By MICHELLE TYRENE JOHNSON, Kansas News Service

Following a trend across the Johnson County suburbs, the Overland Park City Council passed an ordinance Monday night banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Council members adopted the ordinance on 10-1 vote on Monday.

Backers of the proposal took the Overland Park action as a landmark development.

“It’s fantastic,” said Brett Hoedl, chair of the Equality Kansas of Metro Kansas City. “We assumed it was going to go this way, but I get jittery every time we go into one of these meetings.”

The new ordinance prevents residents and employees from being denied housing, employment or services from businesses because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Council Member Dave White voted for the ordinance, but said he wanted more teeth in the legislation. The ordinance allows fines of up to $1,000.

“We’re saying, ‘Yes, it’s illegal but we can only fine them,’” White said. “We can’t do anything more than that and none of the money goes to the person who suffered the discrimination.”

Nearly two dozen states outlaw discrimination against someone because they are LGBTQ. Missouri and Kansas are not among them.

Overland Park is the largest city in Johnson County to pass a non-discrimination ordinance. It follows Kansas City, Kansas, Lawrence, Manhattan, Merriam, Roeland Park and Prairie Village.

NORTON —A Norton Correctional Facility offender, Saysavat N. Bounyadeth, died on Saturday, October 5.

According to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections, Bounyadeth, 43, was transported by ambulance to the Norton County Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m.

The official cause of death is pending an autopsy; however, preliminary reports indicate Bounyadeth succumbed to a heart-related issue.

Per protocol, when an offender dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Bounyadeth was serving a 72-month sentence for previous convictions in Johnson County. In 2019, he was found guilty in Johnson County of two counts of burglary.

KANSAS CITY– Twenty defendants, primarily residents of Kansas City have been indicted for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy. Most of the defendants were arrested during a law enforcement operation last week that resulted in seizures of firearms, heroin and other illegal drugs, and large amounts of cash, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Ladele D. Smith, also known as “Dellio” and “Dog,” 32, Roy O. Franklin Jr., 29, David J. Duncan IV, also known as “Deei” or “DJ,” 30, Terrance R. Garner, also known as “T-Dot,” 34, Joshua D. Marchbanks, 29, Cory Tremaine Brown, also known as “Twin,” 39, Carleeon D. Lockett, also known as “Tone,” 27, Gary Othniel Toombs, 39, Errick Eugene Martin Jr., also known as “Dough Boy,” 28, Kenneth Dewayne Scott, also known as “Kenny,” 23, Cordell D. Edwards, also known as “Duke,” 31, Victor Gonzalez, also known as “Lil Vic” and “El Chavo,” 30, Michael E. Sims, also known as “Mikey,” 33, Cordarrel Lamonte Scott, also known as “DOB,” 33, Marco Rashon Maddox, 35, and Herman Graham Bell Jr., 64, all of Kansas City; Cornelius Phelps, also known as “Tim Tim,” 33, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Sirrico L. Franklin, also known as “Chico” and “Rico,” 28, of Raytown, Mo.; Lencorya Tiko Montrel Grady, also known as “Thick,” 44, of Springfield, Mo.; and Martin Christopher Garner, also known as “Looch” and “Lu Lu,” 32, of St. Louis, Mo., were charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The federal indictment was unsealed following a law enforcement operation on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in which 16 of the 20 defendants were arrested. Approximately 200 federal agents and local law enforcement officers were involved in the operation, which also resulted in the arrests of two additional individuals who have been charged with being felons in possession of firearms in separate cases related to the underlying investigation of this case.

According to court documents, investigators seized 23 firearms, approximately 350 grams of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, $75,000 in cash, scales, an apparent drug ledger, and drug packaging materials during the course of the arrest operation and accompanying search warrants. Smith, Duncan, Martin, Garner, Gonzalez, Scott, Phelps, and Bell were arrested with firearms either on their person, in their vehicle, or in their residence.

The indictment alleges that all 20 of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute at least a kilogram of heroin, as well as cocaine, crack cocaine, oxycodone, codeine, and marijuana, from Jan. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2019.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Smith, Roy Franklin, Sirrico Franklin, and Toombs are charged with maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances.

Officers executed a search warrant at a residence maintained by Smith, Roy Franklin, Sirrico Franklin, and Toombs during the Oct. 2 operation and seized approximately 350 grams of suspected heroin, a digital scale, packaging material, two Glock handguns, two Mico Draco AK-47 pistols, a Century Arms AK-47 pistol, and an apparent bullet proof vest. According to court documents, officers also found a stolen Jeep, riddled with bullet holes and missing the back window, that allegedly had been used by conspirators in a shoot-out on Sept. 9, 2019, in the area of 35th Street and Woodland. Investigators also recovered live ammunition and shell casings inside the vehicle.

Duncan was among those arrested in his apartment during the Oct. 2 operation. According to court documents, officers located three firearms under his mattress: a Zastava M92PV, a Glock Model 19, and a Norinco MAK90 AK-47. Investigators also seized approximately $7,100 in cash, an apparent drug ledger on the nightstand listing nicknames and dollar amounts, and Duncan’s Dodge Charger.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One of two suspects in the fatal shooting of four people in a Kansas bar caused a disturbance two hours earlier that brought officers to the scene, but they couldn’t find him in the area, the interim police chief said Monday.

Michael York said Kansas City, Kansas, police were still searching for one suspect, Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, in connection with the shootings at the Tequila KC bar early Sunday that also wounded another five people. Officers arrested the second man, Javier Alatorre, 23, late Sunday afternoon.

The Kansas City Star reported that Alatorre was recently released from jail in Missouri, where he faced pending charges for tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and resisting or interfering with arrest, detention or stop. A judge reduced his bail and released him on his own recognizance over the objections of prosecutors.

Police said both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and bail has been set at $1 million for each. Villaneuva-Morales is considered armed and dangerous.

Surveillance video shows Villanueva-Morales entering Tequila KC, where he got into an argument and was told to leave late Saturday, police said. It wasn’t clear whether Alatorre also was in the bar during the argument.

York said officers went to the area late Saturday to investigate the disturbance but couldn’t find the suspect. He said officers remained in the area “doing their patrol duties.”

“They cleared the call and then two hours later, he returns back,” York told reporters during a news conference. “But we had no information that he was going to return back.”

Bartender Jose Valdez told The Star that he had refused to serve one of the suspects because the man had previously caused problems at the bar. Valdez said the man threw a cup at him and left, but that he returned later with another man shortly before closing time.

Authorities identified the four people killed as Francisco Anaya-Garcia, 34; Alfredo Calderon, 29; Ebar Meza-Aguirre, 29, Martin Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 58.

All of those killed were Hispanic, and two were Mexican citizens, that country’s foreign relations secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said Sunday on Twitter. He did not identify the two but said the Mexican government would support their families.

Authorities have said they do not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The shooting happened in a neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.

“The investigation is leading us to believe that it was not random,” York said.

Family members told The Kansas City Star that Calderon owned a heating and cooling business for several years and was the devoted father of a 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. They said he went to the bar to watch a boxing match.

“He cared about those babies so much,” recalled sister-in-law Celeste Trevino. “Those babies need their dad.”

Trevino also said that Meza-Aguirre pushed her to the floor when the gunfire started, and she believes it is why she survived. Meza was a regular at the bar, and it was where he and friends usually watched the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs. Friends had plans to catch a game there Sunday, said Toni Maciel, Trevino’s cousin.

“He’s always going to be a hero in my eyes,” Maciel said.

Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted, police spokesman Thomas Tomasic said. The gun shots sent people running for the exits, with the injured leaving trails of blood as they fled. Two of the wounded were treated and released and three others remained hospitalized in stable condition, he said.

Alatorre is jailed again in Missouri after he was arrested without incident at a home that court records listed as his place of residence. He does not yet have an attorney.

Alatorre will have an initial court appearance in the coming days in Kansas, said Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jonathan Carter. Carter said it’s too soon to determine whether prosecutors will consider the death penalty in the case.

Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. It stemmed from an incident in August outside a club in which an off-duty sheriff’s deputy reported that left both men bloodied.

Alatorre had past convictions for fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement in Kansas and for driving while intoxicated in Missouri, in addition to the pending charges in Missouri.

In 2017, an court order barred Alatorre from abusing, stalking and possessing a firearm after a woman who had a child with him reported physical abuse and threats. It expired in February 2018.

Alatorre’s mother, Teresa Minerva Alatorre, declined to comment when reached by phone.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a bar shooting in Kansas that left four dead and five others wounded (all times local):

Police say two suspects in a Kansas City, Kansas, bar shooting that left four people dead and five wounded had each faced criminal charges in Missouri.

Police announced early Monday that 23-year-old Javier Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, while 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales is still at large. Both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. Court documents say he fought with a sheriff’s deputy in August after another man was ordered to leave a club in Kansas City, Missouri.

Alatorre, meanwhile, faced several charges stemming from a police chase. An order of protection also was issued against him in 2017.

Alatorre’s mother, Teresa Minerva Alatorre, declined to comment when reached by phone.

____

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One of the two men accused of opening fire inside a Kansas bar early Sunday, killing four people and wounding five others, was arrested Sunday afternoon while the other remained at large, police said.

Javier Alatorre, 23, and Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, were each charged with four counts of first-degree murder, police in Kansas City, Kansas, said in an early Monday release. Alatorre was arrested late Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, but police were still looking for Villanueva-Morales, considered “armed and dangerous.”

Bail for each was set at $1 million. The release says Alatorre was arrested with the help of the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and police in Kansas City, Missouri. A prosecutor’s office spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email asking whether he has an attorney.

Villanueva-Morales and Alatorre each faced criminal charges in Missouri, and Alatorre’s criminal record also included previous convictions, according to online court records in Missouri and online Department of Corrections records in Kansas.

Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. Alatorre, meanwhile, had past convictions for fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement in Kansas and for driving while intoxicated in Missouri. He also had pending charges in Missouri for tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and resisting or interfering with arrest, detention or stop. And in 2017, an order of protection had been ordered, barring him from abusing, stalking and possessing a firearm.

The two men apparently had a disagreement with people inside Tequila KC bar, left, and then returned with handguns, police spokesman Officer Thomas Tomasic had said.

“We think there was something that happened in the bar earlier probably,” Tomasic had said. “Unfortunately, they left and decided to take it to another level, came back and started shooting.”

Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 a.m., Tomasic had said. The gunfire sent people running for the exits, with the injured leaving trails of blood as they fled. One of the injured was trying to get a ride to the hospital when ambulances arrived.

“It’s a pretty small bar, so if you have two guys come in and start shooting, people are just running, running anywhere they can,” Tomasic had said.

All four men who were killed were Hispanic, but Tomasic had said authorities did not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The shooting happened in a neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.

Among the dead was a man in his late 50s, another in his mid-30s and two in their mid-20s, police said. Authorities did not immediately release their names.

However, Juan Ramirez, of Kansas City, Kansas, told The Kansas City Star that his 29-year-old nephew was among those killed. He said his nephew left behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.

“I don’t wish this upon anybody,” Ramirez said.

Bartender Jose Valdez told the newspaper that he had refused to serve one of the suspects on Saturday night because the man had previously caused problems at the bar. Valdez said the man threw a cup at him and left, but returned later with another man shortly before closing time.

The gunfire created smoke inside the business, Valdez said, and he thought the building was “going to cave in.”

Valdez said three of the people killed were regulars whose parents also frequented the neighborhood bar.

“I don’t know what to make of it. A sad day for everybody who lost their lives and their families,” he said, choking up. “How can you go into a place full of people and just start shooting?”

The state’s congregational delegation also weighed in, with Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts and Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids describing the shooting as “senseless.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified two suspects in a Kansas bar shooting that left four people dead and five others wounded.

Police in Kansas City, Kansas, announced early Monday that 23-year-old Javier Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, while 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales is still at large.

Both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Authorities had said the two men had apparently gotten into some sort of disagreement with people inside Tequila KC Bar, left, then returned with handguns early Sunday. Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 a.m.

Police say four men were killed. Their names weren’t immediately released.

It’s unclear whether Alatorre has a lawyer to comment on his behalf. Police say Villanueva-Morales is considered “armed and dangerous.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in two of the term’s most closely watched cases over whether federal civil rights law protects LGBT people from job discrimination.

The cases Tuesday are the court’s first on LGBT rights since Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement and replacement by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. A decision is expected by early summer 2020, amid the presidential election campaign.

The issue is whether a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bars discrimination in employment because of sex covers LGBT people.

A ruling for employees who were fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity would have a big impact for the estimated 8.1 million LGBT workers across the country because most states don’t protect them from workplace discrimination. An estimated 11.3 million LGBT people live in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA law school.

Kennedy was a voice for gay rights and the author of the landmark ruling in 2015 that made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States. Kavanaugh generally is regarded as more conservative.

The Trump administration has changed course from the Obama administration and now supports the employers in arguing that the civil rights law’s Title 7 does not prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation or transgender status.

People have been waiting in line outside the court since the weekend to try to snag the few seats the court makes available to the public for arguments.

The justices will first hear appeals in lawsuits filed by Gerald Lynn Bostock, who claims he lost his job working for Clayton County, Georgia, after he began playing in a gay recreational softball league. He lost his case in federal district court and at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Skydiving instructor Donald Zarda was fired shortly after telling a woman he was preparing to take on a dive that he was gay. Zarda, who worked for Altitude Express on New York’s Long Island, said he would sometimes reveal his sexual orientation to allay concerns women might have about being strapped together during a dive.

Zarda initially lost his lawsuit, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for him. Zarda has since died.

The other case involves fired transgender funeral home director Aimee Stephens. She lost her job when she told Thomas Rost, owner of the Detroit-area R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, that she had struggled with gender identity issues almost her whole life. She was planning to exchange the dark suit and tie she had worn to work for nearly six years as an embalmer and funeral director for a conservative dress or skirt that was required for women who worked for Rost.

Rost told Stephens her plan wouldn’t work and let her go. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on her behalf and, after losing in a district court, won a ruling in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

During the Obama years, the EEOC had changed its longstanding interpretation of civil rights law to include discrimination against LGBT people. The law prohibits discrimination because of sex, but has no specific protection for sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Trump administration and the employers say Congress could easily settle the matter by amending Title 7 to include LGBT people. Legislation to that effect is pending in Congress, but is not likely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

But the workers contend, and the lower courts that have ruled for them have reasoned, that the law as it stands plainly covers sexual orientation and gender identity because discrimination against them is based on generalizations about sex that have nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs.

They also argue that they were fired for not conforming to sex stereotypes, a form of sex discrimination that the Supreme Court recognized 30 years ago.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The son of a Kansas sheriff’s captain has been charged with fatally shooting his father.

Twenty-two-year-old Zachary Arnold was charged Monday with second-degree murder in the death of 57-year-old Chris Arnold. He was a captain with the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, but was off-duty when he was killed Saturday at his home in Kansas City, Kansas. No details have been released about what led up to the shooting.

Zachary Arnold is being jailed without bond in neighboring Johnson County, Kansas. No attorney is listed for him in online records.

Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash said that Chris Arnold was “a man of integrity who loved his family, especially his son Zach, and served his community and his agency and we should honor that and we will.”

___

WYANDOTTE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have made an arrest.

The sheriff’s office in Wyandotte reported Sunday that Sheriff’s Captain Chris Arnold was shot and killed   Saturday night at his residence, according to a social media report.

This was not a line of duty death, according to the sheriff’s department. 

Just before 8p.m., officers responded to the shooting at a home in the 2800 block of 76th Street, according to a media release.

A suspect, Arnold’s 22-year-old son, has been taken into custody and is being held in Johnson County on requested charges of premeditated first degree murder, according to online jail records.

Chris Arnold would have been 59-years old Monday, according to the sheriff’s department.  The  department asked the public to “Please keep us and his family in your prayers as we work through this tragedy.”

Authorities have released no additional details.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City area man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling firearms without a license, some of which have been seized during arrests at several crime scenes, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Frank E. Hedden, 25, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.

By pleading guilty, Hedden admitted that he sold 21 firearms to an undercover special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for a total of $11,155 between Feb. 26 and July 16, 2019.

On May 7, 2019, investigators served Hedden with a warning notice. Investigators explained to Hedden that several firearms he purchased from licensed firearms dealers had been recovered in crimes within a relatively short amount of time after Hedden purchased them.

This indicated Hedden could be re-selling them, thereby dealing in firearms without a license. Investigators further explained to Hedden that he could be prosecuted if he was buying firearms with the intent to resell them. Hedden signed an acknowledgement receipt for the Warning Notice of Unlicensed Firearms Dealing in Violation of Federal Law.

A few days later, however, Hedden met again with the undercover agent and illegally sold the agent two pistols for $1,200. During that meeting, which was recorded, Hedden told the undercover agent about the warning notice. “I don’t know if it’s anything, you know, of your or somebody else,” he said, “they said I had several firearms show up in crime scenes lately.” Hedden then added, “I knew this would happen eventually.”

The undercover agent told Hedden the firearms he purchased were going to Mexico and asked Hedden if he could obtain more AK-47 type pistols, to which Hedden responded “Yeah. So, I’ll have to figure out something … I’m going to try to figure something out cause like I said, I like doing the business, it’s nice to come into a little extra money.”

Hedden subsequently sold three more firearms to the undercover agent on two separate occasions.

On July 17, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hedden’s residence and seized 33 firearms (which must be forfeited to the government). Officers also seized a red binder that contained 100 bills of sale for firearms; 18 of the documents were for firearms sold to the undercover agent, 72 of the documents were for firearms that Hedden sold to other individuals, and 10 of the documents were for firearms that Hedden purchased from other individuals.

Under federal statutes, Hedden is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she’s launching the state’s first formal strategy in 30 years to strengthen economic development.

Kelly pledged Monday to work with industries and economic development specialists to write a comprehensive plan to speed economic growth. A report is expected by March 2020.

The project will be coordinated by the Kansas Department of Commerce and the McKinsey consulting firm.

Secretary of Commerce David Toland says the state has lagged in key economic indicators such as GDP growth, population growth and labor participation.

Toland said the goal of the project is to make Kansas “best in class.” Economic development professionals, business leaders and Department of Commerce staff will make up a steering committee that will guide the planning and development of the plan, called the “Framework for Growth.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Two major retailers say they will no longer sell e-cigarettes in the U.S. amid mounting health questions surrounding vaping.

Supermarket chain Kroger and drugstore chain Walgreens announced Monday they would discontinue sales of e-cigarettes at their stores nationwide, citing an uncertain regulatory environment.

The vaping industry has come under scrutiny after hundreds of people have fallen ill and at least eight have died after using vaping devices.

Walmart announced last month that it would stop selling e-cigarettes at its stores nationwide.

Kroger said it would stop selling e-cigarettes as soon at its current inventory runs out at its more than 2,700 stores and 1,500 fuel centers. The Cincinnati-based company operates the Ralphs, Harris Teeter and other stores.

Walgreens, based in Deerfield, Illinois, operates more than 9,500 stores in the U.S.

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A northwest Missouri man being held in connection with the disappearance of two Wisconsin brothers has entered a “not guilty” plea to tampering with a motor vehicle.

The only charge prosecutors have filed against 25-year-old Garland Nelson is motor vehicle tampering. Nelson is accused of taking the pick-up rented by Nick and Justin Diemel. The Diemels, who are cattle brokers in Wisconsin, drove that truck to Nelson’s farm near Braymer in July to discuss a cattle deal.

No one has seen the brothers since.

Authorities say video cameras caught Nelson driving the truck to a commuter lot in Holt, where it was found.

An intense search of the Nelson farm began shortly after Nelson was brought into custody. Human remains reportedly have been found, but not details have been released. No additional charges have been filed.