WICHITA, Kan. — A homeless man has been sentenced to life plus 195 months in prison for killing a 72-year-old Wichita woman who had sometimes provided him with food and a place to stay. Television station KAKE reports that 57-year-old John Darwin Pepper was sentenced last week after being convicted in November of first-degree murder and criminal sodomy for the July 2019 death of Rita Golden. Prosecutors say Pepper killed Golden during the course of sexually assaulting her. Police have said Golden let Pepper stay in her backyard and sometimes let him take naps and eat insider her home. An…
Author: KMAN Staff
On Thursday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President Jason Smith.
An investigation into a July 2021 alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in Manhattan has resulted in the arrest of a suspect. Riley County Police say 19-year-old Marcus Quintin Hall, of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was arrested on a warrant Wednesday after being extradited from Pulaski County, Missouri. He’s charged with a single felony county of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Police say the incident was reported Nov. 1. Hall remains jailed on a $150,000 bond.
Riley County is reporting two more COVID related deaths this week. A 68 year-old unvaccinated male tested positive January 7 and died on January 15 at Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan. A 98 year-old unvaccinated female tested positive January 10 and died on January 14. This brings the total number of deaths in the county since the beginning of the pandemic to 70. Riley County has identified 636 new COVID cases and 595 additional recoveries since last week’s report. There are currently 1,056 active cases in Riley County. The percent of positive test results rose slightly from 20.19% to…
The Game on 1350 KMAN · The Game 1/19/22 Hour 1 – Derek Young from K-State 00:00 – Derek Young from K-State 15:56 – Derek Young from K-State 2 27:54 – Interview with Mitch Holthus The Game on 1350 KMAN · The Game 1/19/22 Hour 2 – K-State Now has a Glimmer of Hope 00:00 – K-State now has a Glimmer of Hope 16:22 – Previews of the K-State Women’s Game 21:43 – #1 Song of the Day 31:55 – Ask Us Anything
Kansas health officials say the state will stop contact tracing for COVID-19 next month. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Tuesday that contact tracing has become futile because of increased COVID-19 cases and the public’s declining interest in participating. The change means people who test positive for the virus will be responsible for notifying their close contacts about possible exposure. If the person has been exposed at high-risk settings such as schools or daycares, state or local health departments will notify the setting, which will be responsible for notifying close contacts about the potential exposure. The change takes…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Republican legislators in Kansas are pursuing a redistricting proposal that would remove Democratic voters from the Kansas-City area swing district currently held by the state’s only Democratic member of Congress. Democrats fear that new political boundaries will make it harder for Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids to win reelection in Kansas’ 3rd District. GOP lawmakers on Tuesday made public their first congressional redistricting proposals during meetings of committees in the state House and Senate. One plan outlined by key Republicans would split up the state’s portion of the Kansas City metropolitan area and draw part of the…
WICHITA, Kan. — A Kansas prosecutor says he won’t file charges over the death of a Black 17-year-old who became unresponsive while being restrained after an altercation with staff at a Wichita juvenile center in September. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett made the announcement in a Tuesday news conference. Cedric Lofton died at a hospital two days after the altercation at the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. A December autopsy report contradicted an earlier, preliminary finding that the teenager hadn’t suffered life-threatening injuries. The autopsy ruled the death a homicide. Bennett says he state’s “stand your ground”…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, have arrested a man on suspicion of killing a woman and severely beating her 4-year-old daughter over the weekend. The Kansas City Star reports that 28-year-old Jose Escalante-Corchado was charged with first-degree murder and four other felonies after the body of 24-year-old Mackenzie Hopkins was found submerged in a bathtub in her home on Saturday. Hopkins’ 4-year-old daughter was found on a bed suffering from severe head trauma and remains hospitalized. Police say bloody shoe prints throughout the house were traced to a pair of cowboy boots belonging to Escalante-Corchado and…
The following summary of calls for service/reports filed by the Riley County Police Department is a portion of those received by police. Some names, addresses, and case details are withheld to follow local, state, and federal law as well as in an attempt to protect community members from being victimized further. Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. MANHATTAN, KAN. – Officers filed a report for aggravated battery and criminal damage to property in Manhattan on January 18, 2022, around 6:34 a.m. Officers listed 19- and 61-year-old females as the victims when it was reported…