A Highland Community College basketball coach is one of several people facing federal charges in connection with a multistate car theft ring. William “B.J.” Smith, of Highland, was arrested April 23 after a federal indictment. Twenty-one men and women, the majority of which are from St. Louis, were indicted on 84 charges that included bank and mail fraud, conspiracy, receipt of stolen motor vehicles and operation of a chop shop. Smith, 48, who has served as a women’s basketball coach at HCC for two years, is named in sixteen of the charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud and receipt of stolen…
Author: KMAN Staff
Ubaldo Jimenez pitched into the eighth inning, Ryan Raburn hit two home runs and the Cleveland Indians pounded the Kansas City Royals 9-0 on Monday night to split their four-game series. Raburn hit a three-run shot in the fifth inning and a solo homer in the eighth, and finished the night with four hits. Jason Kipnis also went deep to pace a suddenly potent Indians offense. Wade Davis (2-2) made a second straight miserable start for the Royals. The right-hander allowed 8 runs, 12 hits and 3 walks in just 4 2/3 innings. The Royals won the first two games…
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) A 29-year-old member of a Dodge City gang has been sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to federal charges of attempted murder. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Kansas said in a release Monday that Jason Najera pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder in furtherance of racketeering. The prosecutor’s office says Najera admitted that in August 2011 he used a knife to stab two men he thought were members of a rival gang. Co-defendant Humberto Ortiz was sentenced earlier to about four years in federal prison. The two men were among 23 defendants indicted…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Federal prosecutor’s in Kansas have accused a former union employee of stealing about $50,000 from an employee benefit plan. The Kansas City Star reports that Angela Heninger worked as an executive assistant for the Mobilization, Optimization, Stabilization and Training Trust, or MOST. MOST is an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Kan. Heninger was charged last week in U.S. District Court in Kansas with one count of embezzlement, six counts of wire fraud and five counts of bank fraud. Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Heninger, and…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A drug take back event in Douglas County has drawn a record response. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Lawrence law enforcement officials say they collected a record 875 pounds of unused prescription drugs Saturday as part of a nationwide “Drug Take-Back Day.” Lt. Steve Lewis, Douglas County sheriff spokesman, said last year the Drug Take-Back Day collected 300 pounds of unwanted prescription medicine. Federal authorities say nationwide about 1.5 billion doses of prescription drugs go unused each year, which can lead to accidents and dangerous misuse. All of the drugs collected Saturday were placed in a secure…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Cessna Aircraft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts for its hourly employees. The Wichita Eagle reports that Wichita-based aircraft company aims to get about 180 workers represented by the Machinists union to take the voluntary retirement offer. Cessna employs 8,200, including 5,800 in Wichita. The company has said it needs to cut employment figures because of sluggish demand for light business jets. Cessna’s senior vice president of human resources Jim Walters said in a statement that the buyouts and a similar program for salaried employees announced last month are expected to allow the company to make the majority…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Officials with some Kansas agencies say an increase in state employment in the last fiscal year was caused largely by reorganization and student employment. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported last week that the state had a total of 69,974 temporary and regular people at the beginning of fiscal year 2013. That’s an increase of 143 from fiscal 2012. The Department for Children and Families had 348 fewer employees. A spokeswoman for the department says 125 of those jobs were transferred to the Department of Aging and Disability Services. Three of the state’s universities increased employees in fiscal 2013.…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Douglas County officials say the county is applying for a federal grant to study the feasibility of establishing a “food hub” that would make it easier for county businesses to sell locally grown produce and meats. The county’s Food Policy Council is applying for a $58,250 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It wants to use the money to study a system of linking producers and farmers in the region with larger institutions that want a steady supply of locally grown foods. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the federal grant would be matched with $10,000 from the…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) The family of two Leavenworth brothers who were shot to death in 2011 is unhappy with a plea agreement that allowed the killer to be sentenced to 18 years in prison. A Leavenworth County judge followed the plea agreement’s recommendations while sentencing Aundray D. McDonald, 37, Friday for two counts of voluntary manslaughter. He was originally charged with premeditated first-degree murder and first degree felony murder in the December 2011 deaths of Derrick, 25, and Marshall Jones, 28, outside a Leavenworth barbershop. The shootings resulted from a feud between McDonald and the brothers. The Leavenworth Times reports…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say they arrested three juveniles after a confetti cannon went off inside a mall. Sgt. Jesse Boomer says no one was injured and no damage occurred after the explosion Sunday afternoon inside the Towne West Square. But Boomer says the sound frightened several people in the area. Witnesses say the confetti device went off near a movie theater. The juveniles were arrested soon after the incident. The boys were taken to juvenile hall but it was not clear if they would face charges.