WEST PLAINS, Mo. (AP) – A 60-year-old man has been charged with a deadly shooting at a southern Missouri gas station.
Jorge Anthony Rosadilla Gonzales, of West Plains, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the Monday night shooting of 47-year-old John Barbrow. He is jailed on $1 million bond. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
West Plains police Det. Bryan Brauer says gas station security footage shows Gonzales speaking momentarily with Barbrow before getting into a truck. Gonzales is accused of shooting Barbrow in the abdomen when the victim approached the truck.
Gonzales had a loaded pistol with him when he was arrested a short time later. No motive for the shooting was given.
After a brief spell of above normal temperatures for Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will drop to well-below normal for Friday, through the weekend. The coldest temperatures of the season thus far will affect the area, with lows on Saturday and Sunday morning dropping to around 28 to 32 degrees. Light winds will cause wind chill values to drop even further, perhaps reaching the upper teens both mornings this weekend. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 70. West southwest wind 5 to 14 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 47. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph after midnight.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 68. South southeast wind 7 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. North northwest wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 46. Northwest wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Friday Night: A slight chance of rain showers before 10 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 45.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 52.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
CASS COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 8p.m. Tuesday in Cass County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Rodney L. Noble, 56, Peculiar, was southbound on Interstate 49 just north of Peculiar Way.
The vehicle side-swiped a 2001 Honda driven by Gavin R. Cumm0ns, 17, Peculiar. The collision caused both vehicles to travel into the median. The Ford traveled through the median cable barrier and struck a northbound 2002 Chevy driven by William C. Creamer, 34, Kansas City, in the right lane.
After impact, the Ford was partially pushed back into the median and came to rest wrapped in the cable barrier.
Noble and Creamer were pronounced dead at the scene. Cummons was not injured.
All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has pleaded guilty in the July 4, 2016 death of a pedestrian.
Jason Patterson of Topeka entered the plea Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.
Patterson was charged in the death of 60-year-old Tara French. She was hit by a truck on the west side of Lake Shawnee.
Police determined Patterson had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 percent when he was stopped after the accident. The legal limit in Kansas is 0.08 percent.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The parents of a Leavenworth County teenager who has been missing since 1988 are going to court in an effort get criminal investigative records on their son’s case.
Harold and Alberta Leach of Linwood are suing Leavenworth County after county officials rejected a Kansas Open Records Act request for the criminal documents.
The couple’s 17-year-old son, Randy Leach, disappeared in April 1988 after a high school graduation celebration in rural Leavenworth County. Investigators found no trace of him and no one has been charged in the case.
The couple’s attorney, Maxwell Kautsch, says the law enforcement records would show whether Leavenworth County properly investigated the disappearance.
Image courtesy KBI
The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 21.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the county’s attorney, David Van Parys, declined to comment.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court Monday for producing child pornography.
Sergio Antonio Dominguez-Gonzalez, 23, of Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 23 years and four months in federal prison without parole, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Dominguez-Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty on May 15, 2017, admitted that he sexually abused a 2-year-old child victim to produce child pornography, which he distributed over the Internet.
An undercover detective in Washington, D.C., posted numerous online bulletin messages on specific social media forums, which were Web sites frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children and incest. The bulletin messages were intended to attract individuals with a sexual interest in children. On Feb. 21, 2017, Dominguez-Gonzalez sent an e-mail to the undercover detective.
During the course of their e-mail conversation and later instant messaging, Dominguez-Gonzalez stated that he had sexual contact with a 2-year-old victim for the first time “recently” and had made two videos of himself molesting the victim. Dominguez-Gonzalez admitted he sent one of the videos, as well as screen shots from the video, to the undercover detective. He also told the undercover detective that he showed images of adult pornography to the victim “so she knows that (sic) girls do.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force.
FULTON, Mo. (AP) – The last of 13 defendants has pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to distribute millions of dollars in synthetic drugs known as K2 at Callaway County businesses.
Forty-three-year-old Raja Amer, of Roseville, California, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Federal prosecutors say Nawaz and other conspirators in California sold K2 to several Callaway County businesses, generating $6.6 million in gross proceeds.
As part of his plea, Nawaz agreed to forfeit $2.9 million.
The businesses bought K2 from people Nawaz and others from December 2012 to July 2015 and sold them to others. At least 251 shipments of K2 mislabeled as such things as incense or aroma therapy were made to Callaway County.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to illegally receiving federal disability benefits for her son for seven years, while concealing a $4 million settlement that provided them with a home and income, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Kerry D. Sanders, 47, of Neosho, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of participating in a conspiracy to steal government property and one count of theft of government property.
By pleading guilty today, Sanders admitted that she conspired from May 2005 until July 2012 to receive at least $56,138 in Social Security disability benefits to which she was not entitled.
Sanders was approved to become her son’s representative payee when he was born in 2001 and began receiving Supplemental Security Income due to his disabilities. A $4 million monetary settlement was paid to her son surrounding his birth, with a conservatorship set up to receive the settlement proceeds that began with the first disbursement of $164,290 in 2005. Sanders admitted that she concealed this income from the Social Security Administration and provided false statements in order to continue receiving federal benefits.
Sanders also admitted that she concealed the purchase of a home by the conservatorship in April 2008. Sanders falsely claimed that she paid $400 per month to rent the home where she lived with her son, and which she shared with a co-conspirator. The conservatorship did not require either Sanders or her co-conspirator to pay rent for the home.
As the funds held in the conservatorship could be used for the support and maintenance of Sanders’s son, the conservatorship constituted both a resource and income, and as such, Sanders was required to report its existence to the Social Security Administration in its oversight of his eligibility for Supplemental Security Income. The actions of Sanders and her co-conspirator in concealing the conservatorship, the home, and the living arrangement led to the Social Security Administration paying at least $56,138 in benefits to which her son was not entitled.
Under federal statutes, Sanders is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Saltwater injection wells, like this in southeast Kansas, are gaining more attention from Kansans concerned about their potential effects. COURTESY KANSAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The governments of Douglas County and Lawrence are calling for changes to Kansas regulations amid an energy company’s proposal to pump wastewater into wells in rural Eudora.
Among their concerns, the local officials argue that the public deserves a 60-day protest period — twice as long as the current allowance — when companies seek to operate such wells in or near their communities.
Douglas County Commissioner Nancy Thellman said the goal is “good public process.”
In its current format, she said, “the process itself is really weighted against the ability of the citizens to be heard.”
The county and city say a longer public comment period would better suit the schedules of city and county commissioners, so that they can study any potential effects and discuss them during their public meetings.
Local governments don’t have authority to block applications by oil and gas companies to build and operate fluid injection wells within their boundaries — that power rests with the Kansas Corporation Commission. But, like members of the public, they can view application materials and file letters of protest.
Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the county wants more time and information to determine whether a proposal by Florida-based Midstates Energy Operating LLC to operate two wells poses any risks for water contamination or earthquakes.
“We think that as government officials we have an obligation to make sure when something like this is done, it’s done in a way that it protects the public,” Weinaug said. “So we are asking, ‘What has the Corporation Commission done to make those determinations?’ And once we get an answer on what they have done, we’d like a chance to question it, add additional information, so we can decide whether they’ve done a good job in protecting our interests.”
Public concern
In the latest example of growing public interest in saltwater injection, Lawrence and Douglas County officials sent a joint letter last week to the KCC.
Saltwater injection consists of pouring — with or without pressurization — brine down a well either to dispose of it or to assist in extracting oil and gas. The saltwater is wastewater that is itself churned up in the course of oil or gas production and can contain chemicals.
A spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma and south-central Kansas in recent years has fueled public concerns about saltwater injection because geophysicists have pinned a rise in seismic activity on saltwater disposal wells.
In some parts of that region, operators can inject upwards of 15,000 barrels of brine into each well per day. Since 2009, thousands of temblors with a magnitude of 2.7 or higher — meaning quakes strong enough to be felt by people — have struck the region.
The permits sought by Midstates Energy in Douglas County are for extraction rather than disposal wells, according to documents filed with the KCC. The company is seeking to inject 100 barrels of brine per day into the two wells to assist in oil or gas production.
Bruce Presgrave, a USGS supervisory geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said it’s impossible to know whether a proposed saltwater injection site will cause earthquakes. In some places, higher-volume wells don’t cause quakes, while lower-volume wells in other locations do.
“There’s no magic formula that works everywhere,” Presgrave said. “That’s part of the problem.” However, higher volumes correlate with higher risk of seismicity. The USGS also says saltwater wells used for disposal purposes are more likely to cause earthquakes than their extraction-related counterparts.
Local geological characteristics, such as proximity to fault lines, also play a role. Overall, most saltwater injection wells are not linked to earthquakes.
Presgrave said there is “a growing body of evidence” that state regulators and oil companies can reduce impact by monitoring wells and adjusting or cutting off injection as needed — though the extent to which states and companies do this can vary.
“With some care, this can be worked with, and the hazard can be mitigated,” he said, “and still achieve the economic issue of being able to get the oil out and do something with the fluid.”
They failed to block a bid from Quail Oil & Gas for a permit, but their effort grew into a broader campaign to engage the public in monitoring and protesting any new applications that companies file for saltwater injection in their region.
The protestors also are lobbying legislators for changes to state law, arguing that the state’s current regulatory framework doesn’t require the KCC to factor in seismicity risks when reviewing well applications.
In its September decision allowing the Flint Hills well to proceed, the KCC concluded protestors hadn’t proven any “immediate danger” to public health, safety or welfare.
But the protestors argue Kansas should take a more proactive stance. They fear faulty wells or unscrupulous dumping could contaminate local freshwater and argue that Kansas failed to rein in saltwater disposal in south-central parts of the state until earthquakes had become a frequent occurrence. In recent years, the KCC has capped daily injection volumes in parts of that region.
Midstates Energy notice
On Oct. 9, Midstates Energy published notices in the Lawrence Journal-World to meet legal requirements for informing the public of its plans. Its applications are still pending with the KCC.
The notices said residents had 15 days to file any protests against the company’s two wells, setting an Oct. 24 deadline.
On Friday a KCC spokeswoman said the company’s notice was incorrect, because the legal public comment period should be 30 days. The agency is contacting Midstates to let the company know it will need to redo the public notification process.
State regulations require companies planning injection activities to publish a notice in the county’s designated newspaper, in addition to notifying the local landowner and any well operators or owners of mineral rights within half a mile.
Midstates didn’t return a call seeking comment. The Florida company registered in Kansas in September, according to filings with the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office.
In addition to Midstates’ pending applications for Douglas County wells, records on the Kansas Geological Survey website indicate the company received permits this month to drill three injection wells in Franklin County, south of Douglas County.
Thellman said Douglas County’s decision to contact the KCC about the two wells there came amid calls and emails from constituents worried about the environmental risks.
“Certainly the word has spread — word of mouth, social media, environmental organizations,” she said. “I continue to get lots of emails and phone calls. It’s gotten quite a bit of attention.”
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Fort Riley officials say a 1st Infantry Division soldier has died after being found unresponsive at his on-post home.
The death of 36-year-old Sgt. 1st Class George Bible III, of Clarksville, Tennessee, is the ninth death of 1st Infantry soldiers connected to the base who have died in the last five months.
Fort officials say Bible was found Sunday. His cause of death is under investigation. He joined the Army in March 2002 and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times. He was a platoon sergeant who repaired Black Hawk helicopters.
Since July, two other 1st Infantry soldiers died on the base and others died in Junction City, Geary County, Topeka, Milford Lake and Fort Hood, Texas.
The deaths are under investigation or were ruled suicides.
