BELLE PLAINE, Kan. — A judge has refused to free an ailing inmate from Kansas who, along with his wife, was convicted of abusing mentally ill patients at their treatment center, including by forcing them to work naked and engage in sexual acts. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten cited the “particularly heinous nature” of the abusive treatment of mentally ill patients in a ruling Tuesday to deny the request from Arlan Dean Kaufman for compassionate release from his 30-year prison sentence because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During their trial, federal prosecutors called the facility Kaufman and his wife operated…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. — A man who provided massages for female athletes at the University of Kansas is facing six new misdemeanor charges of sexual battery. The amended charges come after 49-year-old Shawn O’Brien was charged in February with a child sex crime, prompting Kansas to cancel its contracts with him. The university said in March that six female athletes told investigators they had experienced “unwarranted” touching during massages provided by O’Brien. The Kansas News Service reports the amended charges filed July 14 do not specify the alleged victims’ genders or if they are current of former Kansas students or…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 46-year-old Hutchinson woman was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for what the district attorney called the largest methamphetamine bust in the county during his 19 years in office. Jennie Rebecca Wallace was sentenced Thursday after authorities found a 5-pound package of methamphetamine in her home in January. The Hutchinson News reports Wallace was also convicted of making at least two drug sales from her home. Before her sentencing, Wallace apologized to the court, law enforcement and her family.
TOPEKA — Authorities have exhumed the body of a Black man who died in 2004 in Kansas as federal officials continue to investigate the death as a possible hate crime. The body of Alonzo Brooks was exhumed from a Topeka cemetery on Tuesday. Brooks was 23 when he disappeared after attending a party in La Cynge, Kansas, in May 2004. His family later found his body in a creek near where the party was held. The FBI reopened the investigation in 2019 and in June of this year offered a $100,000 reward for information. KSNT-TV reports his family said new…
OVERLAND PARK — Prosecutors have charged an Overland Park city councilman with one count of domestic battery. The Kansas City Star reports that court documents show Scott Hamblin was arrested after police were called to his home Tuesday night for a report of a disturbance. A police incident report says Hamblin was accused of physical contact with a person “in a rude, insulting or angry manner” and police indicated they believed Hamblin was drunk at the time. Police reported damage to drywall in the home. No injuries were reported. Hamblin has pleaded not guilty to the charge. He did not…
Story by Nick McNamara/News Radio KMAN Manhattan is considering 5 to 10 percent cuts in city departments for the 2021 budget as officials look to fill a $2.7 million gap in revenues and expenditures. City Commissioners Tuesday heard from department heads in a session that was extended past the midnight stop time implemented in 2018 by 4 to 1 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Wynn Butler opposing. Commissioners were also unanimous in authorizing sending the budget to publication in order to approve it by the state-required August deadline. It features no increase in the mill levy, though about half a…
Health officials say that a recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations is not surprising, and follows the progression trends seen nationally. Riley County now reports 4 positive patients in treatment at Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan. At the beginning of last week, no confirmed patients had been admitted. The county also saw 6 new positive tests and 4 recoveries since Tuesday. Overall, 113 cases are active, 289 recoveries have been reported and 3 have died of 411 confirmed cases in Riley County. Additionally, 197 tests are still pending and 3,986 tests have come back negative. Overall, 4,594 tests have been…
A former U.S. Army general and defense contractor is hoping to use a platform on the Riley County Commission to bring medical-services accessibility, government transparency and economic sustainability to the county. Phil Mattox, a military veteran of over 30 years who is running against District-2 incumbent Marvin Rodriguez and Riley City Council Member Greg McKinley in this year’s Republican primary, says if elected, he will attempt to bring an ambulance station to Leonardville to support residents in northern Riley County. “Depending on where you start, it can take as much as 40 minutes to get to the northern part of…
This is a continuing series of related to local candidates ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. A former Manhattan mayor and city commissioner is hoping to win a seat on the Riley County Commission. Republican John Matta is challenging incumbent Republican Ron Wells in the primary for District 3. Matta previously served on the Manhattan City Commission from 2011 to 2015 and says he felt the desire once again to get into public service. “I did enjoy the public service and even back then I kind of thought, having been on the city commission, trying for the county commission, and…
K-State President Richard Myers joined us for the first two segments regarding the university’s planned reopening and return to in-person classes for the fall. USD 378 Riley County Superintendent Cliff Williams joined us for an update on enrollment, reopening and the bond construction.