Sorted by date Results 1 - 6 of 6
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor said Tuesday that he won't file criminal charges over the death of a Black 17-year-old who became unresponsive while being restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes following an altercation with staff at a Wichita juvenile center in September. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said the state's "stand-your-ground" law prevents him from bringing any charges in the death of Cedric Lofton because staff members were protecting themselves. Bennett said that if he did bring charges, "a judge w...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans in the Kansas Senate on Thursday rejected Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's nomination of a public defender to the state's second-highest court for the second time in eight months, despite support for him from the state's top federal prosecutor and other attorneys. The vote on Carl Folsom III's nomination was 18-17, but he needed 21 votes in the 40-member Senate to join the Kansas Court of Appeals. It was a stinging defeat for Kelly, who said in nominating Folsom a second time after the Senate rejected him in June t...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins paid a homeowners association in Alaska that was seeking to foreclose on his condominium, an email sent by the property manager shows. The email shows that Watkins called the property manager to resolve the matter on Thursday, the same day that The Associated Press inquired with his office about an Oct. 22 lawsuit filed by the Loch Ness Manor Condominium Association. The lawsuit sought foreclosure of his condominium in Eagle River, outside Anchorage, Alaska. The lawsuit sought d...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A political novice who rode his profile as an outsider-adventurer to the Republican nomination in a competitive Kansas congressional district is facing scrutiny about some of the biographical details he shares with voters. Steve Watkins' campaign website featured a since-removed testimonial to his "heroic leadership" when a deadly earthquake shook Mount Everest during an expedition. He has acknowledged inaccurately claiming that he started a Middle East business, expanding it from three to 470 people. And there are doubts a...
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Inmates at a Kansas prison housing some of the state's most dangerous criminals twice took control of the prison yard for hours in recent months, setting a fire, trying to create barricades and breaking into a security office, in mass disturbances not previously disclosed by corrections officials, according to prison guards who spoke to The Associated Press. Two corrections officers and a third person who could see the emergency logs as the disturbances unfolded spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because they fear repris...
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An attorney serving on a commission that screens applicants for the Kansas Supreme Court is helping raise funds for a campaign to keep justices on the bench in next week's election. Topeka attorney Natalie Haag confirmed her role in campaigning to keep the justices on the bench Wednesday as supporters and critics of the state's Supreme Court make their final arguments this week to voters. The high-stakes election issue could give conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback the power to remake the state's high court as it d...
