TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Dozens of people gathered in Topeka to honor an 8-year-old girl who was killed last week. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the vigil was held Tuesday night near the site where Ahliyah Nachell Irvin was found slain March 13. The child’s mother Angela Ortega cried as family members wrapped a large tree in Dornwood Park with pink, white, yellow and baby blue ribbons. A Topeka man, Billy Frank Davis Jr., has been charged with capital murder, among other crimes that include kidnapping and rape of a child, in connection with the death. Police said the girl was…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 29-year-old Wichita man has pleaded guilty to taking part in a Wichita bank robbery last year. Sergio Little pleaded guilty in Wichita on Tuesday to one count of abetting a bank robbery. The robbery took place at the Sunflower Bank on Aug. 11, 2011. He is scheduled for sentencing June 7. The Wichita Eagle reports that three other defendants have been convicted in the case and are awaiting sentencing.
BAZAAR, Kan. (AP) Kansas has been gearing up for the 81st anniversary of the central Kansas plane crash that killed Notre Dame football legend Knute Rockne and seven other people. The Wichita Eagle reports that events this weekend will include the unveiling of the 1932 Rockne Family Studebaker at the Chase County Historical Museum. They also will include live music and tours of the Chase County Courthouse and Rockne crash site. Rockne’s death at age 43 at the height of his career having led the Fighting Irish to consecutive undefeated seasons his final two seasons made front-page news across the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Members of the Kansas Senate aren’t sure a bill cutting taxes can pass their chamber. The measure was up for a final vote Wednesday. It cuts the state’s top individual income tax rates and eliminates income taxes for 191,000 partnerships, sole proprietorships and other small businesses. It also cuts the sales tax from 6.3 percent to 5.7 percent in July 2013. The Senate’s plan could come with a massive price tag as high as $800 million a year. It’s a departure from a plan outlined by Gov. Sam Brownback to overhaul the individual income tax code. He…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate is preparing to debate a proposed $14.2 billion state budget that’s slightly more generous than one proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback. The budget bill on the Senate’s calendar for Wednesday still cuts overall spending by almost 4 percent, or $572 million, during the fiscal year that begins July 1. But it includes funds for social service programs that Brownback didn’t include in his spending recommendations. It includes an additional $16 million for children’s programs and nearly $9 million to boost the pay of state workers whose salaries are below the pay for people with…
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) A woman who abducted an 81-year-old woman outside a northeast Kansas grocery store and forced her to withdraw money from banks is going to prison. The Kansas City Star reports that a Johnson County judge on Tuesday sentenced 24-year-old Sarah Nicole Zaragoza to 11 years. It’s the same sentence given earlier to her female co-defendant in the August 2010 crime. Edna Wells was in the courtroom to see the second of her kidnappers sentenced. The women grabbed Wells at knifepoint outside a Shawnee supermarket and forced her to drive around Johnson County withdrawing money from ATMs. The…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Supporters of anti-abortion activist Randall Terry are opening a presidential campaign office in Kansas ahead of the state’s April 14 Democratic caucus. Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, is best known in Kansas for organizing the massive 1991 Summer of Mercy abortion protests in Wichita. He is now running as a Democratic candidate against President Barack Obama. Terry’s campaign scheduled news conferences Wednesday in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, Kan., to coincide with the opening of his campaign headquarters in Wichita. An assistant campaign director planned to speak on Terry’s behalf. Terry received 18 percent of the…
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) An eastern Kansas man who pleaded no contest to sexually abusing a child will serve at least 25 years of a life sentence before he qualifies for parole. The Ottawa Herald reports that 33-year-old Duane Francis Brannan received the maximum term allowed by state law at his sentencing Monday in Franklin County District Court. Four other counts were dropped in exchange for the Ottawa man’s plea last month to a single count. Brannan’s victim an 8-year-old girl calmly answered questions from a prosecutor before the judge pronounced the sentence. The girl, who was known to Brannan, also…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has endorsed a cut in the state sales tax as members debate proposals from Gov. Sam Brownback to reduce income taxes. The Senate voted 29-11 on Tuesday to reduce the sales tax to 5.7 percent from the current 6.3 percent in July 2013, adding the proposal as an amendment to a broader tax bill. Debate on the bill continued, and senators expected to decide Tuesday evening whether to give the entire measure first-round approval. The sales tax was raised in 2010 to help balance the budget, and is already scheduled to drop in 2013.…
A series of car break-ins has Riley County police keeping a close watch on one particular area in Manhattan RCPD received three calls early Wednesday morning, regarding vehicles that had been broken into. The incidents occurred on Lawrence Rd., James Ave., and Gary Ave., all located just south of Susan B. Anthony Middle School. None of the victims reported anything stolen from their cars, all of which had been left unlocked. If you see any suspicious activity in this area, please call contact RCPD at (785) 537-2112