Author: KMAN Staff

A vehicle fire was quickly extinguished Thursday by Manhattan Fire crews. The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. in the 2300 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard. The vehicle’s owner was driving down the road when he heard a noise and began to smell smoke. He pulled into the Beer Goggles parking lot and then called 911. The fire was centered in the engine compartment. Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes tells KMAN the fire was determined to be accidental, but no exact cause was found. Loss is estimated at $1,000 in damage to the vehicle.

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Officers filed a report for aggravated assault in the 2500 block of Casement Rd in Manhattan on July 23, 2020, at approximately 6:28 PM. Officers listed a 19-year-old male as the victim when it was reported an unknown male suspect pointed a handgun at him after an argument. Anyone with information can contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.

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After a month and a half, an alligator stolen from a Manhattan pet store has been safely captured and returned home. The gator was pulled from the waters of Wildcat Creek by a member of an Ebert Construction crew, currently working on the bridge replacement project on Fort Riley Blvd. The gator was spotted in the area of the bridge and a crew member waded into the water to retrieve it. The alligator, named Beauregard, is one of two stolen from Reptile World back in June. The owners had first believed the gator in the creek was not theirs, but…

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Riley County reports one fewer COVID-19 related hospitalization since Wednesday, with three patients currently being treated at Manhattan’s Ascension Via Christi Hospital. One additional person with symptoms is also admitted to AVCH awaiting test results. One of the positive patients is reported to be ventilated. Seven new positive tests and six recoveries were also reported in Riley County Thursday for a net increase of one active case. That makes 116 active cases, 299 recoveries and three deaths out of 418 confirmed cases. There are 195 pending tests, 4,025 tests have come back negative and a total of 4,638 administered tests.…

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On Thursday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with K-State Director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy Tim Shaffer. We also spoke with Pawnee Mental Health Eastern Region Therapy and Recovery Services Supervisor Jurdene Coleman.

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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…

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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…

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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.

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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…

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