Author: Brandon Peoples

Thursday marked the last day of classes for students in the of USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools before Spring Break. On KMAN’s In Focus Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade said it’s a welcome opportunity for students and teachers to hit the reset button and get a break from school. But given the high amounts of illness that seems to have hit the district this semester, it’s also a good opportunity to get the schools cleared out. “Some of us are looking forward to getting the schools cleared out, really doing a deep clean. It’s a great opportunity to just get in…

A Riley County jury has found a Missouri man guilty of aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary from a 2017 incident at a K-State fraternity house. Chief Judge Grant Bannister presided over the trial. Jurors deliberated for a little more than three hours Thursday. It’s the second time in less than a year that 25-year-old Devonta Bagley, of Belton, Missouri, has been convicted of such crimes. The former K-State student was also found guilty in May 2019 of sexually abusing two male students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis while they slept in separate incidents in 2017 and 2018. He…

A Riley County jury trial began Wednesday for 52-year-old Rodney Roberts, who is accused of three counts of rape and two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with children. Roberts was arrested in July 2019. and the charges are alleged to have occurred on multiple occasions with two children under the age of 14. The abuse is alleged to have been ongoing from 2014 through 2018, according to court records. The Manhattan Mercury reports that the jury heard testimony Wednesday from the victims’ mothers. One of them said Roberts lived with her family off and on and would get her children…

Riley County prosecutors called several witnesses Wednesday in the trial of a Missouri man charged with aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary. Devonta Bagley, 25, of Belton, Missouri, is accused of sneaking into another man’s room in the Sigma Chi fraternity house at K-State in September 2017. The victim testified in court this week he awoke to a man performing oral sex on him. The victim testified he didn’t know the man, nor was he on any dating apps where he could’ve met him. The victim testified he had been with his girlfriend earlier in the night and had sex…

Pottawatomie County authorities are searching for two suspect vehicles they say are connected to a burglary of the Brooks Yamaha business on East Hwy 24 in Manhattan. According to Sheriff Shane Jager, the break-in happened the morning of Feb. 25. Their investigation revealed numerous STIHL tools including chainsaws, leaf blower packs and a concrete saw were stolen from the business by an unknown person or persons. The vehicles in question are what appears to be a silver or charcoal colored Ford Escape while the second is an older model Mercury Sable. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Hinkle…

More charges have been filed against the person suspected of stealing tools from the Manhattan Habitat for Humanity’s construction site in Ogden in mid-February. Nicholas Lambert was initially arrested Feb. 25 on offenses of making false information, burglary, two counts of theft, and criminal damage to property. The incidents were reported Feb. 12 after close to $7,000 worth of tools were stolen from the site. Riley County Police added two new charges of burglary and criminal damage to property Tuesday, listing Zermatt LLC as the victim when it was reported someone stole an air compressor and miscellaneous tools, valued at approximately…

A Riley County jury will hear the case of a Missouri man charged with sexual abuse in a K-State fraternity house in 2017. Devonta Bagley is charged with one count of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of aggravated burglary. Bagley was extradited to Riley County in December to face the charges. He’s already serving two life sentences in Missouri for sexually abusing two male students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2017 and 2018. Despite his conviction in Missouri last June, Bagley has maintained his innocence, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Chief Judge Grant Bannister will preside…

A Manhattan man convicted in a sexual crime involving a minor was recently sentenced to more than 16 years in prison. Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson tells KMAN that 51-year-old Thomas Ray Adams was sentenced Feb. 24 by Judge Kendra Lewison to 195 months after reaching a plea agreement earlier this year with prosecutors. Adams was arrested in May 2019 on charges of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy involving a child under the age of 14. The incidents were said to have occurred between January 2017 and April 2019. Court documents show Adams entered no contest pleas to both charges…

Severe Weather Awareness week is underway during this first week in March. The week highlights not only what to do in the event of a tornado or severe thunderstorm, but also to go prepare an emergency kit and identify plans with family members. Riley County Emergency Management Coordinator Laurie Harrison says that kit should be large enough to get you through three days . Fort Riley Emergency Manager Chris Hallenbeck says for those living on post who may be unfamiliar with Kansas severe weather they are doing Active Army, a proactive community awareness campaign to empower soldiers, families and Army…

Fire broke out at a Manhattan apartment complex Sunday evening at 711 Allison Ave. The Manhattan Fire Department says heavy fire was noticeable on the balconies of the second and third floors. Riley County Police Department officers notified all occupants in the building, who were out by the time firefighters arrived, just after 5 p.m. Crews searched the building and the fire was put out within less than a half hour. Two dogs and four cats were removed from the building unharmed. A total of 17 firefighters responded to the call. The 3-story structure sustained significant fire damage in at…