TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Topeka man pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and other charges in a shooting death near a Topeka high school. Austin Tabor pleaded no contest Monday to killing Matthew Mitchell, 20, in October 2010 near Topeka West High School. A 17-year-old friend of Mitchell’s survived after being shot five times. Tabor was scheduled to go on trial in two weeks for a second time. His first trial ended in a mistrial when a newspaper reporter inadvertently tweeted a photo that showed a juror. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 26. WIBW reports two other people have…
Author: KMAN Staff
OAKLAWN, Kan. (AP) One of five people arrested in a shooting death in a Wichita suburb has been convicted of first-degree murder and six other felonies. A Sedgwick County jury on Monday Reginald Dupree for his role in the Dec. 14 shooting death of Markez Phillips, 19. Prosecutors said Phillips was killed during a robbery at his girlfriend’s house in Oaklawn. Two young children were in the home at the time. The Wichita Eagle reports the alleged shooter, Malek Brown, is scheduled to stand trial in October. Dupree’s lawyer told the jury during the trial that his client was at…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A U.S. House candidate from northeastern Kansas is criticizing incumbent Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins and Congress for failing to act on a new farm bill. Topeka minister Tobias Schlingensiepen, the Democratic nominee in the 2nd Congressional District, issued a statement critical of Jenkins on Monday. Schlingensiepen says House members left Washington to campaign for re-election without acting on the farm bill, despite receiving a version from the Senate earlier this year. Jenkins’ campaign issued a statement saying the congresswoman grew up on a farm and understood the issues and was trying to work for a solution. That…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has reorganized his office’s administration of programs that help crime victims. He’s also promoted his chief spokesman to oversee some of them. Schmidt says he’s creating a new Division of Crime Victims Compensation that will be overseen by Jeff Wagaman, who has served both as his main spokesman and his deputy chief of staff. Wagaman also is a former assistant state treasurer. The new division will focus on helping crime victims obtain compensation for their losses, allowing the state’s three-member Crime Victims Compensation Board to concentrate on reviewing claims. The new division…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas farmers have planted about 17 percent of next year’s winter wheat crop while bringing in this year’s corn crop far faster than normal. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service said in its weekly update Monday that wheat seeding is on pace with both last year and the average for this point in the season. About 2 percent of the wheat has already emerged. Meanwhile, the corn harvest reached the 64 percent mark as of Sunday, about three weeks ahead of the five-year average. Just 5 percent of the corn still needs to mature in the field. A lack…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Sedgwick County commissioner says he’d rather see the county spend $10,000 on something other than a hospitality tent at the Wings Over McConnell air show. The two-day Wichita festival takes place this weekend at McConnell Air Force Base. The Wichita Eagle reports the County Commission will vote Wednesday on whether to fund the hospitality tent from a $533,000 contingency budget. Commissioner Richard Ranzau says spending $10,000 on what he called a “party tent” is a frivolous use of taxpayer money. Ranzau says the county has rejected many other requests for funding and he thinks there are…
The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department is asking for assistance from the public in locating a white Chevy Blazer that left the scene of a residential burglary investigation in the Walnut Grove Area Tuesday afternoon. The vehicle was last seen a little after 3:30 in the afternoon, travelling at a high rate of speed westbound into Manhattan. The Chevy Blazer is described as being a late ‘90’s or early 2000 model, with temporary tags, and was reportedly driven by a white male. Sheriff’s Department officials indicate they were at the Walnut Grove location earlier in the afternoon investigating the theft of…
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Solar, wind, and geothermal energy were some of the renewable energy resources brought up during the Kansas Energy Conference held at the Manhattan Conference Center September 25th. The event featured a number of various breakout sessions, speeches and discussions. With renewable energy sources at an all time high, that was the main focus of this year’s conference. The community/small wind industry, biomass/biofuels, solar, wind farm development, geothermal and transportation were some of the different areas discussed. Tuesday kicked off the first day of the conference with President and CEO at BP Wind Energy, John Graham, who spoke at 9 a.m.…
A July residential house fire that occurred at 531 Bertrand Street in Manhattan has been ruled an incendiary fire by investigators. A news release issued Tuesday morning by Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes indicates the result of witness interviews has allowed investigators to determine the July first fire was intentionally set. The fire caused approximately $50,000 damage to the structure and $40,000 to contents. The owner of the residence, Cadell Bynum, was not at home at the time of the fire. Riley County Police Department Investigators, in cooperation with Fire investigators from the Manhattan Fire Department, are currently working on the investigation.