The Riley County Police Department is investigating a rape that was reported early Friday morning. RCPD said in a media release that an unidentified man forced a 22-year-old woman into an apartment she was standing outside of on the 1100 block of Bluemont Avenue at approximately 12:30 a.m. There, he sexually assaulted her and then fled in an unknown direction. The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement officials are requesting that anyone with information regarding the crime to contact the Riley County Police Department at 785-537-2112 or the Manhattan/Riley County Crime Stoppers at 785-539-7777.
Author: KMAN Staff
A Manhattan man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend’s baby. The Manhattan Mercury reports that 28-year-old Andrew Gibson must serve 25 years of his sentence for first-degree murder in the May 2016 death of 3-month-old Serenity Reich before becoming eligible for parole. He also was sentenced Thursday to three years for child abuse. Gibson previously dated Serenity’s mother, Ariel Reich-Wille. While she was out of town, Gibson volunteered to watch her two children, including Serenity, at his apartment. While being interrogated, Gibson told investigators he pushed the infant’s face into a mattress top. A medical…
Friday’s guests were College Avenue United Methodist Church Youth Director Peggy Riley as well as church members Mitchell Bunger, 13, and Emma Lansdown, 18. Also in-studio was Manhattan Public Library Public Relations Coordinator Maddy Ogle.
Fort Riley will bid farewell to current garrison commander Col. John Lawrence and welcome incoming commander Col. Stephen Shrader at a change of command ceremony Friday at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place at Ware Parade Field on 500 Huebner Road. Col. Shrader’s previous assignment was director of the Combined Joint Operations Center, Resolute Support, Afghanistan. Col. Lawrence assumed command of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Riley in July 2016. He will be retiring after more than 34 years of military service and recently announced on KMAN that he and his wife would be staying in the Manhattan area.
TOPEKA — A Kansas utility company has launched a new program aiming to make it easier for large businesses to access affordable green energy. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Kansas Corporation Commission on Tuesday approved the Direct Renewable Participation Service by Westar Energy. The approval led to Westar announcing a day later that it has reached a 20-year agreement with a NextEra Energy Resources affiliate to purchase energy from a new 300-megawatt wind farm being developed in Nemaha County. Westar officials say the program offers large commercial businesses a way to meet sustainability goals by accessing Kansas wind energy.…
WICHITA — The father of a 5-year-old Kansas boy whose body was found months after he was reporting missing has pleaded guilty to hitting another child. Thirty-four-year-old Jonathan Hernandez, of Wichita, was sentenced Wednesday to one year of probation and ordered to complete a parenting class after admitting to misdemeanor battery. Prosecutors said in a news release that Hernandez struck his girlfriend’s 6-year-old, causing redness and swelling on the boy’s chest. Emily Glass was Hernandez’s live-in girlfriend, and police described her as the stepmother of Hernandez’s son, Lucas. She reported Lucas missing in February and fatally shot herself last month…
KANSAS CITY — A woman says her husband was fatally shot in Kansas City, Kansas, after arranging to meet someone about buying an iPhone 7 through the mobile sales app Letgo. The Kansas City Star reports that 45-year-old Oune Somsanith, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was shot Sunday afternoon. The father of five died at a hospital. His wife, Kelly Somsanith-Hawley, said her husband loved to make money by finding deals online, but was careful. She said that whenever he met someone about purchasing a phone, he always insisted on going to a store to check to see if the phone…
REECE — A 23-year-old eastern Kansas man who fatally injured his 6-month-old son has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Benny Clark, of Reece, was sentenced last week for second-degree murder and child abuse in the August 2017 death of his son, Cooper. The Emporia Gazette reports Clark pleaded guilty in March. He said he shook the boy for taking off his diaper and urinating on the bed. He also said the boy fell off the ottoman and hit his head. Emergency help wasn’t called until the boy’s mother, Ashley Morris, returned home for work hours after the boy…
The City of Manhattan announced the Utilities Department will begin a project in conjunction with their 2018 Valve and Hydrant Replacement project. Utilities workers will be performing temporary water isolations on July 11th and 12th that will cause short periods of low water pressure in the area adjacent to the work. City officials say the work will occur in the following areas: all of the Wyndham Heights addition; 14th Street from Leavenworth to Poyntz; Humboldt Street from 14th to 17th; 11th Street from Leavenworth to Fremont; Leavenworth Street from 11th to 10th; 10th Street from Osage to Leavenworth, Butterfield Road…
The 2018 Human Trafficking Conference was held in the Manhattan Conference Center Wednesday. The conference, which started Tuesday, provided two days of training and discussion on human trafficking. It started with a speech from U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister. The keynote speaker was Peter Qualliotine, director of Men’s Accountability in King County, Washington. More than 200 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, health care and other professionals registered to attend the conference co-sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Kansas Attorney General’s office, the Riley County Attorney’s office and other criminal justice and law enforcement organizations. Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson spoke at the…