Author: Brandon Peoples

A Fort Riley soldier accused of shooting and killing a fellow soldier in Aggieville appeared in court Friday for a preliminary hearing. Morning testimony included members of RCPD who were on scene Feb. 5, the night 19-year-old Tremelle Montgomery is accused of murdering 21-year-old Joshua Wardi. Montgomery is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Officers testified working in the Aggieville police substation when they heard approximately five gunshots and immediately responded, locating Wardi’s body and witnessing an armed-Montgomery running from the scene. Officer Wesley Olmer testified that he shot at Montgomery, striking…

Authorities say one person is in custody following a weekend homicide in Junction City. Police were dispatched around 2 a.m. Sunday to the 900 block of North Washington Street for reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, a shooting victim, identified as 38-year-old Justin Rose, of Junction City, was found suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to Geary Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Later in the day, police developed a suspect, 34-year-old Joshua Sturgis, of Junction City, who was arrested over 350 miles away in St. Charles County, Missouri. Sturgis is charged with 2nd degree murder and two counts…

Fire officials say a Manhattan mobile home was destroyed by fire Friday night. The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to Redbud Estates Mobile Home Park, at 2500 Farm Bureau Road, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday for the report of a structure fire at Lot 45. Crews noted there was heavy fire showing from the single-wide home and within 10 minutes, officials had searched the home and extinguished the fire. The mobile home was unoccupied and under renovation at the time of the fire. Loss is estimated at around $35,000, including content and structural damage. The cause of the fire remains…

A pair from Manhattan are jailed on a host of drug-related charges, following an arrest Thursday afternoon near 14th and Pierre Street. The Riley County Police Department says 38-year-old Benigno Aquino Jr. and 18-year-old Neassa Thomas were arrested after a traffic infraction. Police found meth and drug paraphernalia in their car. Both were charged with possession of meth, possession of meth with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Aquino additionally was charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Bond for Aquino was listed at $41,000. Thomas remains jailed on a $25,000 bond.

Preliminary enrollment numbers released by the Kansas Board of Regents Thursday showed a 2.5 percent overall decrease at Kansas State University. Total enrollment is 19,722 for the fall semester, down 507 students from the previous year’s mark of 20,229. It marks the first time since 1988 that enrollment has dipped below 20,000. It’s the eighth year of declines at K-State since enrollment peaked at 24,766 in 2014, representing an over 20 percent decrease over that period. (Historical K-State enrollment data from 1863 to 2021 are shared below.) Earlier this week, at the Intergovernmental Luncheon, K-State President Richard Linton noted the…

Riley County COVID numbers continue to improve, with state health officials lowering the weekly incidence rate to a moderate level Wednesday. According to data provided by the Riley County Health Department Wednesday, 18 new COVID-19 cases were recorded the week of Sept. 17 through Sept. 23. That lowered the incidence rate per 100,000 people to 24.2. For the second straight week, Ascension Via Christi reported no COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Health officials say an 86-year-old fully–vaccinated woman, who died Sept. 2, became the 96th COVID-related death in Riley County. COVID-19 vaccines continue to be administered along with boosters at…

A pair of Manhattan organizations have been awarded more than $85,000 in grants to provide services for crime victims. The Office of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Wednesday that The Crisis Center received just north of $53,000 to recruit, train and supervise volunteers to assist professional staff who provide in-person, around-the-clock crisis intervention services, as well as a safe shelter for sexual and domestic violence victims in the center’s five-county region. Sunflower CASA has also been awarded more than $18,000 to provide supervised visitation and monitored exchange services to children and their non-residential parents; $10,000 to support the CASA…

An Illinois man convicted earlier this year for assaulting his former girlfriend two years ago at a Manhattan hotel, to the point she sustained temporary hearing loss, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Isain Lopez, 26, was sentenced Tuesday by Riley County District Court Judge Kendra Lewison to 272 months on his conviction of aggravated kidnapping. He was also sentenced to 41 months on a conviction of robbery, 32 months for aggravated battery, 12 months for aggravated domestic battery and six months for a conviction of criminal threats. Judge Lewison ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, for…

As developers continue to work on planning for residential areas around Oliver Brown Elementary School, some guidance was given to the Pottawatomie County Planning and Zoning staff about how some of that should continue. County Planner Stephan Metzger indicated that a developer is trying to plan for how to design a subdivision east of where Junietta Road ends past Moody Road. Planning staff recommended against a Junietta Road extension to Lake Elbo Road in favor of more cost-effective routes to be prioritized instead. Metzger cited two viable reasons for not extending the road. While the road may not be necessary…

No injuries were reported after a tractor caught fire Tuesday afternoon near Leonardville. Volunteer crews with Riley County Fire District No. 1 were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. to a rural area near Fairview Church and Walnut Creek Roads. Upon arrival, they found a John Deere silage chopper tractor fully engulfed in flames.  Seven volunteer firefighters on three apparatuses extinguished the fire with an hour and crews managed to keep it from spreading to nearby fields.  A damage estimate wasn’t immediately available, but the tractor was a total loss.