By ROXANA HEGEMAN

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys for three Kansas militia members convicted of plotting to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali immigrants in a western Kansas meatpacking town have asked the court to bar at sentencing any victim impact statements, arguing no one was actually hurt in the plot.

Federal prosecutors have countered that the men are trying to “minimize their actions and de-personalize their crimes.” They say that “runs directly afoul” of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.

“Despite the overwhelming evidence that led a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants conspired to commit a hate-motived mass murder, the defendants now make the extraordinary claim that the targets of their plot — the defendants’ would-be murder victims — are not in fact ‘victims’ and should not be heard at sentencing,” prosecutors said Tuesday in a filing.

The dispute has derailed the two-day sentencing hearing that had been scheduled to begin Monday, with the judge now instead planning to hear oral arguments Monday about whether to consider victim statements. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren is expected to set a new sentencing date after conferring with attorneys Thursday.

A federal jury convicted Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen of one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy against civil rights in April. Wright was also found guilty of lying to the FBI. The attack, planned for the day after the 2016 general election in Garden City, was thwarted by another member of the group who tipped off authorities about escalating threats of violence. Garden City is 220 miles (354 kilometers) west of Wichita.

The government has argued that the men formed a splinter group of the rightwing, anti-immigrant militia Kansas Security Force that came to be known as “the Crusaders.” The testimony and recordings at trial indicated the men tried to recruit other members of the Kansas Security Force to join them.

Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction carries a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while the sentence for the civil rights violation carries no more than 10 years. Prosecutors are seeking life terms for all three, while defense attorneys are variously pleading for shorter terms of 15 years, 10 years or even time served.

The issue arose after the government informed the men that it planned to present at the sentencing hearing 20 videos, each about five to seven minutes, from Somali residents of the Garden City apartment complex targeted in the plot.

Defense attorneys balked and asked Melgren to not even look at those videos until the victim impact issue is resolved and he rules on whether to consider them, arguing the videos’ content will have no bearing on whether they should be shown.

The defense said prosecutors are seeking the opinions of the Somali residents about a crime even though they have no firsthand knowledge, without giving the defense an opportunity to cross-examine them. They also argued that the government’s desire to play multiple videos is “burdensome and unfairly prejudicial and unnecessarily and unfairly lengthens the sentencing hearing.”

Prosecutors pushed back on the defense notion the victims are not “reliable” and should be subject to cross-examination.

“To allow cross-examination of the victims would serve only to traumatize and re-victimize people whom the defendants have already harmed through the conspiracy to kill them in their homes and in their place of worship,” the government said.

Prosecutors also argued federal law guarantees every victim the right to be reasonably heard at sentencing, including their views on what punishment would be fair.

Melgren prohibited prosecutors from presenting testimony from the Somali residents during the trial itself because anything they could have said would have been based solely on what the government told them about the evidence.

Prosecutors argued in a court filing that things are different for sentencing because the “voluminous evidence” is now part of the public record and the victim statements are based on their reactions to the men’s proven criminal efforts to murder them.

Country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show “Hee Haw” for nearly a quarter century and was known for such hits as “Yesterday When I was Young” and “Honeymoon Feeling,” has died. He was 85.

Publicist Jeremy Westby said Clark died Thursday due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.

Clark was “Hee Haw” host or co-host for its entire 24-year run, with Buck Owens his best known co-host. The country music and comedy show’s last episode aired in 1993, though reruns continued for a few years thereafter.

“‘Hee Haw’ won’t go away. It brings a smile to too many faces,” he said in 2004, when the show was distributed on VHS and DVD for the first time.

"The next chance you get, do somethin' nice for somebody – say 'good day,' hold a door open – and don't wait around for a thank you… you don't need it." — Roy Clark

Roy, thank you for always spreading laughter, kindness, and positivity. We'll keep it goin' for ya! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Gs3AdJSKQd

— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) November 15, 2018

Clark played the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and other instruments. His skills brought him gigs as guest performer with many top orchestras, including the Boston Pops. In 1976 he headlined a tour of the Soviet Union, breaking boundaries that were usually closed to Americans.

And of course, he also was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

His hits included “The Tips of My Fingers” (1963), “Yesterday When I Was Young” (1969), “Come Live With Me” (1973) and “Honeymoon Feeling” (1974). He was also known for his instrumental versions of “Malaguena,” on 12-string guitar, and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009, and emotionally told the crowd how moving it was “just to be associated yourself with the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and imagine that your name will be said right along with all the list.”

In his 1994 autobiography, “My Life in Spite of Myself,” he said “Yesterday, When I Was Young” had “opened a lot of people’s eyes not only to what I could do but to the whole fertile and still largely untapped field of country music, from the Glen Campbells and the Kenny Rogerses, right on through to the Garth Brookses and Vince Gills.”

Clark was guest host on “The Tonight Show” several times in the 1960s and 1970s when it was rare for a country performer to land such a role. His fans included not just musicians, but baseball great Mickey Mantle. The Yankees outfielder was moved to tears by “Yesterday When I Was Young” and for years made Clark promise to sing it at his memorial — a request granted after Mantle died in 1995.

Beginning in 1983, Clark operated the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, and was one of the first country entertainers to open a theater there. Dozens followed him.

He was a touring artist as late as the 2000s. Over the years, he played at venues around the world: Carnegie Hall in New York, the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, the Grand Palace in Brussels and the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow.

Clark was born in Meherrin, Virginia, and received his first guitar on his 14th Christmas. He was playing in his father’s square dance band at age 15.

In the 1950s, Clark played in bands in the Washington, D.C., area. In 1960, he got the chance to front the band of country singer Wanda Jackson. He also performed regularly in Las Vegas. He got his first recording contract, with Capitol Records, in 1962.

He appeared on Jimmy Dean’s TV show “Town and Country Time” and took over the show when Dean left.

In 1997 he released “Roy Clark’s Christmas Memories.”

Clark and Owens worked together for years, but they had very different feelings about “Hee Haw.” Owens, who left the show in 1986, later referred to it as a “cartoon donkey,” one he endured for “that big paycheck.” Clark told The Associated Press in 2004 that “Hee Haw” was like a family reunion.

“We became a part of the family. The viewers were sort of part owners of the show. They identified with these clowns, and we had good music.”

Clark said the hour-long program of country music and corny jokes capped off his career.

“This was the icing on the cake. This put my face and name together

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released the names of the four people killed in an accident on Interstate 70 year Columbia.

The wreck happened Wednesday afternoon. I-70 was already shut down in the area due to an earlier vehicle fire. The patrol says the fatal crash occurred when a tractor-trailer driven by 63-year-old Otto Kramer III of Pickerington, Ohio, struck the rear of stopped vehicles, causing them to strike other vehicles. All told, three tractor-trailers and three passenger vehicles were involved in the wreck.

Kramer died, along with the drivers of two of the cars, 63-year-old Cindy Spradlin of Auxvasse, Missouri, and 44-year-old Jennifer Temple of Columbia. A car passenger, 60-year-old Vicky Moore of Auxvasse, also was killed.

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Four people died in a crash involving several vehicles on Interstate 70 near Columbia.

Boone County assistant fire chief Gale Blomenkamp says the crash involved a semi-trailer truck, which was hauling two other semis, as well as a tractor-trailer and two passenger vehicles.

A passenger in one car and the driver of another passenger vehicle died at the scene. An injured truck driver died at a Columbia hospital emergency room.

The Missouri State Highway patrol said a fourth person died later at a hospital. No names have been released.

The accident occurred while Interstate 70 was already shut down because of a vehicle fire. That shut-down caused a backup, which played a part in the crash.

The accident closed westbound lanes of the interstate for threel hours.

ROCHEPORT, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri State Highway Patrol says three vehicles, including a school bus, were involved in a crash on Interstate 70 near Rocheport.

Officials say a passenger car spun out on the Missouri River Bridge early Thursday. The school bus from Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School in Columbia stopped behind the car and was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.

Helen Osman, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson City Diocese, said eight students and one pregnant teacher were taken to a Columbia hospital to be assessed. She said they are complaining of neck and back injuries.

KMIZ reports there were about 40 children on the bus. Osman said the eight-graders were headed to a leadership day in Independence. The students that weren’t injured were taken back to the school.

The crash closed the westbound lanes of the interstate.

EMPORIA — After she wrote what some consider a controversial statement on social media, a vice president of the Associated Student Government at Emporia State University won’t face impeachment.

According to the university’s Associated Student Government’s Facebook page, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee planned to begin an impeachment effort against Michaela Todd after she wrote in support of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach, “put Kansans first not illegal aliens. The millions of dollars spent on public welfare for illegal aliens in Kansas hurts Kansas taxpayers every day.”

The term illegal aliens offended many on campus and prompted calls for her to resign from her position with ESU student government.  Todd refused to step down.

The university issued a statement that “encouraged Associated Student Government to study the issue and determine appropriate next steps. Associated Student Government has resources at its disposal to make an informed decision, understand the ramifications of its actions and plan a constructive path forward.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a toddler is recovering after multiple bullets were fired into a Kansas City, Kansas, home, striking the child in the leg.

The 1-year-old who was wounded early Tuesday is expected to recover from a broken femur. Police say they arrested the child’s father, who allegedly is a gang member, on a warrant for a drug offense.

KANSAS CITY  – A Kansas City man who wore a skeleton mask while disrupting traffic was indicted by a federal grand jury today for illegally possessing a sawed-off shotgun, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Daniel A. Robertson, 54, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. Tuesday’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Robertson on Oct. 29, 2018.

The indictment charges Robertson with being a felon in possession of a firearm and with possessing an unregistered firearm.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Kansas City police officers responded to a call at 152 Highway and N. Indiana on Oct. 28, 2018. A caller had reported a suspicious man (later identified as Robertson) walking on the entrance ramp of the highway wearing a black skeleton mask over his face. The caller said the man walked toward her car, causing her to nearly hit him.

When officers arrived, they contacted Robertson. Robertson allegedly was carrying a loaded sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun concealed in the front of his jacket. He had additional ammunition in his jacket and pants pockets, the affidavit says.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Robertson has prior felony convictions for burglary, possession of a controlled substance, endangering the welfare of a child, child molestation, failure to appear in court, and failure to register as a sex offender.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man who participated in a conspiracy to distribute more than $1 million of methamphetamine in Missouri has been sentenced to 38.4 years in prison without parole.

Federal prosecutors say 29-year-old Michael Ryan Nevatt was sentenced Wednesday after being found guilty in April on seven charges involving the drug ring.

Testimony at the trial indicated Nevatt helped distribute methamphetamine in southern Missouri and Kansas City from 2014 to 2016. The source of the drugs was a Mexican cartel.

Nevatt at one point led the drug ring. He and other conspirators made regular trips – sometimes several times a week – to pick up methamphetamine and then return to Texas with cash to pay for it.

He is the last of 15 defendants to be sentenced in the case.