SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal hit and run have identified the victim as 53-year-old Sam Rice of Topeka.

Just before 3:30 a.m., Sunday, police responded to a report of a motorcycle vs passenger vehicle accident at SE 6th Street and SE Chandler Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

Officers arrived on scene and found Sam Rice in the roadway.&nbsp; First responders pronounced him deceased at the scene.

Following an investigation by the Topeka Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team, police arrested 23-year-old&nbsp;Geovany Arellano of Topeka, on requested charges of&nbsp;Murder in the 1st Degree, Aggravated Assault and&nbsp;Reckless Driving, according to Monasmith.&nbsp; Police have not released the victim's name.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652662672522.png" alt="Police arrested 23-year-old Geovany Arellano for his role in the crash -photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Police arrested 23-year-old Geovany Arellano for his role in the crash -photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal hit and run have identified the victim as 53-year-old Sam Rice of Topeka.Just before 3:30 a.m., Sunday, police responded to a report of a motorcycle vs passenger vehicle accident at SE 6th Street and SE Chandler Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Jerry Monasmith.Officers arrived on scene and found Sam Rice in the roadway.&nbsp; First responders pronounced him deceased at the scene.Following an investigation by the Topeka Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team, police arrested 23-year-old&nbsp;Geovany Arellano of Topeka, on requested charges of&nbsp;Murder in the 1st Degree, Aggravated Assault and&nbsp;Reckless Driving, according to Monasmith.&nbsp; Police have not released the victim's name.

Police: 53-year-old Kan. man died in hit-and-run crash

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a murder in Lawrence.

Just before 7:30p.m. Monday, police responded to a north-central Lawrence home, according to police spokesperson&nbsp;Kim L. Murphree.

Officers encountered a 26-year-old suspect and a woman with critical injuries. First responders pronounced her deceased at the scene. Police arrested the man on suspicion of murder, according to Murphree.

The man and victim were known to each other.&nbsp; Police have not released names of the suspect or victim.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a murder in Lawrence.Just before 7:30p.m. Monday, police responded to a north-central Lawrence home, according to police spokesperson&nbsp;Kim L. Murphree.Officers encountered a 26-year-old suspect and a woman with critical injuries. First responders pronounced her deceased at the scene. Police arrested the man on suspicion of murder, according to Murphree.The man and victim were known to each other.&nbsp; Police have not released names of the suspect or victim.

Police arrest 26-year-old man for murder of woman at Kan. home

JACKSON COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple drug charges following an investigation.

Just after 10:30a.m. Saturday, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a 2020 Hyundai Elantra for allegedly failing to display a license plate on the vehicle, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 During the traffic stop, the deputy found hallucinogenic drugs in the vehicle. A subsequent search was conducted by deputies of a room at the Red Roof Inn located in Holton where the driver was believed to be staying. 

 A substance believed to be cocaine was seized with drug paraphernalia. 

The driver, 29-year-old Jeanata Larae Valentine of Holton was arrested and transported to the Jackson County Jail and booked on requested charges that include possession of cocaine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking contraband into a correctional facility.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652628171278.png" alt="Valentine-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Valentine-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple drug charges following an investigation.Just after 10:30a.m. Saturday, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a 2020 Hyundai Elantra for allegedly failing to display a license plate on the vehicle, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. During the traffic stop, the deputy found hallucinogenic drugs in the vehicle. A subsequent search was conducted by deputies of a room at the Red Roof Inn located in Holton where the driver was believed to be staying. A substance believed to be cocaine was seized with drug paraphernalia. The driver, 29-year-old Jeanata Larae Valentine of Holton was arrested and transported to the Jackson County Jail and booked on requested charges that include possession of cocaine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking contraband into a correctional facility.

Sheriff: Investigators found cocaine in Kansas motel room

BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

Just after 11 a.m. May 13, police received a report of a sex offense involving two juvenile females occurring at a residence in Great Bend, according to a media release.

Officers and detectives began compiling details and evidence of the report alleging multiple sex offenses in Kansas starting in 2015 and 2016. 

It was reported that the suspect involved in this investigation had left his residence in a black 2013 Dodge Ram pickup, with most of his belongings, in an unknown direction of travel.

During the course of the investigation, detectives requested a ping of his location using the suspect's cellular phone. A number of locations were checked and the suspect identified as 41-year-old Joseph Cruse&nbsp; was located a short time later by officers in a motel parking lot in the 700 block of 10th Street in Great Bend.

Cruse was arrested without further incident and transported to the Barton County Detention Center where he was booked on requested charges of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy. He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652717589648.jpeg" alt="Cruse photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Cruse photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.Just after 11 a.m. May 13, police received a report of a sex offense involving two juvenile females occurring at a residence in Great Bend, according to a media release.Officers and detectives began compiling details and evidence of the report alleging multiple sex offenses in Kansas starting in 2015 and 2016. It was reported that the suspect involved in this investigation had left his residence in a black 2013 Dodge Ram pickup, with most of his belongings, in an unknown direction of travel.During the course of the investigation, detectives requested a ping of his location using the suspect's cellular phone. A number of locations were checked and the suspect identified as 41-year-old Joseph Cruse&nbsp; was located a short time later by officers in a motel parking lot in the 700 block of 10th Street in Great Bend.Cruse was arrested without further incident and transported to the Barton County Detention Center where he was booked on requested charges of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy. He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

Police track child sex crime suspect to motel in Great Bend

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged assault in Manhattan.

Just after 10a.m. Saturday, officers filed a report for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and felony interference with a law enforcement officer in the 400 block of South 5th Street in Manhattan,&nbsp;according to the Riley County Police Department activity report. An RCPD officer was listed as the victim. 

Officers arrested 43-year-old Joseph Stepney of Manhattan in connection with the incident.

 Stepney was issued a total bond of $14,000 and remains in custody, according to the RCPD.&nbsp;

Stepney has a previous first-degree sexual abuse conviction in Alabama, according the KBI Offender Registry. In January, police in Manhattan arrested him for a violation of the offender registration act, according to RCPD booking records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652714709563.png" alt="Joseph Stepney has a previous first-degree sexual abuse conviction in Alabama, according the KBI Offender Registry" />
 <figcaption>Joseph Stepney has a previous first-degree sexual abuse conviction in Alabama, according the KBI Offender Registry</figcaption>
 </figure>RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged assault in Manhattan.Just after 10a.m. Saturday, officers filed a report for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and felony interference with a law enforcement officer in the 400 block of South 5th Street in Manhattan,&nbsp;according to the Riley County Police Department activity report. An RCPD officer was listed as the victim. Officers arrested 43-year-old Joseph Stepney of Manhattan in connection with the incident. Stepney was issued a total bond of $14,000 and remains in custody, according to the RCPD.&nbsp;Stepney has a previous first-degree sexual abuse conviction in Alabama, according the KBI Offender Registry. In January, police in Manhattan arrested him for a violation of the offender registration act, according to RCPD booking records.

RCPD arrests sex offender for alleged assault on an officer

HARVEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a Sunday incident that involved throwing household items from his apartment window and threatening the rest of the building.

At 7:15p.m.&nbsp; Sunday night, police were dispatched to Midtown Towers, 115 W. Ninth Street in Newton on a report of someone throwing items from a seventh-story window at people below, according to a media release.

Newton officers had been to this location multiple times in the past two days attempting to contact a person reported to be suicidal and breaking personal property.

Officers made contact with the suspect, who made homicidal, suicidal and threatening statements toward the apartment building. Out of caution, officers asked other residents of the building to voluntarily evacuate or shelter in place.

A Newton Police negotiator arrived and began speaking with the suspect by phone. For about four hours, the negotiator tried to de-escalate the situation and offered the suspect any help he needed. The suspect refused help and continued throwing household items from the window and barricading the apartment doors.

Officers learned that the suspect had multiple felony warrants for his arrest for aggravated burglary, theft and two counts of stalking.

Just before midnight, the Harvey County Emergency Response Team forced entry into the apartment and took the suspect into custody without incident.

The suspect,&nbsp; 58-year-old Lyle Gulick of Newton, was taken to NMC Health, where he was medically cleared, and he was booked into the Harvey County Detention Center. In addition to the warrants, Gulick was booked on requested charges of&nbsp; aggravated assault, felony obstruction to official duty, criminal damage and disorderly conduct. He has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652746294221.png" alt="Gulick has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Gulick has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>HARVEY COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a Sunday incident that involved throwing household items from his apartment window and threatening the rest of the building.At 7:15p.m.&nbsp; Sunday night, police were dispatched to Midtown Towers, 115 W. Ninth Street in Newton on a report of someone throwing items from a seventh-story window at people below, according to a media release.Newton officers had been to this location multiple times in the past two days attempting to contact a person reported to be suicidal and breaking personal property.Officers made contact with the suspect, who made homicidal, suicidal and threatening statements toward the apartment building. Out of caution, officers asked other residents of the building to voluntarily evacuate or shelter in place.A Newton Police negotiator arrived and began speaking with the suspect by phone. For about four hours, the negotiator tried to de-escalate the situation and offered the suspect any help he needed. The suspect refused help and continued throwing household items from the window and barricading the apartment doors.Officers learned that the suspect had multiple felony warrants for his arrest for aggravated burglary, theft and two counts of stalking.Just before midnight, the Harvey County Emergency Response Team forced entry into the apartment and took the suspect into custody without incident.The suspect,&nbsp; 58-year-old Lyle Gulick of Newton, was taken to NMC Health, where he was medically cleared, and he was booked into the Harvey County Detention Center. In addition to the warrants, Gulick was booked on requested charges of&nbsp; aggravated assault, felony obstruction to official duty, criminal damage and disorderly conduct. He has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Police: Kan. felon jailed after throwing objects from 7th story window

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal hit and run have made an arrest.

Just before 3:30 a.m., Sunday, responded to a report of a motorcycle vs passenger vehicle at SE 6th Street and SE Chandler Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

Officers arrived on scene and found one victim in the roadway. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652662672522.png" alt="Arellano-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Arellano-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal hit and run have made an arrest.Just before 3:30 a.m., Sunday, responded to a report of a motorcycle vs passenger vehicle at SE 6th Street and SE Chandler Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Jerry Monasmith.Officers arrived on scene and found one victim in the roadway. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.Following an investigation by the Topeka Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team, police arrested 23-year-old&nbsp;Geovany Arellano of Topeka, on requested charges of&nbsp;Murder in the 1st Degree, Aggravated Assault and&nbsp;Reckless Driving, according to Monasmith.&nbsp; Police have not released the victim's name.

Police: Kan. driver facing murder charge for crash with motorcycle

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two men who participated in an elaborate phone scam that cheated people from across the nation have agreed to repay their victims but avoided time behind bars, Massachusetts prosecutors said.

Ajaykumar Chaudhari, 26, of Pownal, Vermont, and Jitendra Chaudhari, 29, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to larceny and attempt to commit larceny, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. They were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5a039563a11c5d22b1f1974d199a05ee">arrested in June 2020</a>.

The guilty pleas were filed by the court, meaning the defendants won't be sent to jail as long as they stay out of additional legal trouble.

They, together with a third defendant, have agreed to pay more than $200,000 in restitution. That&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-massachusetts-vermont-pittsfield-b6be2c31953b01374a93289866775db8">third defendant, Parth Chaudhari, pleaded guilty to the same charges in December</a>&nbsp;and was sentenced to time served. The restitution money has already been secured, prosecutors said.

All three men are members of the same family, the district attorney's office said.

“The victims in this case overwhelmingly supported a resolution that would return the most money in the most timely manner while sparing them, many of whom are aging and live out of state, from having to travel to Massachusetts to testify,” Harrington said in a statement.

The three men, sometimes posing as government employees, targeted about 20 victims, some of whom sent packages of cash, often to an address in Adams, Massachusetts, prosecutors said.

In one case, they told the victim their Social Security number had been compromised and they needed to send money to fix the problem, according to the DA's office. Victims came from multiple states including California, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia, prosecutors said.

Adams police started investigating in March 2020 after getting tips from out-of-state law enforcement agencies.

During the investigation, victims and law enforcement intercepted packages of cash together worth more than $100,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619452442605.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two men who participated in an elaborate phone scam that cheated people from across the nation have agreed to repay their victims but avoided time behind bars, Massachusetts prosecutors said.Ajaykumar Chaudhari, 26, of Pownal, Vermont, and Jitendra Chaudhari, 29, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to larceny and attempt to commit larceny, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. They were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5a039563a11c5d22b1f1974d199a05ee">arrested in June 2020</a>.The guilty pleas were filed by the court, meaning the defendants won't be sent to jail as long as they stay out of additional legal trouble.They, together with a third defendant, have agreed to pay more than $200,000 in restitution. That&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-massachusetts-vermont-pittsfield-b6be2c31953b01374a93289866775db8">third defendant, Parth Chaudhari, pleaded guilty to the same charges in December</a>&nbsp;and was sentenced to time served. The restitution money has already been secured, prosecutors said.All three men are members of the same family, the district attorney's office said.“The victims in this case overwhelmingly supported a resolution that would return the most money in the most timely manner while sparing them, many of whom are aging and live out of state, from having to travel to Massachusetts to testify,” Harrington said in a statement.The three men, sometimes posing as government employees, targeted about 20 victims, some of whom sent packages of cash, often to an address in Adams, Massachusetts, prosecutors said.In one case, they told the victim their Social Security number had been compromised and they needed to send money to fix the problem, according to the DA's office. Victims came from multiple states including California, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia, prosecutors said.Adams police started investigating in March 2020 after getting tips from out-of-state law enforcement agencies.During the investigation, victims and law enforcement intercepted packages of cash together worth more than $100,000.

Two men admit to role in nationwide phone scam

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after an incident in northeast Kansas.

Just before 10a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center broadcasted information regarding a woman attempting to jump out of a vehicle near SE 22nd Street and SE California Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

A deputy that was patrolling in the southeast part of Shawnee County responded to the area. She observed a red 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt drive towards oncoming traffic while passing multiple vehicles in an intersection.

The deputy immediately conducted a traffic stop near SE 38th Street and SE Adams Street. During the investigation, illegal narcotics were located.

The driver, Brent A. Haverkamp, 32, of Goff, Kan., was placed into custody and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The passenger, Amber K. Bloomquist, 30, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two warrants for her arrest, one felony warrant and one misdemeanor warrant. Bloomquist was also booked on a requested charge of felony interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652628706174.png" alt="Haverkamp" />
 <figcaption>Haverkamp</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after an incident in northeast Kansas.Just before 10a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center broadcasted information regarding a woman attempting to jump out of a vehicle near SE 22nd Street and SE California Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.A deputy that was patrolling in the southeast part of Shawnee County responded to the area. She observed a red 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt drive towards oncoming traffic while passing multiple vehicles in an intersection.The deputy immediately conducted a traffic stop near SE 38th Street and SE Adams Street. During the investigation, illegal narcotics were located.The driver, Brent A. Haverkamp, 32, of Goff, Kan., was placed into custody and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.The passenger, Amber K. Bloomquist, 30, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two warrants for her arrest, one felony warrant and one misdemeanor warrant. Bloomquist was also booked on a requested charge of felony interference with law enforcement.

Sheriff: Wanted Kan. woman tried to jump from moving car

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — “Y’all here to protect me,” the youth asked the officers, beseechingly. “Right?”

The 17-year-old’s foster father, unable to deal with a teen who seemed to be in the throes of schizophrenia, had called Wichita police. When they arrived, Cedric “C.J.” Lofton refused to leave the porch and go with them; he was obstinate but afraid, meek but frantic.

After an hourlong stalemate, the police lost patience. It was time to take him away -- by force, if necessary.

And so began the last two days of a life plagued by family dysfunction, brushes with the law, years in foster care and, finally, mental illness. The events leading to C.J.’s death, just a day short of his 18th birthday, would be captured on video; the result would be litigation, pleas for reform, cries that the system had failed yet another Black youth.

Authorities would decide against any prosecutions in connection with his death. But there were crucial errors, and vital holes in the safety net that had fatal consequences.

Owing to the hour, a team that included a mental health worker was unavailable to respond on that night last September; police alone responded. And C.J. was taken not to a mental hospital but to the county Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where for about 40 minutes he was held face down, resulting in his death.

C.J. “went from crisis to death because we got involved,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell.

“We all need to own what we did right and what we did wrong,” he added. “And the reality is there’s things that happened that were wrong.”

Friends who met C.J. in foster care described him as a goofball, fun loving, with a dark childhood that he hinted at but never talked about much.

“He would dance everywhere, just wiggly, just you know, no coordination at all. Just dancing just to dance,” said Skylar Mannie, 16, of Wichita.

But under the surface, she sensed anxieties. “He worried about making sure that he was safe, making sure everybody around him was safe and that they were good at all times.”

He was raised with the help of his grandmother. His father, Chadrick Lofton, racked up multiple convictions for domestic assault; one case sent him to prison for a year and a half when C.J. was 2, and after that, C.J. told friends, his father wasn’t around. His mother, Sarah Harrison, also had a criminal record, including a theft conviction in Texas that carried a 400-day sentence.

As he entered his teen years, C.J. was living with his mother in Junction City, a Kansas town of about 22,000 near the Fort Riley military base. In the summer of 2018, at age 14, he began to get in trouble.

He was accused first of using a stolen debit card, then with stealing a car and tools, court records show. At a football game that fall, he was caught with a BB gun and suspended from school; he was truant often, the court filings show.

Then, in November, he was accused of battery and stealing a video game from a Walmart and was sent to a juvenile detention facility. Court records noted that his “behavior is escalating and there is no parental control,” but he was released to his mother that December.

He broke curfew again and again. Ultimately, a judge signed an order removing Lofton from his home, noting there was “no parent/guardian present.” By August 2019, a court filing found that he was doing “very well” in foster care.

C.J. moved around at first, friends said. But in December 2020, he was placed in Wichita with a foster father that his friend, Marquez Patton, described as “one of the good ones.”

By all accounts, they got along. C.J.’s foster father told investigators that he had been doing fine in school and that there were no major issues until their final weeks together, according to a report by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

The foster father, whose name hasn’t been released, declined an interview request through DCCCA Inc., a private foster care agency that contracts with the state’s Department of Children and Families.

During the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 school year, C.J. became a favorite of Traci Kallhoff, a zoology teacher at Wichita Southeast High School. He was always asking questions, sometimes tossing a blanket over his head to liven up virtual instruction.

“Some of those kids, like when they’re kind of like that, you know, like a little ornery, but really just so full of life, they just kind of grab your heart,” she said, adding that they grew so close that he emailed over summer break and hugged her when classes resumed in the fall.

Patton, 22, met C.J. when they worked at the same McDonald’s. He said among other things, the pair bonded over music -- C.J. posted his own classic gangster rap on YouTube, full of references to shootings and bloodshed.

Indeed, C.J. had been part of a Junction City gang, friends said. “Gangs are like a family,” Patton said, but C.J. had vowed to leave that behind and “do better.” The lyrics were merely what sold, he told friends.

He started dating Kyanya Hardyway in June 2021. Her family “loved him,” she said, because he was so respectful. They went to the mall, the YMCA and church together.

Eventually, though, he started telling her and other friends that he was hearing things, that the world was going to end soon. It worried her. But she added: “I was just glad that he was just telling me stuff.”

Friends said C.J. planned to remain in foster care until he finished high school. But he was growing restless as he prepared to age out of the system. Two friends had already been forced from the foster placement after getting in trouble, Patton said.

Then, last August, his grandmother died in Texas. Cassandra Harrison’s death was a blow.

His foster father said when Cedric returned from the funeral in September, “it got progressively worse,” according to the prosecutor’s report. He described him as “paranoid.”

“He was really sad. He felt like he didn’t really have anybody,” said Angelee Phillips, an 18-year-old who also had spent time in foster care.

She said she knew he was smoking weed. His foster brothers also suspected he was doing drugs, possibly the synthetic marijuana known as K2, although none had witnessed it firsthand. Partly, their suspicions stemmed from his strange behavior; one foster brother heard C.J. saying that his classmates were robots intent on hurting him.

Tests conducted as part of the autopsy report came up positive for marijuana, nothing else.

By Sept. 22, the situation was escalating. C.J. walked away from school that day and his foster father called police to report him as a runaway.

“He has been telling people not to look in the mirror because it takes your soul,” he told a dispatcher, adding that C.J. thought security guards were secret agents that were spying on him and that he doesn’t want anyone to come into his room because he says the house is bugged.

Hardyway said he called her around 2 the next morning. She could tell he was outside, but he refused to tell her where.

“He was just telling me like he loved me and stuff and then he just hung up because his phone was about to die,” she recalled. They never spoke again.

When C.J. returned home around 11:30 a.m. that Friday morning, the foster father immediately took him to the county’s mental health provider for an evaluation. But they never made it inside.

“He started freaking out and then ran off on me again,” the foster father told police.

He said C.J. had mentioned “he can get access to a gun.” He suspected the teen had schizophrenia. Although C.J. hadn’t been diagnosed, a cousin had told the foster father that the condition ran in the family.

It was all too much. The foster father told a caseworker he couldn’t handle C.J. anymore.

C.J. didn’t realize that when he returned around 1 a.m. on Sept. 24. His foster father told C.J. to stay on the porch, that he was worried about him. He called police.

The community operates a program in which a mental health professional, a law enforcement officer and a paramedic respond to emergent mental health crisis. But it only operates from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

That meant the unit was not available when the foster father called, and police had to go instead -- one of the first big missteps, said Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse: “We’re expecting law enforcement to do way too much.”

Officers approached the house. What followed plays out on body camera video:

While the foster father attempts to reach the after-hours foster care contacts, officers try to persuade C.J. -- who was also sick with COVID-19 -- to let them take him to a mental hospital.

Over and over, for nearly an hour, they beg him to submit. C.J. offers to sleep outside. He points at things he alone sees, things that do not exist.

C.J., who had told his foster father that he feared police would shoot him, empties his pockets at one point -- apparently, to show the officers he is unarmed. Change clatters to the ground.

“We don’t want your stuff,” an officer tells him.

An officer asks him again about the hospital.

“The hospital,” C.J. says. “I thought you was talking about jail.”

The officer responds: “Not jail, just the hospital. ... I promise you we would go there.”

But C.J. will have none of it. At 2:15 a.m., officers call for assistance. The 5-foot-10, 135-pound teenager is still refusing to budge.

The sergeant who responded to the scene would later explain that he wasn’t willing to just leave C.J. alone outside, according to the prosecutor’s report: “We can’t walk away.”

This was another mistake, said Cruse and fellow commissioner Howell. “Where is this impatience coming from?” Howell asked.

In the video, C.J. screams and yells “help” over and over again as officers grab for his arms.

“This is illegal,” C.J. says. “Isn’t it?”

Breathing heavily, the officers order C.J. not to bite, they are there to help.

Eventually the officers restrain him in something called the WRAP, a device comprised of a locking shoulder harness, leg restraints and ankle straps. The sheriff’s office describes it as a way to restrain a person who is out of control so that they don’t hurt themselves or others.

C.J. is frantic. “They are going to kill me,” he screams, biting at the straps.

As the teen is carried to the police cruiser, he can be heard muttering, repeatedly, “Kill yourself.”

The destination was no longer the mental hospital. The sergeant later explained that he believed C.J. was too combative to take there, according to the prosecutor’s report.

Instead, the vehicle headed for the juvenile intake center. C.J. was accused of multiple counts of battering law enforcement officers.

“It shocks me how this child is telling you they are seeing things that don’t exist and an alternate decision, aside from taking him to the hospital, was made,” said Brittany Brest, a community psychologist who is overseeing a grant from the National Alliance on Mental Illness to better support Kansas inmates.

Even one of the officers can be heard questioning the change of destination during the drive, arguing that C.J. would fare better at the mental hospital.

“It fixes whatever is wrong with him,” the officer says. The officers C.J. bit, he said, were “putting themselves in positions of being battered” because they were putting their hands in front of his mouth.

A second officer responds, simply, “It is not our call.”

They pull into the juvenile center at 2:44 a.m. and multiple officers carry him inside. C.J. continues repeating “kill yourself” when he was removed from the WRAP restraint around 3:40 a.m. Officers cautiously back out of the holding cell, leaving C.J. alone inside.

A juvenile worker later opened the door to the cell and told C.J. he “won’t be here that long” if he cooperated with being weighed and fingerprinted.

C.J., though, was still agitated. He walked out of his holding cell and tried to grab a computer monitor from the intake counter, the prosecutor’s report said.

Surveillance video from inside the facility shows him resisting attempts to place him back in the cell. At one point, he can be seen punching one of the juvenile detention employees in the head, knocking his glasses to the ground.

The video, which contains no audio, shows detention workers wrestling him into the cell. The camera angle doesn’t offer a clear view of what happened next.

But the prosecutor’s office said staff shackled Lofton’s ankles around 4:29 a.m. and put him on his stomach on the floor a few minutes later. One worker held C.J.’s ankles, another his thighs and two others held down his arms.

C.J. struggled, saying he would “hex” staff and that he was Jesus, according to the report.

A worker can be heard calling dispatch: The teen needed to be taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.

Around 5:08 a.m., the workers managed to put C.J. in handcuffs so he would be ready to be transported when police arrived, according to the prosecutor’s report. He remained face down. The workers then heard what sounded like snoring; they assumed he had had tired himself out and fallen asleep.

But C.J. was far from fine. The snoring was likely agonal breathing, a common sign of cardiac arrest, explained Dr. Michael Freeman, a forensic epidemiologist who testified in the George Floyd case.

“I think the biggest problem here is that the people who do the restraint don’t understand how dangerous what they’re doing is,” he said.

C.J.’s COVID-19 infection also would “contribute and make it even more dangerous,” said Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic science professor at George Washington University. Weedn said the problem is that people can’t breathe fast enough or deep enough when they are restrained face down to get rid of carbon dioxide, especially if they are under stress.

But the workers knew none of this, insisting later that they were using restraints that they had been taught. It took them about 5 minutes longer to notice something was wrong, roll C.J. on his back and start chest compressions, according to the prosecutor’s report.

They called for help. When the emergency crew arrived, he had no pulse. “I have one 17-year-old male post code red coming to you,” a paramedic called in, after the crew managed to restart his heart.

But his condition was grave, his blood pressure just 62 over 24. And two days later, he was dead. He never regained consciousness.

The final autopsy, released in December, listed C.J.’s cause of death as “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” The death was declared a homicide.

Andrew M. Stroth, the family’s attorney, said he is preparing a “robust legal filing,” describing what happened as “tragic on so many levels.”

Sedgwick County Corrections Director Glenda Martens also described what happened as “tragic” in a news conference but said that the corrections workers “acted well within the policy and the requirements of that policy” in restraining the teen.

Meanwhile, interim Wichita Police Chief Lem Moore said his department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-kansas-wichita-4a5aacdb2d18f75894034eef86ebd90a">looking into the actions officers took</a>&nbsp;when booking the teen. The FBI also is investigating, and Kansas’ governor ordered a review of how the foster care system handled the case.

A task force assembled jointly by the city and county reviewed C.J.’s death. Its members, who include a local NAACP official and a 20-year-old youth organizer, recommended a series of changes, including improving training and mental health services.

Bennett, the district attorney, said he struggled with whether an involuntary manslaughter charge was justified, but concluded in January that the state’s “stand-your-ground” law prevented him from pursuing it because staff members were protecting themselves.

Robert Spitzer, author of “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,” said Bennett’s interpretation is a “perfectly logical application” of a law that he described as “deeply problematic.”

Bennett agrees, calling on the Legislature to change the law and raising questions about nearly everyone involved in C.J.’s care, from the juvenile workers to the foster care system.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642856231058.png" alt="Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County." />
 <figcaption>Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County.</figcaption>
 </figure>By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTHMISSION, Kan. (AP) — “Y’all here to protect me,” the youth asked the officers, beseechingly. “Right?”The 17-year-old’s foster father, unable to deal with a teen who seemed to be in the throes of schizophrenia, had called Wichita police. When they arrived, Cedric “C.J.” Lofton refused to leave the porch and go with them; he was obstinate but afraid, meek but frantic.After an hourlong stalemate, the police lost patience. It was time to take him away -- by force, if necessary.And so began the last two days of a life plagued by family dysfunction, brushes with the law, years in foster care and, finally, mental illness. The events leading to C.J.’s death, just a day short of his 18th birthday, would be captured on video; the result would be litigation, pleas for reform, cries that the system had failed yet another Black youth.Authorities would decide against any prosecutions in connection with his death. But there were crucial errors, and vital holes in the safety net that had fatal consequences.Owing to the hour, a team that included a mental health worker was unavailable to respond on that night last September; police alone responded. And C.J. was taken not to a mental hospital but to the county Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where for about 40 minutes he was held face down, resulting in his death.C.J. “went from crisis to death because we got involved,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell.“We all need to own what we did right and what we did wrong,” he added. “And the reality is there’s things that happened that were wrong.”___Friends who met C.J. in foster care described him as a goofball, fun loving, with a dark childhood that he hinted at but never talked about much.“He would dance everywhere, just wiggly, just you know, no coordination at all. Just dancing just to dance,” said Skylar Mannie, 16, of Wichita.But under the surface, she sensed anxieties. “He worried about making sure that he was safe, making sure everybody around him was safe and that they were good at all times.”He was raised with the help of his grandmother. His father, Chadrick Lofton, racked up multiple convictions for domestic assault; one case sent him to prison for a year and a half when C.J. was 2, and after that, C.J. told friends, his father wasn’t around. His mother, Sarah Harrison, also had a criminal record, including a theft conviction in Texas that carried a 400-day sentence.As he entered his teen years, C.J. was living with his mother in Junction City, a Kansas town of about 22,000 near the Fort Riley military base. In the summer of 2018, at age 14, he began to get in trouble.He was accused first of using a stolen debit card, then with stealing a car and tools, court records show. At a football game that fall, he was caught with a BB gun and suspended from school; he was truant often, the court filings show.Then, in November, he was accused of battery and stealing a video game from a Walmart and was sent to a juvenile detention facility. Court records noted that his “behavior is escalating and there is no parental control,” but he was released to his mother that December.He broke curfew again and again. Ultimately, a judge signed an order removing Lofton from his home, noting there was “no parent/guardian present.” By August 2019, a court filing found that he was doing “very well” in foster care.C.J. moved around at first, friends said. But in December 2020, he was placed in Wichita with a foster father that his friend, Marquez Patton, described as “one of the good ones.”By all accounts, they got along. C.J.’s foster father told investigators that he had been doing fine in school and that there were no major issues until their final weeks together, according to a report by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.The foster father, whose name hasn’t been released, declined an interview request through DCCCA Inc., a private foster care agency that contracts with the state’s Department of Children and Families.During the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 school year, C.J. became a favorite of Traci Kallhoff, a zoology teacher at Wichita Southeast High School. He was always asking questions, sometimes tossing a blanket over his head to liven up virtual instruction.“Some of those kids, like when they’re kind of like that, you know, like a little ornery, but really just so full of life, they just kind of grab your heart,” she said, adding that they grew so close that he emailed over summer break and hugged her when classes resumed in the fall.Patton, 22, met C.J. when they worked at the same McDonald’s. He said among other things, the pair bonded over music -- C.J. posted his own classic gangster rap on YouTube, full of references to shootings and bloodshed.Indeed, C.J. had been part of a Junction City gang, friends said. “Gangs are like a family,” Patton said, but C.J. had vowed to leave that behind and “do better.” The lyrics were merely what sold, he told friends.He started dating Kyanya Hardyway in June 2021. Her family “loved him,” she said, because he was so respectful. They went to the mall, the YMCA and church together.Eventually, though, he started telling her and other friends that he was hearing things, that the world was going to end soon. It worried her. But she added: “I was just glad that he was just telling me stuff.”Friends said C.J. planned to remain in foster care until he finished high school. But he was growing restless as he prepared to age out of the system. Two friends had already been forced from the foster placement after getting in trouble, Patton said.Then, last August, his grandmother died in Texas. Cassandra Harrison’s death was a blow.His foster father said when Cedric returned from the funeral in September, “it got progressively worse,” according to the prosecutor’s report. He described him as “paranoid.”Friends saw the difference, too.“He was really sad. He felt like he didn’t really have anybody,” said Angelee Phillips, an 18-year-old who also had spent time in foster care.She said she knew he was smoking weed. His foster brothers also suspected he was doing drugs, possibly the synthetic marijuana known as K2, although none had witnessed it firsthand. Partly, their suspicions stemmed from his strange behavior; one foster brother heard C.J. saying that his classmates were robots intent on hurting him.Tests conducted as part of the autopsy report came up positive for marijuana, nothing else.By Sept. 22, the situation was escalating. C.J. walked away from school that day and his foster father called police to report him as a runaway.“He has been telling people not to look in the mirror because it takes your soul,” he told a dispatcher, adding that C.J. thought security guards were secret agents that were spying on him and that he doesn’t want anyone to come into his room because he says the house is bugged.Hardyway said he called her around 2 the next morning. She could tell he was outside, but he refused to tell her where.“He was just telling me like he loved me and stuff and then he just hung up because his phone was about to die,” she recalled. They never spoke again.___When C.J. returned home around 11:30 a.m. that Friday morning, the foster father immediately took him to the county’s mental health provider for an evaluation. But they never made it inside.“He started freaking out and then ran off on me again,” the foster father told police.He said C.J. had mentioned “he can get access to a gun.” He suspected the teen had schizophrenia. Although C.J. hadn’t been diagnosed, a cousin had told the foster father that the condition ran in the family.It was all too much. The foster father told a caseworker he couldn’t handle C.J. anymore.C.J. didn’t realize that when he returned around 1 a.m. on Sept. 24. His foster father told C.J. to stay on the porch, that he was worried about him. He called police.The community operates a program in which a mental health professional, a law enforcement officer and a paramedic respond to emergent mental health crisis. But it only operates from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.That meant the unit was not available when the foster father called, and police had to go instead -- one of the first big missteps, said Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse: “We’re expecting law enforcement to do way too much.”Officers approached the house. What followed plays out on body camera video:While the foster father attempts to reach the after-hours foster care contacts, officers try to persuade C.J. -- who was also sick with COVID-19 -- to let them take him to a mental hospital.“Hell no,” C.J. says.Over and over, for nearly an hour, they beg him to submit. C.J. offers to sleep outside. He points at things he alone sees, things that do not exist.C.J., who had told his foster father that he feared police would shoot him, empties his pockets at one point -- apparently, to show the officers he is unarmed. Change clatters to the ground.“We don’t want your stuff,” an officer tells him.An officer asks him again about the hospital.“The hospital,” C.J. says. “I thought you was talking about jail.”The officer responds: “Not jail, just the hospital. ... I promise you we would go there.”But C.J. will have none of it. At 2:15 a.m., officers call for assistance. The 5-foot-10, 135-pound teenager is still refusing to budge.The sergeant who responded to the scene would later explain that he wasn’t willing to just leave C.J. alone outside, according to the prosecutor’s report: “We can’t walk away.”They decide to take C.J. forcibly.This was another mistake, said Cruse and fellow commissioner Howell. “Where is this impatience coming from?” Howell asked.In the video, C.J. screams and yells “help” over and over again as officers grab for his arms.“This is illegal,” C.J. says. “Isn’t it?”Breathing heavily, the officers order C.J. not to bite, they are there to help.Eventually the officers restrain him in something called the WRAP, a device comprised of a locking shoulder harness, leg restraints and ankle straps. The sheriff’s office describes it as a way to restrain a person who is out of control so that they don’t hurt themselves or others.C.J. is frantic. “They are going to kill me,” he screams, biting at the straps.As the teen is carried to the police cruiser, he can be heard muttering, repeatedly, “Kill yourself.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1633046927211.png" alt="CJ Lofton courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>CJ Lofton courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>___The destination was no longer the mental hospital. The sergeant later explained that he believed C.J. was too combative to take there, according to the prosecutor’s report.Instead, the vehicle headed for the juvenile intake center. C.J. was accused of multiple counts of battering law enforcement officers.“It shocks me how this child is telling you they are seeing things that don’t exist and an alternate decision, aside from taking him to the hospital, was made,” said Brittany Brest, a community psychologist who is overseeing a grant from the National Alliance on Mental Illness to better support Kansas inmates.Even one of the officers can be heard questioning the change of destination during the drive, arguing that C.J. would fare better at the mental hospital.“It fixes whatever is wrong with him,” the officer says. The officers C.J. bit, he said, were “putting themselves in positions of being battered” because they were putting their hands in front of his mouth.A second officer responds, simply, “It is not our call.”They pull into the juvenile center at 2:44 a.m. and multiple officers carry him inside. C.J. continues repeating “kill yourself” when he was removed from the WRAP restraint around 3:40 a.m. Officers cautiously back out of the holding cell, leaving C.J. alone inside.A juvenile worker later opened the door to the cell and told C.J. he “won’t be here that long” if he cooperated with being weighed and fingerprinted.C.J., though, was still agitated. He walked out of his holding cell and tried to grab a computer monitor from the intake counter, the prosecutor’s report said.Surveillance video from inside the facility shows him resisting attempts to place him back in the cell. At one point, he can be seen punching one of the juvenile detention employees in the head, knocking his glasses to the ground.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642880340757.png" alt="Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County." />
 <figcaption>Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County.</figcaption>
 </figure>The video, which contains no audio, shows detention workers wrestling him into the cell. The camera angle doesn’t offer a clear view of what happened next.But the prosecutor’s office said staff shackled Lofton’s ankles around 4:29 a.m. and put him on his stomach on the floor a few minutes later. One worker held C.J.’s ankles, another his thighs and two others held down his arms.C.J. struggled, saying he would “hex” staff and that he was Jesus, according to the report.A worker can be heard calling dispatch: The teen needed to be taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.Around 5:08 a.m., the workers managed to put C.J. in handcuffs so he would be ready to be transported when police arrived, according to the prosecutor’s report. He remained face down. The workers then heard what sounded like snoring; they assumed he had had tired himself out and fallen asleep.But C.J. was far from fine. The snoring was likely agonal breathing, a common sign of cardiac arrest, explained Dr. Michael Freeman, a forensic epidemiologist who testified in the George Floyd case.“I think the biggest problem here is that the people who do the restraint don’t understand how dangerous what they’re doing is,” he said.C.J.’s COVID-19 infection also would “contribute and make it even more dangerous,” said Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic science professor at George Washington University. Weedn said the problem is that people can’t breathe fast enough or deep enough when they are restrained face down to get rid of carbon dioxide, especially if they are under stress.But the workers knew none of this, insisting later that they were using restraints that they had been taught. It took them about 5 minutes longer to notice something was wrong, roll C.J. on his back and start chest compressions, according to the prosecutor’s report.They called for help. When the emergency crew arrived, he had no pulse. “I have one 17-year-old male post code red coming to you,” a paramedic called in, after the crew managed to restart his heart.But his condition was grave, his blood pressure just 62 over 24. And two days later, he was dead. He never regained consciousness.___The final autopsy, released in December, listed C.J.’s cause of death as “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” The death was declared a homicide.Andrew M. Stroth, the family’s attorney, said he is preparing a “robust legal filing,” describing what happened as “tragic on so many levels.”Sedgwick County Corrections Director Glenda Martens also described what happened as “tragic” in a news conference but said that the corrections workers “acted well within the policy and the requirements of that policy” in restraining the teen.Meanwhile, interim Wichita Police Chief Lem Moore said his department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-kansas-wichita-4a5aacdb2d18f75894034eef86ebd90a">looking into the actions officers took</a>&nbsp;when booking the teen. The FBI also is investigating, and Kansas’ governor ordered a review of how the foster care system handled the case.ADVERTISEMENTA task force assembled jointly by the city and county reviewed C.J.’s death. Its members, who include a local NAACP official and a 20-year-old youth organizer, recommended a series of changes, including improving training and mental health services.Bennett, the district attorney, said he struggled with whether an involuntary manslaughter charge was justified, but concluded in January that the state’s “stand-your-ground” law prevented him from pursuing it because staff members were protecting themselves.Robert Spitzer, author of “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,” said Bennett’s interpretation is a “perfectly logical application” of a law that he described as “deeply problematic.”Bennett agrees, calling on the Legislature to change the law and raising questions about nearly everyone involved in C.J.’s care, from the juvenile workers to the foster care system.“This,” he said, “should never have happened.”

'From crisis to death': Probing Kan. teen's last, desperate hours

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged kidnapping after an arrest on Saturday.

Just after 11:30a.m., police responded to report of a stolen vehicle in the 1300 Block of North 78th Street, according to a media release.

Police learned that a child was still in the back seat when the vehicle was taken. Police immediately broadcast the suspect information across the city.

Just before noon, officers observed the vehicle and began a pursuit that traveled into Missouri and returned to Kansas. At 12:13 p.m., police were able to stop the vehicle at College Parkway and State Avenue.

Police took the suspect into custody and were able to return the child, unharmed to the family.

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged kidnapping after an arrest on Saturday.Just after 11:30a.m., police responded to report of a stolen vehicle in the 1300 Block of North 78th Street, according to a media release.Police learned that a child was still in the back seat when the vehicle was taken. Police immediately broadcast the suspect information across the city.Just before noon, officers observed the vehicle and began a pursuit that traveled into Missouri and returned to Kansas. At 12:13 p.m., police were able to stop the vehicle at College Parkway and State Avenue.Police took the suspect into custody and were able to return the child, unharmed to the family.

KCPD: Child was still in backseat when suspect stole vehicle 

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a traffic stop in northeast Kansas.

Just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday, sheriff's deputies stopped a 2017 Toyota Corolla for a traffic infraction near 158th and U.S.&nbsp; Highway 75 in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

After an investigation, deputies arrested 19-year-old Ryan Ahmad Mehio of Chandler, Arizona, on requested charges of possession of a stimulant, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a fraudulent identity card, according to Morse.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652381184018.png" alt="Mehio-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Mehio-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a traffic stop in northeast Kansas.Just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday, sheriff's deputies stopped a 2017 Toyota Corolla for a traffic infraction near 158th and U.S.&nbsp; Highway 75 in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.After an investigation, deputies arrested 19-year-old Ryan Ahmad Mehio of Chandler, Arizona, on requested charges of possession of a stimulant, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a fraudulent identity card, according to Morse.

Kan. deputies find drugs, fake ID card during traffic stop

CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (AP) — A former respiratory therapist charged with first-degree murder in the death of a patient in Missouri 20 years ago has been arrested in northeastern Kansas, authorities said.

Jennifer Hall, 41, was arrested in Johnson County, Kansas, on Thursday evening under the name Jennifer Semaboye, of Overland Park, Kansas, the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said. The discrepancy in her last name wasn't immediately clear, but a worker with the Johnson County jail said booking documents showed she was divorced and that she also went by the name Jennifer Hall. Online records indicate she is being held without bond.

She was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-franco-missouri-e1b5b5d9b9341349bc921776c169c1ab">charged this month in the 2002 death</a>&nbsp;of Fern Franco — one of nine people who died at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe over several months in 2002 amid a series of “medically suspicious” events at the hospital, according to court documents in Hall’s case.

Hall worked as a respiratory therapist at the hospital when the patients all died from cardiac collapse, officials have said. Matthew O’Connor, who has represented Hall in the past, said earlier this week that no evidence exists to connect Hall to the deaths. Hall has previously denied any involvement.

The case was revived after an analysis of Franco’s tissue samples found morphine and a powerful muscle relaxant used in anesthesia in her system. Neither drug was prescribed or ordered for her by her doctors, investigators said.

Some staff at the hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">believed Hall was responsible</a>&nbsp;because of her proximity to the stricken patients, her access to deadly pharmaceuticals, and because she notified staff of every patient’s cardiac emergency, according to court documents.

Hall was placed on administrative leave three days after Franco’s death.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Missouri—Law enforcement authorities in Kansas have arrested a former respiratory therapist who worked at a hospital in Missouri where nine people died under suspicions circumstances twenty years ago.

According to a social media report from the Livingston County Sheriff's office, Jennifer Anne Hall, 41, was arrested by authorities in Kansas on a Livingston County arrest warrant for alleged 1st degree Murder. Extradition process will begin at the earliest opportunity, according to the report.

&nbsp;Hall was charged last week with first-degree murder in the 2002 death of Fern Franco, who was one of nine people who died of cardiac collapse between Dec. 16, 2001, and May 18, 2002, at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Missouri.

The Livingston County Sheriff's office said Tuesday authorities were&nbsp; searching for Hall, who might be using the name Semaboye.

Hall worked as a respiratory therapist at the 49-bed hospital when the patients died. Doctors and nurses at the hospital viewed the numbers of deaths as “medically suspicious,” according to a law enforcement record supporting the probable cause for her arrest.

The case was revived after an analysis of Franco’s tissue samples found succinylcholine and morphine, which were not prescribed or ordered for her by her doctors, according to a probable cause statement by Chillicothe Police Officer Brian Schmidt.

Some staff at the hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">believed Hall was responsible&nbsp;</a>because of her proximity to the stricken patients, her access to deadly pharmaceuticals, and because she notified staff of every patient's cardiac emergency, according to the probable cause.

She was placed on administrative leave on May 21, 2002, three days after Franco’s death.

An overdose of succinylcholine causes slow suffocation. At least nine suspicious deaths and 18 suspicious medical emergencies at Hedrick Medical Center during that time period were suspected overdoses of succinylcholine or other drugs.

Hall denied involvement in the deaths during an interview with the Kansas City Star in 2015.

Matthew O’Connor, a Kansas City attorney who represented Hall in the past, said the murder charge was based on “conjecture and speculation.”

“This isn’t lawyer talk — there aren’t facts in support of it because Ms. Hall did not commit these acts,” he said.

Before she worked at Hedrick Medical Center, Hall was convicted of setting fire to Cass Medical Center in Harrisonville, Missouri, where she was hired as a respiratory therapist. She spent a year in prison before an appeals court vacated her conviction because she received ineffective counsel at trial. A jury acquitted her at a subsequent retrial.

The families of five of the nine patients who died during that period filed wrongful death lawsuits against the hospital in 2010, claiming the hospital covered up possible foul play in their relatives' deaths. An appeal filed in 2013 alleged that employees at the hospital believed they would be fired if they raised suspicions about the deaths.

In 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/statutes-missouri-b55d384d0cac46919c3734c855354da6">threw out the lawsuits</a>, ruling that the families had filed their actions after the statute of limitations had run out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652474493585.png" alt="Jennifer Hall, 41, was arrested in Johnson County, Kansas, on Thursday evening under the name Jennifer Semaboye, of Overland Park, Kansas-photo Johnson Co." />
 <figcaption>Jennifer Hall, 41, was arrested in Johnson County, Kansas, on Thursday evening under the name Jennifer Semaboye, of Overland Park, Kansas-photo Johnson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (AP) — A former respiratory therapist charged with first-degree murder in the death of a patient in Missouri 20 years ago has been arrested in northeastern Kansas, authorities said.Jennifer Hall, 41, was arrested in Johnson County, Kansas, on Thursday evening under the name Jennifer Semaboye, of Overland Park, Kansas, the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said. The discrepancy in her last name wasn't immediately clear, but a worker with the Johnson County jail said booking documents showed she was divorced and that she also went by the name Jennifer Hall. Online records indicate she is being held without bond.She was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-franco-missouri-e1b5b5d9b9341349bc921776c169c1ab">charged this month in the 2002 death</a>&nbsp;of Fern Franco — one of nine people who died at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe over several months in 2002 amid a series of “medically suspicious” events at the hospital, according to court documents in Hall’s case.Hall worked as a respiratory therapist at the hospital when the patients all died from cardiac collapse, officials have said. Matthew O’Connor, who has represented Hall in the past, said earlier this week that no evidence exists to connect Hall to the deaths. Hall has previously denied any involvement.The case was revived after an analysis of Franco’s tissue samples found morphine and a powerful muscle relaxant used in anesthesia in her system. Neither drug was prescribed or ordered for her by her doctors, investigators said.Some staff at the hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">believed Hall was responsible</a>&nbsp;because of her proximity to the stricken patients, her access to deadly pharmaceuticals, and because she notified staff of every patient’s cardiac emergency, according to court documents.Hall was placed on administrative leave three days after Franco’s death.---------LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Missouri—Law enforcement authorities in Kansas have arrested a former respiratory therapist who worked at a hospital in Missouri where nine people died under suspicions circumstances twenty years ago.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652449498878.png" alt="Hall-photo Livingston Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Hall-photo Livingston Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>According to a social media report from the Livingston County Sheriff's office, Jennifer Anne Hall, 41, was arrested by authorities in Kansas on a Livingston County arrest warrant for alleged 1st degree Murder. Extradition process will begin at the earliest opportunity, according to the report.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652204964045.png" alt="Hall-photo Livingston Co." />
 <figcaption>Hall-photo Livingston Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Hall was charged last week with first-degree murder in the 2002 death of Fern Franco, who was one of nine people who died of cardiac collapse between Dec. 16, 2001, and May 18, 2002, at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Missouri.The Livingston County Sheriff's office said Tuesday authorities were&nbsp; searching for Hall, who might be using the name Semaboye.Hall worked as a respiratory therapist at the 49-bed hospital when the patients died. Doctors and nurses at the hospital viewed the numbers of deaths as “medically suspicious,” according to a law enforcement record supporting the probable cause for her arrest.The case was revived after an analysis of Franco’s tissue samples found succinylcholine and morphine, which were not prescribed or ordered for her by her doctors, according to a probable cause statement by Chillicothe Police Officer Brian Schmidt.Some staff at the hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-missouri-eb1f83b41c6749218dc02ecad99a295a">believed Hall was responsible&nbsp;</a>because of her proximity to the stricken patients, her access to deadly pharmaceuticals, and because she notified staff of every patient's cardiac emergency, according to the probable cause.She was placed on administrative leave on May 21, 2002, three days after Franco’s death.An overdose of succinylcholine causes slow suffocation. At least nine suspicious deaths and 18 suspicious medical emergencies at Hedrick Medical Center during that time period were suspected overdoses of succinylcholine or other drugs.Hall denied involvement in the deaths during an interview with the Kansas City Star in 2015.Matthew O’Connor, a Kansas City attorney who represented Hall in the past, said the murder charge was based on “conjecture and speculation.”“This isn’t lawyer talk — there aren’t facts in support of it because Ms. Hall did not commit these acts,” he said.Before she worked at Hedrick Medical Center, Hall was convicted of setting fire to Cass Medical Center in Harrisonville, Missouri, where she was hired as a respiratory therapist. She spent a year in prison before an appeals court vacated her conviction because she received ineffective counsel at trial. A jury acquitted her at a subsequent retrial.The families of five of the nine patients who died during that period filed wrongful death lawsuits against the hospital in 2010, claiming the hospital covered up possible foul play in their relatives' deaths. An appeal filed in 2013 alleged that employees at the hospital believed they would be fired if they raised suspicions about the deaths.In 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/statutes-missouri-b55d384d0cac46919c3734c855354da6">threw out the lawsuits</a>, ruling that the families had filed their actions after the statute of limitations had run out.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Therapist charged in hospital death held without bond in Kansas

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a standoff in Topeka.

Just after 9 a.m., Thursday detectives with the Topeka Police Department went to 1286 SW Lane on an attempt to locate 33-year-old Bruce A. Teel of Topeka, on an original charge of Aggravated Assault, according to Police Lt. Manuel Munoz.

Teel was wanted from an incident on March 23.

Upon arrival, detectives determined that Teel was in the residence and had gone up to a room in the attic. Detectives made verbal contact through the door with Teel who refused to open the door and barricaded himself. 

Detectives contacted the Response Team and Negotiators to try to get Teel to surrender. After several hours of negotiations, Teel surrendered without further incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652439062192.png" alt="Teel-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Teel-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a standoff in Topeka.Just after 9 a.m., Thursday detectives with the Topeka Police Department went to 1286 SW Lane on an attempt to locate 33-year-old Bruce A. Teel of Topeka, on an original charge of Aggravated Assault, according to Police Lt. Manuel Munoz.Teel was wanted from an incident on March 23.Upon arrival, detectives determined that Teel was in the residence and had gone up to a room in the attic. Detectives made verbal contact through the door with Teel who refused to open the door and barricaded himself. Detectives contacted the Response Team and Negotiators to try to get Teel to surrender. After several hours of negotiations, Teel surrendered without further incident.Teel was transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on the original requested charge of Aggravated Assault. He was also booked in for an additional requested charge of Felony Obstruction, according to Munoz.