A 49-year-old man barricaded himself in his apartment Monday afternoon at the 400 block of Leavenworth Street while police attempted to arrest the man. A Riley County Police Department representative said the man is wanted for aggravated assault on a nearby worker from an incident earlier that day. Police were attempting to get the man to come out peacefully just after 3 p.m. At 3:58 p.m. the RCPD representative said the man was arrested without incident. Police would not release the man’s identity or charges at the time of publishing. This is a developing story.
Author: Rose Gruenbacher
A Kansas House representative and Republican candidate for secretary of state said it wasn’t his fault that employees in his restaurants were not paid minimum wage or overtime pay. District 41 Rep. Pat Proctor is running for the Kansas secretary of state seat after incumbent Scott Schwab chose to leave the post in a failed attempt to run for governor. Proctor faces Democratic nominee Jennifer Day, of Lawrence and Scott Morgan, also of Lawrence, representing the Unite Kansas Party. Proctor joined Within Reason with Mike Matson on KMAN news radio Tuesday to discuss his campaign, where Matson questioned him about…
A jury in Riley County District Court convicted a Manhattan man of charges including murder and attempted murder stemming from an October 2023 shooting. Marc Anthony Oliver, 20, was found guilty of the murder of Tannon Ratcliffe, the attempted murder of Andrew Graves and Cade Perkins and criminal discharge of a firearm at a house with people inside. Oliver will be sentenced for the crimes on Nov. 10. To view the full article visit theMercury.com.
Friends of Marc Oliver and a Secret Service analyst on Thursday laid out the events leading up to an October 2023 shooting of which Oliver is accused. Oliver, 20, of Manhattan is on trial in Riley County District Court this week for shooting three people on Oct. 21, 2023, at 426 Bluemont Ave. Three men were shot and one man later died as a result of his injuries. Oliver is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm. On Thursday, the jury reviewed a recorded police…
After 236 days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Tuesday revealed that they detained eight people in Manhattan raids conducted in February. They did not provide identities of those people or other details. A Mercury reporter on Feb. 5 filed a Freedom of Information Act request with ICE for the total number of arrests and detainments made in Riley County from the beginning of the year through Feb. 5. The request was filed after an ICE operation took place in Manhattan the same day. The Mercury also asked for dates, locations and names included in any cases, which is…
A Riley County police officer said he heard over 20 gunshots on the night of an Oct. 2023 house party shooting while he testified in a trial for the case on Tuesday in Riley County District Court. Officer Garrett Lloyd took the witness stand Tuesday morning and testified during the trial of Marc Anthony Oliver, 20, of Manhattan. Oliver is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm. Lloyd said he had just wrapped up a previous call around 2:47 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2023 when he…
The trial of a Manhattan man facing several charges including murder and attempted murder began Monday with jury selection in Riley County District Court. Marc Anthony Oliver, 20, is charged with the 1st degree premeditated murder of Tannon Ratcliffe on Oct. 21, 2023. He’s also charged with the attempted 1st degree murder of Andrew Graves and Cade Perkins in the same incident, as well as two counts of aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm. Oliver pleaded not guilty to the crimes on May 18. His trial is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, Oct. 6. There are three co-defendants…
A Marlatt Elementary School teacher was arrested on Saturday for charges of child endangerment and assault with a gun. The Grandview Plaza Police Department arrested Brianna Monique Little, 34, of Junction City on Saturday at 9:32 p.m. She faces charges in Geary County District Court of aggravated endangering a child, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm while under the influence. Little was released from the Geary County Jail on Tuesday on a $25,000 bond. She is scheduled for a status hearing in court on Oct. 1. Representatives at USD 383 were unavailable to…
A man from Lincoln, Nebraska, faces a federal charge of traveling for sex crimes following his Sept. 18 arrest in Manhattan. Vitaliy Smal, 29, is charged with travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct in the United States District Court, District of Kansas. Law enforcement officers arrested him at Dara’s corner market on Kimball Avenue as part of a joint sex crimes sting in Riley and Geary counties by Riley County police, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and 12 other law enforcement agencies. Smal’s case was filed on Monday, with an affidavit supporting the charge compiled by…
A Riley County District Court jury on Wednesday convicted a Manhattan man of attempted voluntary manslaughter connected to an October 2025 shooting on Marlatt Ave. The jury found Jacques LaShawn Toliver, 38, guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter caused by a sudden quarrel, aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm at a dwelling. The victim involved in the crimes was a 36-year-old man. Toliver is scheduled to be sentenced for the convictions on Nov. 9.