WICHITA, KAN. – A prosecutor said in court Monday that federal agents seized more than 220 pounds of methamphetamine in a drug trafficking case in the Kansas City, Kan., metro area. According to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, 14 defendants are charged in the case.

“Opioids are often in the news,” McAllister said. “But methamphetamine remains our biggest drug problem in the Midwest.”

Investigators found the methamphetamine when they served a search warrant at a house in Kansas City, Kan., where one of the defendants lives.

The 33-count indictment, which was based on more than a year of investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, contains charges including conspiracy, distribution, possession with intent to distribute and interstate communications in furtherance of drug trafficking. Many of the charges carry potential penalties of 10 years or more in federal prison.

The following defendants have been charged:

Christopher Hite, 36, conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Yader Arita, 30, conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Luis Martinez-Carrango, 57, Kansas City, Mo., conspiracy, interstate communications in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Alfredo Rey, 34, Kansas City, Kan., conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Antonio Edder Calderson-Reyes, 31, conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, interstate communication in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Raul Gutierrez-Zamaripa, 31, conspiracy.

Jose Rosa-Pacheco, 34, Kansas City, Kan., conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Carlos Rosa-Artia, 35: Kansas City, Kan., conspiracy.

Enrique Rodriguez, 42, conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Rusbein Galicia-Lopez, 31, conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, interstate communication in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Abraham Gutierrez-Ojeda, 36, conspiracy, distributing methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, interstate communication in furtherance of drug trafficking,

Jerry Taylor, 44, conspiracy, interstate communication in furtherance of drug trafficking, distributing methamphetamine.

Manuel Leyva-Quijada, 43, Kansas City, Kan., conspiracy.

Mary Cain, 38, Kansas City, Kan., conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

If convicted, the defendants could face the following penalties:

Conspiracy: Not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
Distribution: Not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
Possession with intent to distribute: Not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million.
Interstate communication: Not more than four years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two Kansas bank robberies and have to suspects in custody.

Just after 2:30 p.m. on September 16, police responded to a bank robbery call at at Fidelity Bank, 2111 N. Bradley Fair in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. Upon arrival, officers contacted employees who reported a suspect later identified as 28-year-old Stephanie Steele entered the bank and handed a note to a teller demanding money and indicating a gun. She took the cash and fled on foot.

On October 16 at 3:15 p.m., police responded to a bank robbery call at the same bank.

Upon arrival, officers contacted employees who reported a suspect later identified as 32-year-old Joshua Coster entered the bank and handed a note to a teller demanding money and indicating a gun. He took money and fled on foot.  Authorities determined he was wearing brown face paint. There were no injuries in either case, according to Davidson.

Through the investigation and a Crime Stoppers tip, investigators were able to determine Steele and Coster’s involvement and learned they were working together.

Police located them and made an arrest. Steele and Coster were booked into jail Monday morning and being held on requested charges of aggravated robbery.

 

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The name is still classified but President Donald Trump on Monday outed the military working dog that tracked down the head of the Islamic State.

We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi! pic.twitter.com/PDMx9nZWvw

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2019

Trump tweeted a photo of a Belgian Malinois that he said worked with a team of special forces in the capture of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a tunnel beneath a compound in northeastern Syria.

The name and other details about the dog remain a secret.

“We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!” the president tweeted.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters earlier Monday that the animal “performed a tremendous service” in the Saturday night raid.

Al-Baghdadi set off an explosion that killed himself and three children and apparently wounded the dog.

Milley said the dog was “slightly wounded” but is now recovering and has returned to duty at an undisclosed location. Milley says the U.S. is protecting the dog’s identify by keeping any information about the canine classified for now.

The U.S. military commonly uses the Belgian Malinois to guide and protect troops, search out enemy forces and look for explosives. The breed is prized by the military for its intelligence and ability to be aggressive on command, said Ron Aiello, president of the United States War Dogs Association.

“That’s the kind of dog you want to lead a patrol like this,” said Aiello, a former Marine dog handler whose organization helps active duty and retired military dogs. “They are the first line of defense. They go out front.”

Trump gave a dramatic account of the raid, variously saying there was one dog and multiple canines involved in the raid. He said that as U.S. troops and their dogs closed in, the militant went “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” to his death.

“He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down,” Trump said.

By Nomin Ujiyediin & Dan Margolies
Kansas News Service

TOPEKA —Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach agreed to legal sanctions to resolve a disciplinary complaint about his conduct in a voting rights case he lost last year.

As part of the resulting diversion agreement made public Monday, Kobach admitted that he did not properly supervise lawyers and others on his staff while contesting a lawsuit that challenged how he carried out a new voter ID law.

The Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator said there was no finding of dishonest conduct on Kobach’s part.

Typically, referrals to the attorney diversion program are confidential. But in this case, the parties agreed to disclose that Kobach had entered into the diversion agreement on Oct. 10 and that Kobach had admitted to the two disciplinary violations — his failure to oversee his lawyers, and to supervise his other staff in the case.

Kobach, who is campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, could not be reached for comment on Monday.

But a former spokeswoman for Kobach’s gubernatorial campaign and the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, Danedri Herbert, said in an email, “As the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator stated, ‘There was no finding of dishonest conduct on the part of Mr. Kobach.’ That was the central allegation of the complaint, which was obviously politically motivated.”

At least two people filed disciplinary complaints over Kobach’s conduct during the voting rights trial: Topeka resident Keri Strahler and Overland Park attorney Matthew Hoppock.

Stan Hazlett, who heads the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, said the diversion agreement came in response to Strahler’s 2017 complaint.

“It’s an alternative to the traditional disciplinary process,” Hazlett told the Kansas News Service. “If the diversion is successfully completed, then the case is dismissed.”

Hazlett declined to state what the diversion program would involve, citing confidentiality. He also declined to say whether his office investigated Kobach’s conduct in additional lawsuits.

The League of Women voters and others sued Kobach in his role of secretary of state after he led a drive to enact a strict voter registration law in Kansas requiring documentary proof of citizenship.

After a two-week-long trial, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson found the law unconstitutional. Kobach, a Yale Law School graduate who once taught constitutional law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, acted as lead attorney for his office in the case.

Robinson also sanctioned Kobach, who helped lead President Donald Trump’s now-disbanded voter fraud commission, by ordering him to take six hours of legal training on the rules of evidence for “repeated and flagrant violations of discovery and disclosure rules.”

Robinson also held Kobach in contempt for failing to fully register and notify eligible voters that he’d blocked their registrations.

Before that, a federal magistrate judge fined Kobach $1,000 after finding he had deceived the court about the nature of documents he was photographed taking into a November 2016 meeting with then-President-elect Trump.

Strahler said she wanted “some public acknowledgement that there was misconduct.”

“And even if it’s just a diversion, it’s still a public acknowledgement that he was wrong and he needs to get help,” she said.

Hoppock, an immigration attorney who had no involvement in the trial but followed news accounts of the case, said last year he was duty-bound to file his complaint as an officer of the court.

In a series of tweets at the time, Hoppock claimed Kobach had violated at least four Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct.

“I was shocked by what I read about what happened in that trial,” Hoppock said. “And so I think it was important to me that if did rise to the level of misconduct, that official channels were gone through, so that something could be done about it.”

Hoppock said that, other than getting a notice from the disciplinary administrator that his complaint had been docketed, he has not heard what has become of the complaint.

Nomin Ujiyediin reports on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service.  Follow her on Twitter @NominUJ or email nomin@kcur.org.

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

GRANT COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue to search for the driver of a vehicle involved in a double-fatal weekend accident in southwest Kansas

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Kenworth truck was westbound on Grant County Road 10 three miles north of U.S. 160.

The driver failed to yield right of way to a southbound 2012 Chevy Silverado driven by Kevin Jay Coyle, 57, Turpin, Oklahoma, at the uncontrolled intersection. The Kenworth entered the intersection directly into the path of the Silverado.

Coyle and a passenger Gerald Lee Coyle, 81, Turpin, Oklahoma, were pronounced dead at the scene.

While a witness to the crash was working to assist the victims, the driver of the Kenworth truck drove away in the witness’s pickup, according to KHP Trooper Michael Racy.

Authorities have located the stolen pickup in a Haskell County field. They have not found the driver who is facing criminal charges, according to Racy. Anyone who witnessed the crash or who might have information is asked to call Technical Trooper Michael Racy at 620-276-3201

BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a weekend arrest.

Just after 3:30p.m., Saturday, a police officer stopped a subject at 16th and Holland in Great Bend for a traffic infraction, according to a media release.

The officer confirmed through Barton County Communications that  the driver 19-year-old suspect Brayden Powell-Rand had warrants for his arrest.

During the traffic stop, Great Bend Police Department’s K-9 Menta was used and she indicated an odor of an illegal drugs coming from the vehicle.

Police searched Powell-Rand and the vehicle and located methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, according to police.

Powell-Rand was booked into Barton County jail with a $10,000 bond. He has a previous drug conviction in Barton County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

 

Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on child sex allegations after an arrest.

Just after 4p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to the 800 block of Elmhurst in Salina for the report of a naked man running around the area, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Police located the subject later identified as Michael J. Breit, 61, of Salina,  in the trees behind the Crossroads building of Central Kansas Mental Health Center,.

While investigating the incident, officers made contact with a 12-year-old boy who told them that Breit, who was naked at the time, made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature while the boy and his mother were in a nearby parking lot, according to Forrester. The boy’s mother witnessed the incident.

Police arrested Breit on suspicion of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child and lewd and lascivious behavior. Breit also allegedly smelled of alcohol, according to Forrester.

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Fire crews continue monitoring  portions of the Hutchinson Correctional Facility after a Monday  gas line break.

According to Reno County 911, a work crew hit a gas line just before 9:30 a.m.

Evacuations at the facility ended quickly and fire officials were allowing reentry into buildings at the discretion of the prison.

The fire department is on standby at the prison while the area of the break was secured. No injuries have been reported.  There’s no word on who was evacuated during the incident or where on the prison grounds the break occurred.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The fate of Missouri’s only abortion clinic is at stake starting Monday, when a member of the state’s Administrative Hearing Commission will begin hearing arguments over whether the clinic can keep its abortion license.

The hearing at a downtown St. Louis state office building is expected to last five days. Missouri officials have asked St. Louis police for heightened security since the licensing issue has generated protests from those on both sides of the debate.

Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi will preside over the hearing. A commission official said that in his role, Dandamudi “acts as an independent trial judge.” A ruling isn’t expected until February at the earliest.

Missouri would become the first state since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, without a functioning abortion clinic if the license revocation is allowed. The battle also comes as abortion rights supporters raise concerns that conservative-led states, including Missouri, are attempting to end abortion through tough new laws and tighter regulation.

Planned Parenthood has been battling the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for months to try to keep open its St. Louis clinic.

The state said concerns arose from inspections in March. Among the problems health department investigators cited were three “failed abortions” requiring additional surgeries and another that led to life-threatening complications for the mother.

The health department has sought to interview physicians involved in those abortions, including medical residents who no longer work there. Planned Parenthood has said it can’t force them to talk and that the state’s concerns were addressed long ago. Attorneys for the health department wrote in legal filings to the commission that physicians’ refusal to talk “presents the final, critical obstacle.”

Missouri is among several states to pass new restrictions on abortions in the hope that the increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation in May banning abortions at or beyond eight weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies but not for rape or incest.

A federal judge in August temporarily blocked implementation of the law until the legal challenge plays out in court, which could take several months.

While the Missouri case unfolded, Planned Parenthood quietly built a new abortion clinic in Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The 18,000-square-foot clinic in Fairview Heights, 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of St. Louis, opened Wednesday, in part to meet the demand for abortions from Missouri residents.

Missouri women have been increasingly getting abortions at the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, another St. Louis suburb. Deputy Director Alison Dreith said 58% of the abortions performed at the Hope Clinic through August of this year involved Missouri women, compared with 37% involving Illinois women.

Another abortion clinic sits in Overland Park, Kansas, a Kansas City suburb. The clinic is 2 miles from the state line. Information from the state of Kansas shows about 3,300 of the 7,000 abortions performed there last year involved Missouri residents.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a theft and have a suspect in custody.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, officers responded to the area of NE River and NE Lime in Topeka after callers advised they saw construction equipment being driven in the area, according to Captain Colleen Stuart.

Officers encountered an occupied loader traveling in the 500 Block NE Lake, damaging property as it moved through yards and city streets.

The driver later identified as Shane D. Funk, 46, Topeka, refused to stop for officers. Numerous residences in the loaders path were evacuated for safety purposes. A perimeter was established in an attempt to contain the loader and damage.

Funk turned the vehicle toward officers, forcing a tactical intervention option by way of a kinetic energy impact munition to slow the loader down.

Once the loader stopped, officers were able to take him into custody. Medical response was called and Funk was transported to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries and then booked into the Department of Corrections requested charges that include Felony theft, Felony Criminal Damage, Aggravated Assault to Law Enforcement Officers and outstanding warrants.