. “The border is not a lawless place. ICE and CBP are not exempt from the Constitution and the information on our electronic devices is not devoid of Fourth Amendment protections. We are asking the court to stop these unlawful searches and require the government to get a warrant.”
The court documents claim that the agencies also assert the authority to search electronic devices when the subject of interest is someone other than the traveler, such as the business partner of someone under investigation. Both agencies also allow officers to retain information from travelers’ electronic devices and share it with other government entities, including state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies, the court papers claim.
NODAWAY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 4p.m. Tuesday in Nodaway County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 GMC Yukon driven by Christi D. Bradshaw, 49, Conception, was southbound on. U.S. 136 two miles south of Ravenwood. The vehicle traveled off the road, became airborne over a drainage ditch, struck an embankment and overturned.
Nodaway County EMS transported Bradshaw to Mosaic Life Care. The MSHP did not have details on her seat belt usage.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A severe thunderstorm has spawned tornadoes that downed power lines and trees in parts of southwest Missouri.
Storm damage Tuesday photo courtesy KYTV
National Weather Service meteorologist Kelsey Angle says tornadoes were reported Tuesday afternoon near Wheaton, Rocky Comfort, Miller and Stella in southwest Missouri.
Angle says preliminary reports indicate some outbuildings were damaged.
David Compton, emergency management coordinator in Barry County, says one or two homes in Wheaton were damaged and several trees and power lines were down. He had no reports of injuries.
The line of storms is carrying heavy rain, hail and the possibility of more tornadoes as it moves east.
Numerous roads remain closed around the area due to flooding with numerous areal flood and river warning now in effect. pic.twitter.com/w0HwpVAFod
RAY COUNTY — Three people died in an accident just after 4p.m. Tuesday in Ray County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Buick Encore driven by Kara N. Frisch 24, Polo, was eastbound on Highway D just east of Highway C.
The vehicle traveled off the road, struck a tree, overturned and caught fire.
Frisch, Bradley S. Ahart, 42, Kingston and Andrew M. Fleming, 26, Polo, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Frontier Forensics Center in Kansas City.
The MSHP did not have information on their seat belt usage.
FULTON, Mo. (AP) — A staff member at a Missouri elementary school is charged with enticement of a child.
Davonte Kyles-photo Callaway Co.
The Callaway County prosecuting attorney on Tuesday charged 23-year-old Davonte Kyles, who worked at Auxvasse Elementary School in the North Callaway School district. He also was a middle school track coach.
Authorities said Kyles had inappropriate contact with a student at the school. According to court records, the child was a female younger than 15.
The girl told investigators she exchanged social media messages with Kyles since October 2018.
The sheriff’s department said in a Facebook post that further charges are possible and no further information would be released.
Kyles remains in jail on $40,000 bond. Online court records don’t list an attorney for Kyles.
NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s U.S. House delegation called Tuesday for an independent investigation into the heatstroke death of a Kansas community college football player from their state.
Bradforth and his mother after his graduation from Neptune High School -courtesy Joanne Atkins-Ingram
The state’s 12 representatives wrote to Garden City Community College President Ryan Ruda requesting the probe of 19-year-old Braeden Bradforth’s death.
Bradforth, who was a defensive lineman from Neptune High School, died in August about an hour and a half after practice. An autopsy report from December blamed his death on exertional heatstroke.
School administrators said last year they were conducting an internal review of the circumstances of his death.
Messages seeking comment have been left with the college.
New Jersey’s representatives — 11 Democrats and one Republican — say the probe should at least review health and safety practices at the school.
“Most regrettably, the Bradforth family’s tragedy is not the first of its kind. Exertional heat stroke is one of the top three causes of sudden death in athletes, yet it is preventable,” the lawmakers wrote.
Bradforth was found unconscious by an athletic trainer outside his dorm room Aug. 1. He died that night at a hospital.
Bradforth is the second Garden City football player to die in two years. Sean Callahan, 19, a sophomore offensive lineman, died at a home in Kismet, Kansas, in May 2017 of what a sheriff’s office called natural causes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is proposing charging asylum seekers a fee to process their applications as he continues to try to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants seeking to cross into the U.S.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan described the border crisis, telling a House subcommittee Tuesday that his department was running out of money and out of resources for dealing with the mass of people coming to the border-photo CSPAN
In a presidential memorandum signed Monday, Trump directed his attorney general and acting homeland security secretary to take additional measures to overhaul the asylum system, which he insists “is in crisis” and plagued by “rampant abuse.”
The changes are just the latest in a series of proposals from an administration that is struggling to cope with a surge of migrant families arriving at the southern border that has overwhelmed federal resources and complicated Trump’s efforts to claim victory at the border as he runs for re-election. Most of those arriving say they are fleeing violence and poverty, and many request asylum under U.S. and international law.
As part of the memo, Trump is giving officials 90 days to come up with new regulations to ensure that applications are adjudicated within 180 days of filing, except under exceptional circumstances.
And he is directing officials to begin charging a fee to process asylum and employment authorization applications, which do not currently require payment.
The White House and Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to questions about how much applicants might be forced to pay, and it is unclear how many families fleeing poverty would be able to afford such a payment.
A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, at a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, said he had no information on the fees and other measures in the proposal from Trump. But seeking asylum, spokesman Charlie Yaxley said, “is a fundamental human right, and people should be allowed to exercise those rights when seeking to seek asylum.”
Trump’s memo says the price would not exceed the cost of processing applications, but officials did not immediately provide an estimate for what that might be.
Trump also wants to bar anyone who has entered or tried to enter the country illegally from receiving a provisional work permit and is calling on officials to immediately revoke work authorizations when people are denied asylum and ordered removed from the country.
The Republican president also is calling on Homeland Security to reassign immigration officers and any other staff “to improve the integrity of adjudications of credible and reasonable fear claims, to strengthen the enforcement of the immigration laws, and to ensure compliance with the law by those aliens who have final orders of removal.”
Arrests along the southern border have skyrocketed in recent months, with border agents making more than 100,000 arrests or denials of entry in March, a 12-year high.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in early April amid Trump’s increasing frustration over how many Central American families were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan took over as acting head of the department.
