Wichita Eagle: Crime andamp; Courts

Dead man proves to be key witness in murder trial

Hurst Laviana The Wichita Eagle — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:06 CDT

A Sedgwick County jury began deliberations Friday in a first-degree murder trial that started just six weeks after a key witness committed suicide.

But the testimony that the deceased witness gave at an earlier hearing proved to be some of the strongest evidence that prosecutors had in their case against Travis Knighten.

Knighten, 20, is charged in the May 7, 2011, shooting death of Mario Brown, 22, at an after-hours party in a parking lot at the southwest corner of 13th and Hillside.

Man, 48, leaves note with ‘sexual overtones’ at bus stop for middle school girls

Stan Finger — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:34 CDT

Police are looking into why a 48-year-old homeless man left a note for two girls at a school bus stop in north Wichita on Wednesday morning.

The man, who was staying in a tent city in Grove Park just off Hillside near 29th Street North, was arrested on an unrelated warrant, Lt. Doug Nolte said.

“He had written a note to them,” Nolte said of the man’s interest in the 11- and 12-year-old girls, who attend Hamilton Middle School. “It was waiting at the bus stop.”

Wichita police looking for suspects after gun fired at vehicle near 13th, Broadway

Amy Renee Leiker — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:56 CDT

Authorities on Thursday searched neighborhoods north of downtown for at least two men suspected in a shooting, prompting six nearby schools to lock down for part of the afternoon.

Wichita police Sgt. Ron Hunt said the pair remained at large by evening, several hours after an apparent shootout involving two vehicles at the Family Dollar near 13th and Broadway. A woman who owns one of the vehicles – an SUV that later crashed at 11th and Waco – was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice after she showed up at the scene and refused to cooperate with officers, Hunt said.

The “rolling disturbance” began shortly before 3 p.m., when someone in a white car fired at least three rounds at the SUV after it pulled into the parking lot of the Family Dollar in the 300 block of East 13th Street. At least one witness told police that someone in the SUV returned gunfire, Hunt said.

Burlington Coat Factory shooter sentenced to work-release

Hurst Laviana — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:38 CDT

A Wichita man who opened fire inside the Burlington Coat Factory store in east Wichita last summer avoided a prison sentence Thursday but will have to spend 60 days in a jail work-release program, a Sedgwick County judge ruled Thursday.

Jake L. Jacobs, 27, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of aggravated assault in a plea agreement that saw prosecutors dismiss two similar charges.

Jacobs was described by his lawyer as a meth addict who had consumed contaminated drugs and was hallucinating at the time of the crime. He said his client has since successfully completed a drug treatment program.

Prosecutors won’t seek death penalty in Dollar General shootings

Hurst Laviana — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:16 CDT

Sedgwick County prosecutors said Thursday that they will not seek the death penalty for a Wichita man accused of killing two people at a Wichita Dollar General store last year.

District Attorney Marc Bennett made the announcement at the arraignment of Marquis Marshall, 19, who is charged in the Nov. 30 shooting deaths of Zachary Hunt and Henry Harvey.

In a written statement released after the hearing, Bennett said: “Following a review of the facts of the case …, the applicable statutes and case law, and in consultation with the investigative law enforcement agency and the family of the victims, the state will proceed with the charge of capital murder. A notice of intent to seek a death sentence will not be filed.”

Burglars target windows of houses in southwest Wichita neighborhood

Stan Finger — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:59 CDT

Police are urging residents of a southwest Wichita neighborhood to be alert after a rash of home burglaries late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

The burglaries occurred in the 3300 block of South Kessler, the 3300 block of South Leonine and the 3200 block of South Gow, Lt. Doug Nolte said. The victimized houses are just a few blocks apart southeast of the intersection of 31st Street South and West.

“These are very close in proximity,” Nolte said. “They’re going to be related to each other.”

Murder trial begins, despite suicide of key witness

Hurst Laviana — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:46 CDT

A Sedgwick County jury on Tuesday began hearing evidence in a first-degree murder trial that is being held this week despite the fact that one of the state’s key witnesses committed suicide last month.

Both sides in the case agree that the fatal shots were fired from an SUV occupied by Travis Knighten, 20, who is standing trial for murder, and Arthur Gary, 22, whose body was found last month on the banks of the Arkansas River. A coroner’s report said Gary died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Assistant District Attorney Mandee Schauf told the jury in her opening statement that Knighten fired the shots that killed 22-year-old Mario Brown. Defense lawyer Gary Owens said shots were fired by Gary.

Wichita police: Alleged shoplifters at Wal-Mart identified

Amy Renee Leiker — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:47 CDT

Wichita police say a group of alleged shoplifters, including one who reportedly was armed, whose photos were posted Tuesday on the agency’s social media pages have been identified, thanks to phone calls from the public.

Messages from the department published on Facebook and Twitter late Wednesday morning thanked the public for their help in the month-old case. Police on Tuesday used social media to spur leads in the April 8 theft and aggravated assault in which a man wielding a handgun threatened two Wal-Mart security guards before fleeing the store with two other adults and a child.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, Wichita police Detective Chad Beard said. The case remains under investigation, he said.

Wichita man receives 10 years for distributing child pornography

RICK PLUMLEE — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:08 CDT

A Wichita man was sentenced Monday to more than 10 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography.

Deric D. Davin, 34, was sentenced to 121 months after pleading guilty to one count of distributing child porn, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office said.

In his plea, he admitted he used a peer-to-peer file sharing network on the Internet to receive and distribute the porn. An FBI agent in Tulsa downloaded child porn from Davin’s computer in Wichita in February 2012, Grissom’s office said.

Former Goddard physician charged with federal firearms violation

RICK PLUMLEE — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:40 CDT

A former Goddard physician who is a convicted felon has been arrested and charged with a federal firearms violation after he allegedly gave his pistol to a bail bondsman for partial payment.

Lawrence M. Simons, 57, was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office said Monday.

An investigator’s affidavit alleges that on April 17, Simons possessed a .32 caliber pistol that he gave to a bail bondsman as a partial payment for bonding him out of jail, Grissom’s office said.

Crime Stoppers tipsters not after the reward; they want safer communities, executive director says

Amy Renee Leiker — Mon, 13 May 2013 05:41 CDT

Hundreds of dollars in Crime Stoppers rewards go unclaimed annually, according to the director of the organization.

Although rewards can be retrieved at any time, only a few tipsters tend to pick up the money they are due when their information helps lead to an arrest, said Gordon Bassham, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Wichita/Sedgwick County, which bills itself as “a nonprofit organization of citizens against crime.”

Last year, $1,585 of $9,055 – not quite 18 percent – in awards approved by Crime Stoppers was retrieved, he said. In 2010, tipsters collected only two-thirds – $5,580 of $8,350 – of rewards; in 2011, $425 of $3,325 was claimed.

Body believed to be that of toddler Lana-Leigh Bailey found in Osage County

CHRISTINE VENDEL and MIKE HENDRICKS — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:48 CDT

A body believed to be that of the 18-month-old daughter of murder victim Kaylie Bailey was found Saturday in Osage County, Kan., authorities said early Sunday.

Lana-Leigh Bailey had been presumed dead, but searchers had been unable to locate her body, despite six days of intensive searching.

That search came to an end late Saturday, the Franklin County, Kan., sheriff’s department said, when a deputy from neighboring Osage County found human remains.

Ottawa killings could bring death penalty

BRIAN BURNES and MARK MORRIS — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:48 CDT

A Kansas man suspected of killing three adults and a young child on a farm near Ottawa now faces a bevy of murder charges, two of which could bring the death penalty.

As the search for the youngest victim’s body continued miles away, Kyle Trevor Flack, 27, made his first court appearance late Friday afternoon.

Franklin County District Judge Eric W. Godderz appointed death penalty specialist Ronald Evans of Topeka to represent Flack, who suggested he wanted to meet his attorney quickly.

Wichita police investigate possible abduction; 12-year-old girl found, apparently OK

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:29 CDT

Wichita police late Friday were investigating the possible abduction of an 11-year-old girl who was found after about 40 minutes, a police supervisor said.

The girl didn’t appear to be harmed, but police were still trying to determine what happened, said police Lt. Jose Salcido. He said he couldn’t yet provide a description of the possible male suspect, who had reportedly approached the girl and two other girls on foot.

Salcido gave this account around 10:40 p.m.: The incident was reported at about 8:20 p.m. in the 4900 block of East Harry. The girl, her friend and a cousin, around the ages of 12 and 13, were walking back from the QuikTrip at Edgemoor and Harry. After they were approached by the suspect, they ran and sought help. The 11-year-old was missing for about 40 minutes before being found in the 1600 block of South Glendale, near Harry and Oliver.

Kansas Supreme Court upholds conviction in Emily Sander murder

Hurst Laviana — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:46 CDT

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the capital murder conviction of Israel Mireles, who was convicted of killing 18-year-old Butler Community College student Emily Sander in 2007 before dumping her body 50 miles away in Woodson County.

Mireles, 29, was sentenced to life without parole for capital murder and 203 months for rape after a four-day trial in Butler County District Court in February 2010. He is a high- to medium-security inmate at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court rejected defense claims that photos introduced at Mireles’ trial were unduly prejudicial and that a prosecutor improperly offered an opinion of Mireles’ guilt during his closing argument.

Homeless Wichita man draws 13.5-year sentence for manslaughter

Hurst Laviana — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:02 CDT

A homeless man was sentenced Thursday to 13.5 years in prison for beating another homeless man to death near the Keeper of the Plains statue in Wichita.

Patrick R. Perkins, 41, pleaded guilty in April to robbery and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Marshall K. Hauschulz, who was found beaten to death on a concrete slab next to the Arkansas River near Central and Nims. Wichita police said the beating occurred as Perkins was robbing Hauschulz, 41, of cigarettes.

Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Perkins was paroled from prison six weeks before he beat Hauschulz to death on Dec. 15, 2011. Perkins had been serving time for a Reno County aggravated battery conviction. He also has a 1994 Saline County conviction for aggravated robbery.

Second lawsuit filed against city alleging Wichita police officer negligence in driving pursuit

Tim Potter — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:16 CDT

The city has been sued twice over claims that the same Wichita police officer drove dangerously on duty, leading to the death of a 12-year-old girl in one instance and resulting in serious injuries to a motorist in another.

On Tuesday, a lawyer representing 23-year-old Juan M. Santiago filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging negligence by Officer Atlee Vogt and another officer in a high-speed chase where a fleeing driver ran a red light and struck Santiago, leaving him with internal injuries and fractured bones.

Although it appears from preliminary information that Vogt was driving with emergency lights and sirens, a high-speed chase wasn’t warranted and was too risky for the circumstances, said Santiago’s attorney, Blake Shuart of Wichita.

Two store robberies Monday night may be related, police say

Stan Finger The Wichita Eagle — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:47 CDT

Police think two store robberies Monday night are related.

A man walked into the Harry Go Cherry Smoke Shop at 324 W. Harry shortly before 6:30 p.m. and confronted the clerk with a handgun, demanding money from the cash register, Lt. Doug Nolte said. The store is about halfway between Broadway and the Arkansas River.

Frightened by the threat, the clerk ran to a back room. The robber then left without any cash, Nolte said.

Alleged rape involving former Wichita State basketball player still being investigated

Stan Finger — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:17 CDT

Police on Tuesday shed no new light on the investigation into an alleged rape late last month reportedly involving a former member of Wichita State University’s Final Four basketball team.

“All I can say is that the case is still under investigation,” Lt. Randy Reynolds, head of the sex crimes unit, said in an e-mailed response to questions.

A 20-year-old woman told police she woke up while being raped at the residence of one of the former player’s teammates early on the morning of April 21. She reported that the incident occurred between 3:57 and 4:30 a.m. She reported the alleged assault at 11:10 a.m. that day.

3 charged with first-degree murder in death of former South High football player

Amy Renee Leiker — Mon, 13 May 2013 05:41 CDT

Three of four suspects arrested in former Wichita South High football player Jordan Turner’s death were formally charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court.

Ebony Nguyen, 21; Kristofer Wright, 20; and Eric Jackson, 21; stood quietly in green jail jumpsuits — breaking silence only to say “Yes, sir” and “Thank you” — as Judge Warren Wilbert read each the charge.

Nguyen, the first of the trio who appeared, shook her head when the judge told her she’d pay a $100 fee to apply for a court-appointed attorney.