A Riley County District Court judge on Wednesday sentenced a Texas man to over 14 years in prison after he was convicted by a jury in March of distributing drugs. Jose Miguel Rivera, 33, will serve 14 years 2 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for distributing at least 1 kilogram of cocaine. Rivera was also sentenced to four years one month for distribution of between 100 grams and 1 kilogram of psilocybin — also known as mushrooms — and eight months for using a cell phone to distribute controlled substances. Judge Grant Bannister ordered Rivera’s sentences to be served…
Author: Rose Gruenbacher
A Manhattan woman will go to trial in August after pleading not guilty at an arraignment in Riley County District Court for drug distribution and child endangerment charges. Brittanie Michelle Vaughn, 31, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to distributing between 3.5 and 100 grams of methamphetamine, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of aggravated child endangerment by exposure to the sale of meth and possession of marijuana. The charges are all alleged to have happened on May 8, 2025. Two children born in 2020 and 2021 were listed as victims. To view the full article visit theMercury.com.
A Manhattan man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges against him including 10 counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Manfred Adrien Elocka-Ngom, 31, pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in Riley County Court. He faces 10 counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child by engaging in sexual intercourse, contributing to a child’s deprivation and furnishing alcoholic liquor or a cereal malt beverage to a minor. The charges are alleged to have been committed between July 8 and Oct. 4, 2025 against a child born in 2010. To view the full article visit theMercury.com.
Documents say a former Riley County corrections officer was in a romantic relationship with a Riley County Jail inmate in the fall when the pair exchanged “love notes” and she snuck Wing Stop and other contraband items into the facility. Ashley Britt, 24, is charged in Riley County District Court with eight counts of trafficking contraband in the jail. Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents conducted an investigation against Britt and arrested her April 10. She was booked into the Geary County Jail and released the same day on an $8,000 bond. The Mercury obtained an affidavit prepared by KBI senior…
A 20-year-old Manhattan man on Monday received a prison sentence of 12 years and 3 months with the Kansas Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to aggravated criminal sodomy against a child. Kelvy Houston Abbott pleaded guilty to the charge March 30 in Riley County District Court after entering a plea deal with the Riley County attorney’s office. In return for his plea, the court dropped Abbott’s remaining charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Abbott’s conviction derives from an incident in July 2024 with a girl who was 12 years old at the time. The Mercury does not…
A Wichita man whose trial in Riley County District Court was scheduled to begin Tuesday failed to appear in court Tuesday morning. A judge issued a warrant for the man as a result. Judge John Bosch issued a bond revocation and bench warrant for the arrest of Jamal Rhsard Williams, 47, with a new bond of $250,000. Williams was arrested Dec. 28, 2024 and was released on a $40,000 bond the next day. He is charged with distribution of at least 100 grams of methamphetamine, distribution of between 50 and 250 doses of fentanyl, distribution of between 1 and 3.5…
The first of three alleged victims in a Texas man’s sex crimes case testified Wednesday in Riley County District Court. A man born in 2002 took the witness stand and told the jury about two incidents in the early morning hours of April 16, 2022, when he said Abel Gutierrez Jr., 35, touched him sexually without his consent. The Mercury does not identify victims of sexual crimes. The man, a soldier at Fort Riley at the time, said he and some other soldiers attended a party at a house on College Heights Road owned by Gutierrez and his brother. The…
A Laredo, Texas, man’s trial in Riley County District Court began Tuesday with jury selection in a case charging him with sex crimes against three people. Police arrested Abel Gutierrez Jr., 35, last January after extradition from Laredo for a warrant issued by Riley County in 2023. He is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of sexual battery. The warrant and arrest are connected to events in July 2022. A complaint filed with the court said Gutierrez touched three people born in 2003, 2002 and 1988 without their consent. To view the full article visit…
A Topeka man was convicted of a slew of charges including attempted 2nd degree murder after he entered a plea agreement with county prosecutors on Monday in Riley County District Court. Dontreveon Stephon Temple-McGlory, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted 2nd degree murder against Sierre Serr and Clayson Joyce, criminal discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle, three counts of criminal damage to property and two counts of contributing to a child’s misconduct by encouraging them to commit a felony. Temple-McGlory’s convictions stem from events on Nov. 30, 2024. Assistant Riley County attorney Trinity Muth provided the…
A former Riley County Jail corrections officer made her first appearance Friday in Riley County District Court for a case charging her with trafficking contraband into a correctional facility. Ashley Britt, 24, of Manhattan is charged with eight counts of trafficking contraband in the Riley County Jail between Sep. 20 and Oct. 1 last year. A document filed with the court lists the contraband items as food, nicotine, headphones, hair ties, a comb and condiments. Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Britt for the alleged offenses on April 10 and booked her into the Geary County jail before releasing her…