The crash of two motorcycles in northeastern Kansas Saturday afternoon claimed the life of a passenger on one of the bikes.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the crash at 3:35 pm on K-92 east of Ozawkie near Perry Lake. The crash report says one bike crashed into the rear of another, sending one bike sliding into oncoming traffic and the other into a ditch.
A passenger on the first bike was killed. The patrol identifies her as Debra Elling, 57, of Kansas City, Mo. The driver, Timmy Elling, 59, of Kansas City was injured in the crash.
Two people on the second bike were also hurt. They were identified as Donald Shalz, 61,and Cindy Shalz, 62, of Kansas City, Kansas. All four victims were wearing helmets. They were transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka.
A teenager from Savannah was seriously hurt in the unusual crash of an ATV in Oregon, Missouri just before 6pm Saturday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report said Garrett Dozier, 15 was backing a Polaris Express on Barbour Ave at Missouri Street. According to the crash report, the vehicle made a left hand turn and then a right hand turn while backing.
That caused the ATV to overturn, ejecting Dozier and his passenger, 11-year-old Draven Egbert of Oregon. Dozier was taken by ambulance to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what were described as serious injuries. Egbert was treated at the scene and released,.
St. Joseph police continue their investigations into two robberies Saturday night in the city. It is not clear if they are related, and investigators have very little to work with.
At 10:30 pm Saturday, a suspect robbed the U.S. Smoke Shop at 5801 Lake Ave. Sgt. Greg Gilpin said no weapon was observed.
The victim said the suspect wore a bandana and stocking cap. Gilpin said investigators don’t have a good description, including whether the robber was a man or a woman. The clerk reportedly suffered minor injuries in a scuffle. Gilpin said the suspect left with an undetermined amount of cash.
At 11:21 pm, the Speedy’s convenience store at 2728 Messanie was robbed by a male suspect wearing a bandana and a stocking cap who presented a firearm and demanded cash and junk food. The suspect fled south on foot to a waiting vehicle.
If you have information that could help investigators, call the TIPS hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A resurfacing project on Loop 29 (Belt Highway) in Andrew and Buchanan counties is set to begin Monday evening, July 17.
Crews from Herzog Contracting Corporation, working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, plan to resurface the Belt Highway between U.S. Route 59 in Andrew County and U.S. Route 169 (Rochester Road) in Buchanan County.
All work is planned for Monday through Saturday nights between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., after peak travel times. The schedule may be adjusted as the project progresses. All work is weather permitting and schedules are subject to change.
The contractor anticipates that all paving will be completed by July 28 with all pavement marking completed by August 1.
Motorists should be alert and follow all construction signs and message boards. MoDOT encourages all motorists to slow down, buckle up, eliminate distractions and drive safely through work zones to ensure everyone is able to Arrive Alive.
For more information about this and other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT or visit modot.org/northwest.
A Mississippi man on Friday pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and aggravated robbery for shooting a Kansas convenience store clerk during a multi-state crime spree.
Alex Bridges Deaton, 28, Philadelphia, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to the two charges, which stemmed from a March incident at a Pratt convenience store. Deaton shot a 19-year-old clerk at the store March 1 and fled the store with the clerk’s car. Deaton was captured a few hours later near Dorrance, Kansas, after a pursuit by state troopers that ended with a crash and fire.
The state agreed to dismiss two lesser charges, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. Pratt County District Court Judge Francis Meisenheimer accepted the plea.
A status hearing in the case was scheduled for August 28 at 4 p.m. Sentencing was scheduled for October 16 at 9:30 a.m.
A nationwide manhunt had been launched to find Deaton after his girlfriend was found dead in Rankin County, Mississippi, near Jackson, and a jogger was shot near the girlfriend’s apartment.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says a western Kansas man working along the side of an interstate highway late at night is dead after being hit by a pickup truck.
According to a crash report, a pickup driven by a Wyoming man hit Jeffery Lynn Harris, 47, of Russell, Kansas, shortly before midnight Friday night.
Harris was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash ten miles east of Russell on I-70. The patrol report said he was “working along the side of the roadway.” It did not offer specifics.
David Wayne Taylor, 53, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, was not hurt in the crash.
An ongoing investigation into decades-old sex crimes against children in Northwest Missouri has now produced additional charges against an Albany man.
Authorities in Caldwell and Worth counties filed three new criminal cases against Lewis Marshall, who was charged in Buchanan County last month. Marshall on Friday asked Associate Judge Keith Marquart for a preliminary hearing, now scheduled later this month. He is charged here with sodomy for allegedly abusing a five year old over the course of three years starting in 1990.
As we reported, a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator warned in Buchanan County court documents of at least six additional victims accusing Marshall of forcible sex acts with children. Trooper K. Schrage said in a court filing that the Buchanan County victim received a death threat if the child ever told. The document also said “it has been reported several times that the defendant used a firearm in the perpetration of his sexual crimes.”
On June 29, Caldwell County authorities filed two criminal cases involving alleged sex crimes in July of 1993. In one case, Marshall is charged with rape and sodomy involving a 6-year-old child. In the other, Marshall is accused of sodomy with a 12-year-old victim. A judge set bail at $100,000 cash in those cases.
On July 5, the Prosecuting Attorney in Worth County filed a sodomy charge dating back to December of 1985. Bail was set at $50,000.
No court appearances are scheduled yet in Worth or Caldwell County for Marshall, according to online court records. He is being held without bail in the Buchanan County Jail awaiting a preliminary hearing July 20 at 3 pm.
A man accused of firing a handgun inside a residence during an argument remains in jail without bail, after waiving his preliminary hearing on Friday.
Christopher Sands is charged with a class-d felony of unlawful possession of a firearm. Police said in court documents that Sands “…possessed a .22 caliber handgun on his person in his waistband,” and that he “…shot the .22 caliber handgun off inside of the residence.”
As we reported, a judge denied bail in the case June 20. On Friday, Sands waived his preliminary hearing. Associate Judge Keith Marquart certified the case for circuit court.
Sands remains in custody awaiting Circuit Court arraignment July 31 at 3 pm before Judge Daniel Kellogg.
The trial schedule for a 34-year-old Climax Springs man accused of sexually abusing a teenager was set back two weeks after a new attorney entered the case.
Joseph Sousley is charged with three felony counts of sodomy and one felony count of sexual abuse. Court documents say Sousley abused a 15 year old during the month of June of last year.
During a hearing Friday, Public Defender Karen Klingbeil told a judge she hasn’t had time to review the state’s evidence. Attorney Andrew Parmenter withdrew from the case and Klingbeil took over on June 30. But she said she had only received the state’s evidence on Thursday.
Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg rescheduled the case for a trial-setting July 27. Sousley is free after posting $25,000 bond.
Scott Dittemore
A 51-year-old St. Joseph man is being held without bail after allegedly threatening his mother with a shotgun.
Scott Dittemore is due back in court later this month after his initial court appearance Friday on one class-b felony count of domestic assault in the first degree. In court documents, investigators say they responded to a domestic disturbance call near Faucett on the morning of July 1.
“During the disturbance, Mr. Dittemore knowingly placed his mother in fear for her life, by placing a loaded shotgun underneath her chin and threatening to kill her,” said Buchanan County Deputy Sheriff Grant Thrasher in a court affidavit. Thrasher said Dittemore was intoxicated at the time.
Bond was denied in the case, after a judge ruled that Dittemore poses a danger to the victim. Thrasher said in the probable cause statement that the defendant has two prior alcohol-related convictions, and one prior conviction for domestic assault.
During an initial court appearance on Friday, Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer scheduled the case for a preliminary hearing docket July 27.
The crash of two motorcycles in northeastern Kansas Saturday afternoon claimed the life of a passenger on one of the bikes.
