Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Law Board has tabled a vote on a memorandum of understanding with the Kansas State University Police Department. The revamped agreement would give KSU Police the ability to do enforcement they’re allowed to do by state law. A previous agreement approved several years ago restricted KSU Police response only to university owned property. The new agreement would allow more flexibility, especially on streets adjacent or cutting through university property, according to RCPD Captain Richard Fink. “It allows them to police the areas in and around the university and police their properties in and around Manhattan and Riley…

WAMEGO, Kan.  — A group of four Geary County fugitives were arrested in Wamego Monday following an anonymous tip. The Wamego Police Department posted on its Facebook page that the four were wanted on charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated battery and were staying at the Simmer Motel. The department says it received assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol, which is why some residents may have noticed a helicopter flying over the area. The four suspects were taken into custody without incident. The suspects are Dustin Monroe, 39, of Junction City, Marcus Rogel, 18, of Westmoreland, Matthew Rogel, 25, of Junction…

Just weeks after it was dedicated, a new platform overlooking Manhattan at Bluemont Hill was vandalized over the weekend. Grafitti on the Manhattan letters and the new glass windows on the overlook was first discovered by someone who posted about it to social media. The glass depicts an obscene image and the words F*** Kansas are spray painted on one of the letters. It comes just two weeks to the date after members of the Manhattan Kiwanis Club dedicated the new overlook at a community ribbon cutting. The club raised over $70,000 in private donations to construct the handicap accessible…

For the second time this year, a Riley County jury was unable to reach a verdict in a rape trial against 28-year-old Dexter Robinson. According to the Manhattan Mercury, jurors deliberated for about four hours after receiving the case late last week. Robinson is charged with rape, two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated burglary. The incidents are from a July 2018 alleged incident where a woman accused Robinson of raping her after she sought money from him. At a previous trial in October, she testified she did not resist because she…

The USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden School Board will receive a recommendation at Wednesday’s meeting to name the new elementary school in Blue Township. The recommended name for the new school is Oliver Brown Elementary School. Oliver Brown is the namesake and plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. Brown challenged the plight of his daughter Linda being subject to a substandard education and conditions to attend a segregated school when another school was in her neighborhood which she was unable to attend due to her race. According to a release, the name promotes the district’s…

The Riley County Fire Department says a home is a total loss following a fire late Friday evening, on the eastern edge of Manhattan. Fire officials from the Manhattan Fire Department were initially called out just after 6:30 p.m. to a house fire at 720 Knox Lane. Upon arrival, the house was fully engulfed and firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control. The Riley County Fire Department took over and stayed on scene up until about 11 p.m. according to Fire Chief Pat Collins, who estimated damage to be approximately $85,000 to the structure and roughly $10,000…

A recent Associated Press article indicated more than 1,600 dams nationwide are rated high-hazard due to aging infrastructure and the potential for loss of life if they failed. Among them is the Samuel Rogers Detention Dam, located about a half-mile north of Manhattan, nestled in a wooded area behind the Kansas State University Animal Sciences equine unit. The dam is 33 feet high and 560 feet long and was built in 1961. It was included in a group of 26 Kansas dams rated in 2018 as poor or unsatisfactory. The university purchased the dam in 2015 and became aware of…

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Authorities in Texas have arrested a man on a Riley County, Kansas District Court warrant for a host of sex crimes. The Riley County Police Department indicated late Thursday that 41-year-old Sean Morgan was arrested Wednesday in New Braunfels, a suburb of San Antonio. Morgan is charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, attempted rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual battery. He remains jailed in Guadalupe County, Texas on a $200,000 bond. He is currently awaiting extradition to Kansas. RCPD says this is an active investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective…

A Manhattan woman originally from Texas has been given a three year probation sentence for her role in her boyfriend’s 2018 death. Riley County District Court Judge John Bosch on Tuesday handed down the 36-month sentence to 22-year-old Gregoria Baez. A jury found her guilty in September of involuntary manslaughter related to the death of 21-year-old Felix Florez, a former Geary County correctional officer. Initially charged with second-degree murder, Baez was convicted of the lesser offense after prosecutors failed to prove intent based on her reckless behavior. The couple reportedly had a history of jokingly pulling guns on each other…

The victim of a west Manhattan apartment complex shooting has been discharged from the hospital, according to the Riley County Police Department. The shooting took place Friday (Nov. 8) at The District Apartments in the 1400 block of Hartman Place near College Ave. and Claflin Road. The victim’s injuries were said to be non-life-threatening. RCPD PIO Hali Rowland said the victim was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon. His name hasn’t been released. As for the shooting suspect, police have not located the person who fired the shot. They continue to investigate and so far have not released any new…