LIBERAL, Kan. (AP) A new trial date has been scheduled for a 31-year-old western Kansas man who’s charged with trying to kill his three children. Irineo Garcia of Liberal has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted first-degree murder. He’s scheduled to stand trial Feb. 11 in Seward County District Court. The Hutchinson News reports that a psychological evaluation delayed Garcia’s trial, which initially was scheduled for last February. He’s accused of trying to kill his three children, then ages 5, 6 and 7, in 2010. Prosecutors say he also tried to kill himself. The children and Garcia were…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Leawood lawyer has been appointed to the 10th Judicial District of Kansas. Gov. Sam Brownback’s office said Wednesday in a release that Brownback has named Leawood attorney Michael Joyce to the state’s 10th Judicial District, which covers Johnson County. Joyce takes the seat of retiring Judge Lawrence Sheppard. Joyce was one of three names submitted to Brownback by the district’s nominating commission.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) A 35-year-old woman died when she was struck by a car as she walked on a street in Overland Park. Police identified the victim as Tiana J. Beall. She was struck by the car about 11 p.m. Tuesday. No other details about the accident were immediately released. The vehicle involved in the death was located Wednesday. Overland Park police said no arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Jury selection has begun in the trial of a 33-year-old man charged with killing a Hutchinson woman. Billy Joe Craig and Charles Christopher Logsdon are charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Jennifer Heckel. Investigators have said they believe the men planned to rob someone else and went to the wrong house and killed Heckel. Her 5-year-old son was home at the time, and he alerted neighbors, who called police. The Hutchinson News reports that Logdson’s trial began Tuesday with jury selection, which was expected to last two days. Logsdon’s lawyer, Jim Pratt of…
OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) A judge in northeastern Kansas has declared a mistrial in an attempted murder case because jurors saw improper evidence. Jefferson County District Judge Gary Nafziger ordered the mistrial Wednesday in the attempted murder trial of John Hayworth Jr., 62, of Valley Falls. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Hayworth is charged in the December shooting of William Schoonover, 58, also of Valley Falls. The trial, which opened Monday, was declared a mistrial after jurors watched a DVD containing footage that should have been redacted. Jefferson County Attorney Jason Belveal says a redacted copy had been made, but the…
GOODLAND, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Highway Patrol says a northwest Kansas man died after being hit by a car. The patrol says Jeffrey A. Badgett, 46, of Goodland died late Tuesday when he walked into a road in Goodland and was hit by a Jeep Cherokee. Badgett died at the scene. The driver of the Cherokee was not hurt. An investigation into the accident is continuing.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) Overland Park city officials are considering adding some restrictions to a new ordinance that allows residents to openly carry weapons. The city council voted last month to allow gun owners to carry firearms in public places if they are kept in holsters with the safety engaged. Guns are not allowed in city-owned buildings. Since then, councilman Jim Hix says council members have been inundated with complaints from Overland Park residents. The Kansas City Star reports the council will consider next month requiring those openly carrying weapons to have the same permits currently required to carry concealed…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The two elephants living at the Topeka Zoo aren’t going anywhere. The Topeka City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to support the zoo’s decision to keep the elephants, 52-year-old Sunda and 42-year-old Tembo. The zoo and council had been pressured for weeks by critics who said the elephants weren’t getting proper care and should be transferred to a sanctuary in Tennessee. The council’s vote required the zoo to improve its elephant program. Zoo director Brendan Wiley says changes are planned, and zoo patrons will see improvements as early as February. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Wiley says the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has been both a rival of Mitt Romney and a boss of Romney’s running mate. Now, Brownback has served as a surrogate for the GOP presidential nominee in a crucial swing state. The Youngstown, Ohio, Vindicator reported that Brownback spent Tuesday on a five-city tour of northeastern Ohio stumping for the Republican ticket of Ryan and Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan. Brownback, elected governor in 2010, is a former U.S. senator. Ryan served on Brownback’s U.S. Senate staff in the 1990s. Brownback unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2007, opposing both Romney and…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas is presenting a special exhibit honoring the late Democratic Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota. McGovern, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972, died Sunday at the age of 90. Dole, the former Republican senator from Kansas, worked with McGovern to create an international food for education and child nutrition program, for which they shared the 2008 World Food Prize. He issued a statement Sunday praising McGovern as a “humble, compassionate and caring man.” The Dole Institute exhibit traces McGovern’s life growing up during…