Author: Brandon Peoples

Human trafficking awareness training took place Tuesday for dozens of health care workers at Manhattan’s Ascension Via Christi hospital. The goal of the training was to educate and inform officials at all department levels what to look for when caring for an individual who may be a victim. Human Trafficking Program Manager Nicole Ensminger says these are unique cases where an individual is being controlled by another person who is using vulnerabilities, such as drug addictions as leverage. “A lot of times we place stigmas on individuals and different mental health disorders. So I think it’s really important for us…

GEARY COUNTY — A 20-year-old Manhattan man who drove drunk and caused a three-vehicle crash on K-18 Sunday night is now in custody. Denilson Acosta-Rodriguez is charged with driving under the influence, two counts of DUI causing bodily harm and two counts of DUI causing great bodily harm or disfigurement. He also faces charges of driving in the wrong direction, failure to stop at a traffic accident and obstructing apprehension of prosecution. He remains in Geary County Jail. Two of the victims of Sunday night’s crash were air lifted to KU Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries including David…

The Riley County Law Board has approved a new policy allowing the use of unmanned aerial systems (or drones) to aid in the assistance of law enforcement investigations. Last year the Riley County Police Department launched a pilot program where drones were implemented in certain situations at the discretion of the captain of a patrol division. Assistant RCPD Director Kurt Moldrup told the Law Board Monday they’ve found drones to be very successful in emergency scenarios such as flooding as well as criminal investigations. Drones can also be helpful to aid if a person runs from the scene, mapping crime…

Riley County Police responded to a weekend fight where shots were fired in central Manhattan. According to Capt. Josh Kyle, the fight broke in the parking lot of a house party just after 3 a.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Fremont Street. The house where the fight occurred was struck by bullets, but police say no injuries have been reported. An aggravated assault report was filed listing several males as victims ranging from 21 to 31 years of age. The person who allegedly fired the shots was described as a black male wearing a white t-shirt and acid washed…

Two people were injured Sunday night following a three-vehicle crash in Geary County that closed a portion of K-18 for several hours. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, just after 9 p.m., a Nissan Maxima was eastbound in the westbound lanes of K-18 when it struck two vehicles head-on. An unidentified passenger in the Maxima as well as one passenger from Fort Riley in one of the other two cars, each sustained suspected serious injuries and were transported to KU Medical Center for treatment. The injured party from Fort Riley was identified as 17-year-old Hannah Burkhart. The driver of the…

TOPEKA — Long time Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Economic Development Trent Armbrust is joining the Kansas Department of Commerce as its director of strategy for Bioscience and Technology. Armbrust begins his new job Sept. 23. He spoke briefly to Riley County commissioners Thursday and says his new role will allow him to stay in Manhattan. He thanked commissioners for the support given to him and says he’ll continue to push for more economic development throughout the region. Secretary of Commerce David Toland said in a news release Friday that Armbrust’s position is a new one at the…

The Riley County Police Department is investigating after it received multiple reports of shots fire in the area of Westwood and Oak Street in Manhattan, directly south of the Manhattan High School West Campus. Capt. Josh Kyle said in a news release Friday that officers arrived just after 6:45 p.m. and found several spent shell casings in a parking lot just south of the school along Oak Street. Information on scene indicates that two vehicles met in the parking lot. The occupants of the vehicles interacted for a while before shots were fired. Both vehicles then fled the area. RCPD…

A Riley County jury on Thursday found a 22-year-old Manhattan woman originally from Texas guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 death of her boyfriend. Gregoria Baez was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Felix Florez, a former Geary County correctional officer. Florez died Sept. 22, 2018 after being shot below his right eye. The Manhattan Mercury reports that jurors were shown a video in court Wednesday where Baez claimed the shooting was accidental, the result of the two joking around, pulling guns on each other. In the video, Baez reportedly said it was common for Florez…

A local developer has officially dropped plans for a multi-million dollar redevelopment of Anderson Village. Chris Elsey says the project, which would have included apartments, a hotel, retail spaces and a parking garage among other amenities is dead due to a lack of support from the City of Manhattan and surrounding neighbors. Elsey’s plans had also included the potential for an indoor waterpark, similar to that of a facility in Garden City. City officials questioned whether that type of development could fit in the location which faced parking and density issues. Local renters union Renters Together MHK claimed a victory…

A contingency of Kansas legislators descended on Pawnee Mental Health’s new Crisis Stabilization Center Wednesday afternoon – the last stop on a three-day bus tour of Kansas public mental health facilities. The purpose of the tour was to bring exposure to resources currently available across the state. State Senator Tom Hawk of Manhattan says he was pleased to see the progress made as Pawnee approaches the opening of its Manhattan center. “I’m very pleased that it now holds nine and I think originally we were thinking six. So I think we’re looking at capacity issues. I think it’s going to…