MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after weekend boat chase on Lake of the Ozarks.

Just before 8:30p.m. Saturday,&nbsp;Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F was advised of an alleged domestic assault involving a man, later identified as 39-year-old Loren M. Peters of Sunrise Beach throwing a woman off a vessel in Davey Hollow Cove at Lake of the Ozarks, according to a media release from the MSHP.

Troopers observed the suspect vessel, an orange 2023 Hayaari Marine H44Z at the 10 mile mark of the main channel. As troopers began to conduct a boat stop, the Hayaari accelerated quickly and attempted to leave the area. This led to a vessel pursuit.

The pursuit ended with the Hayaari entered Mill Creek Cove. The operator, Peters, abandoned the vessel at a dock near Walleye Drive and ran. Troopers took Peters into custody a short time later. He was arrested on requested charges of BWI alcohol, resist or interfere with arrest, operating a boat in a careless manner and fourth-degree domestic assault.

MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after weekend boat chase on Lake of the Ozarks.Just before 8:30p.m. Saturday,&nbsp;Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F was advised of an alleged domestic assault involving a man, later identified as 39-year-old Loren M. Peters of Sunrise Beach throwing a woman off a vessel in Davey Hollow Cove at Lake of the Ozarks, according to a media release from the MSHP.Troopers observed the suspect vessel, an orange 2023 Hayaari Marine H44Z at the 10 mile mark of the main channel. As troopers began to conduct a boat stop, the Hayaari accelerated quickly and attempted to leave the area. This led to a vessel pursuit.The pursuit ended with the Hayaari entered Mill Creek Cove. The operator, Peters, abandoned the vessel at a dock near Walleye Drive and ran. Troopers took Peters into custody a short time later. He was arrested on requested charges of BWI alcohol, resist or interfere with arrest, operating a boat in a careless manner and fourth-degree domestic assault.

Patrol: Man jailed after throwing woman from boat at Lake of the Ozarks

KANSAS CITY—Two brothers are in custody and facing charges after a shooting during a a Facebook Marketplace truck sale at a Kansas City apartment parking lot.

According to court records, on July 9, 35-year-old Clarence Melbert and 31-year-old Aaron Melbert allegedly arranged to sell a black Ford F-150.&nbsp;&nbsp;

When a buyer arrived at the location with $2,500 in cash, Clarence pointed a gun and ordered the buyer out of the truck, while Aaron threatened him with a knife, according to police.

As the victim tried to leave, he was shot from behind in the ear and arm.

The victim’s wife, who witnessed the attack, fired her own gun in self-defense as the suspects fled. She helped police identify both suspects. Officers found the brothers nearby and arrested them without incident.

&nbsp;Clarence had a gunshot wound to his arm. Police recovered firearms, shell casings and a knife from the scene.

Aaron is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Warrant: New Case warrant issued by Jackson, MO; Bond - Cash Only, $100000.00.

Clarence is being held on requested charges that include Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - 10% OR Secured, $5600.00;Warrant: New Case warrant ; Bond - Cash Only, $100000.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2500.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $50.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2000.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2000.00;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752501119626.png" alt="Aaron Melbert photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Aaron Melbert photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Two brothers are in custody and facing charges after a shooting during a a Facebook Marketplace truck sale at a Kansas City apartment parking lot.According to court records, on July 9, 35-year-old Clarence Melbert and 31-year-old Aaron Melbert allegedly arranged to sell a black Ford F-150.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752501049562.png" alt="Clarence Melbert photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Clarence Melbert photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>When a buyer arrived at the location with $2,500 in cash, Clarence pointed a gun and ordered the buyer out of the truck, while Aaron threatened him with a knife, according to police.As the victim tried to leave, he was shot from behind in the ear and arm.The victim’s wife, who witnessed the attack, fired her own gun in self-defense as the suspects fled. She helped police identify both suspects. Officers found the brothers nearby and arrested them without incident.&nbsp;Clarence had a gunshot wound to his arm. Police recovered firearms, shell casings and a knife from the scene.Aaron is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Warrant: New Case warrant issued by Jackson, MO; Bond - Cash Only, $100000.00.Clarence is being held on requested charges that include Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - 10% OR Secured, $5600.00;Warrant: New Case warrant ; Bond - Cash Only, $100000.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2500.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $50.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2000.00;Warrant: Failure to Appear warrant ; Bond - ROR, $2000.00;

Brothers jailed after Facebook Marketplace truck sale shooting

FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an investigation in southwest Kansas.

On July 9, the Finney County Sheriff’s Office / Garden City Police Department Joint Drug Task Force served a search warrant of an apartment located in the 1800 block of W. Kansas Ave in Garden City, KS. This search warrant stemmed from an investigation into the activities of one of the residents identified as 62-year-old Pedro Rodriguez.

The search of the residence resulted in the location and seizure of approximately 262.61 grams of suspected cocaine located in multiple bags, numerous items known to be associated with the distribution of illegal substances, and a significant amount of cash.

Rodriguez was arrested and is being held in the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Distribution of Opiates; 100 grams &lt; Kilogram, Aggravated Child Endangerment, No Drug Tax Stamp and Violate offender registration act.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752194633938.png" alt="Rodriguez-photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Rodriguez-photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an investigation in southwest Kansas.On July 9, the Finney County Sheriff’s Office / Garden City Police Department Joint Drug Task Force served a search warrant of an apartment located in the 1800 block of W. Kansas Ave in Garden City, KS. This search warrant stemmed from an investigation into the activities of one of the residents identified as 62-year-old Pedro Rodriguez.The search of the residence resulted in the location and seizure of approximately 262.61 grams of suspected cocaine located in multiple bags, numerous items known to be associated with the distribution of illegal substances, and a significant amount of cash.Rodriguez was arrested and is being held in the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Distribution of Opiates; 100 grams &lt; Kilogram, Aggravated Child Endangerment, No Drug Tax Stamp and Violate offender registration act.

Police: SW Kansas man accused of selling cocaine

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The lead prosecutor tasked with finding justice for four University of Idaho students killed in a grisly quadruple stabbing more than two years ago laid out his key evidence last week at a court hearing for Bryan Kohberger, who agreed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.

The evidentiary summary — recited by lead prosecutor Bill Thompson before Kohberger entered his pleas — spun a dramatic tale that included a DNA-laden Q-tip plucked from the garbage in the dead of the night, a getaway car stripped so clean of evidence that it was “essentially disassembled inside” and a fateful early-morning Door Dash order that may have put one of the victims in Kohberger’s path.

These details offered new insights into how the crime unfolded on Nov. 13, 2022, and how investigators ultimately solved the case using surveillance footage, cell phone tracking and DNA matching. But the synopsis leaves hanging key questions that could have been answered at trial — including a motive for the stabbings and why Kohberger picked that house, and those victims, all apparent strangers to him.

<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23564673/122922-affidavit-exhibit-a-statement-of-brett-payne_redacted.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the full&nbsp;unsealed affidavit, which explains the basis for Kohberger's arrest.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/moscow-idaho-boise-university-of-d0ed74d74bd11f3c58e5f78ea52a0b6c">The small farming community</a>&nbsp;of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not had a homicide in about five years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus.

Kohberger, now 30, had begun a doctoral degree in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University — across the state line from Moscow, Idaho — months before the crimes.

“The defendant has studied crime,” Thompson said, as the victims’ family members dabbed at their tears. “In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skillset.”

Kohberger’s cell phone began connecting with cell towers in the area of the crime more than four months before the stabbings, Thompson said, and pinged on those towers 23 times between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in that time period.

A compilation of surveillance videos from neighbors and businesses also placed Kohberger’s vehicle — known to investigators because of a routine traffic stop by police in August — in the area.

On the night of the killings, Kohberger parked behind the house and entered through a sliding door to the kitchen at the back of the house shortly after 4 a.m., Thompson said. He moved to the third floor, where Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were sleeping.

After killing both of them with a knife, Kohberger left a knife sheath next to Mogen’s body. Both victims’ blood was later found on the sheath, along with DNA from a single male that ultimately helped investigators pinpoint Kohberger as the only suspect.

On the floor below, another student was still awake. Xana Kernodle had ordered Door Dash not long before, and as Kohberger was leaving, he crossed paths with her and killed her with a large knife, Thompson said. He then killed her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was sleeping in Kernodle’s bedroom.

Kohberger left two others in the house alive, including one roommate who was expected to testify at trial that sometime before 4:19 a.m. she saw an intruder there with “bushy eyebrows,” wearing black clothing and a ski mask.

Roughly five minutes later, the car could be seen on the next-door neighbor’s surveillance camera. speeding away so fast “the car almost loses control as it makes the corner,” Thompson said.

After Kohberger fled the scene, Thompson said, his cover-up was elaborate.

Prosecutors believe he drove backroads to his apartment in Pullman, Washington, to avoid surveillance cameras on the major roads and didn’t turn his cell phone back on until 4:48 a.m. By 5:26 a.m., he was back in Pullman, Thompson said.

Later, Kohberger changed his car registration from Pennsylvania to Washington State — significant for investigators who were combing through surveillance camera footage because Pennsylvania law doesn’t require a front license plate, making it harder to identify the vehicle.

And by the time investigators did catch up with him weeks later, his apartment and office in nearby Pullman were scrubbed clean.

“Spartan would be a kind characterization. There was nothing there, nothing of evidentiary value was found,” Thompson said of Kohberger’s apartment.

The car, too, “had been essentially disassembled inside,” he added. “It was spotless. The defendant’s car had been meticulously cleaned inside.”

Investigators had honed in on Kohberger, but they needed to prove he was their suspect.

With the DNA of a single mystery male on the knife sheath, they worked with the FBI and the local sanitation department to secretly retrieve garbage from the Pennsylvania home of Kohberger’s parents, seeking a DNA match to their suspect.

“They conducted what’s called a trash pull during the nighttime hours,” Thompson said, and “took trash that had been set out on the street for collection” and sent it to Idaho’s forensics lab.

The pile of garbage yielded investigative gold: A Q-tip that contained DNA identified “as coming from the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found by Madison Mogen’s body on the bed,” he said.

With that, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he had gone for the holidays, and ultimately was extradited to Idaho for prosecution.

Even while prosecutors detailed that night, a key question remains: Why did Kohberger target that house and those victims? Did he know them? And what was his motive?

“We do not have evidence that the defendant had direct contact with 1122 or with residents in 1122, but we can put his phone in the area on those times,” Thompson said, referring to the house number where the murders took place.

Some of that evidence may have come out at trial, and may yet be contained in documents related to the case that have been sealed by the court until after a July 23 sentencing hearing. A gag order in place for all attorneys in the case is still in effect as well.

Those documents include witness lists, a list of exhibits, an analysis of the evidence, requests for additional discovery, filings about mitigating factors and various unsuccessful defense motions that sought to introduce alternative suspects, among other things.

The families of the victims are split over the plea deal

With the case solved, families remain divided over its resolution.

The deal stipulates that Kohberger will be spared execution in exchange for four consecutive life sentences. He also waived his right to appeal and to challenge the sentence.

Chapin’s and Mogen’s families support the deal.

“We now embark on a new path. We embark on a path of hope and healing,” Mogen’s family said in a statement.

The family of Kaylee Goncalves publicly denounced the plea deal ahead of Wednesday’s hearing and her father refused to attend the proceedings.

Goncalves 18-year-old sister, Aubrie Goncalves, said in a Facebook post that “Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world.”

“Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever,” she wrote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751459170755.png" alt="Kohberger photo Ada Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Kohberger photo Ada Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The lead prosecutor tasked with finding justice for four University of Idaho students killed in a grisly quadruple stabbing more than two years ago laid out his key evidence last week at a court hearing for Bryan Kohberger, who agreed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.The evidentiary summary — recited by lead prosecutor Bill Thompson before Kohberger entered his pleas — spun a dramatic tale that included a DNA-laden Q-tip plucked from the garbage in the dead of the night, a getaway car stripped so clean of evidence that it was “essentially disassembled inside” and a fateful early-morning Door Dash order that may have put one of the victims in Kohberger’s path.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751479520041.png" alt="From top left, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle." />
 <figcaption>From top left, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.</figcaption>
 </figure>These details offered new insights into how the crime unfolded on Nov. 13, 2022, and how investigators ultimately solved the case using surveillance footage, cell phone tracking and DNA matching. But the synopsis leaves hanging key questions that could have been answered at trial — including a motive for the stabbings and why Kohberger picked that house, and those victims, all apparent strangers to him.<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23564673/122922-affidavit-exhibit-a-statement-of-brett-payne_redacted.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the full&nbsp;unsealed affidavit, which explains the basis for Kohberger's arrest.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/moscow-idaho-boise-university-of-d0ed74d74bd11f3c58e5f78ea52a0b6c">The small farming community</a>&nbsp;of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not had a homicide in about five years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus.Kohberger, now 30, had begun a doctoral degree in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University — across the state line from Moscow, Idaho — months before the crimes.“The defendant has studied crime,” Thompson said, as the victims’ family members dabbed at their tears. “In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skillset.”<h2>What we learned from the hearing</h2>Kohberger’s cell phone began connecting with cell towers in the area of the crime more than four months before the stabbings, Thompson said, and pinged on those towers 23 times between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in that time period.A compilation of surveillance videos from neighbors and businesses also placed Kohberger’s vehicle — known to investigators because of a routine traffic stop by police in August — in the area.On the night of the killings, Kohberger parked behind the house and entered through a sliding door to the kitchen at the back of the house shortly after 4 a.m., Thompson said. He moved to the third floor, where Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were sleeping.After killing both of them with a knife, Kohberger left a knife sheath next to Mogen’s body. Both victims’ blood was later found on the sheath, along with DNA from a single male that ultimately helped investigators pinpoint Kohberger as the only suspect.On the floor below, another student was still awake. Xana Kernodle had ordered Door Dash not long before, and as Kohberger was leaving, he crossed paths with her and killed her with a large knife, Thompson said. He then killed her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was sleeping in Kernodle’s bedroom.Kohberger left two others in the house alive, including one roommate who was expected to testify at trial that sometime before 4:19 a.m. she saw an intruder there with “bushy eyebrows,” wearing black clothing and a ski mask.Roughly five minutes later, the car could be seen on the next-door neighbor’s surveillance camera. speeding away so fast “the car almost loses control as it makes the corner,” Thompson said.<h2>What did Kohberger do next?</h2>After Kohberger fled the scene, Thompson said, his cover-up was elaborate.Prosecutors believe he drove backroads to his apartment in Pullman, Washington, to avoid surveillance cameras on the major roads and didn’t turn his cell phone back on until 4:48 a.m. By 5:26 a.m., he was back in Pullman, Thompson said.Later, Kohberger changed his car registration from Pennsylvania to Washington State — significant for investigators who were combing through surveillance camera footage because Pennsylvania law doesn’t require a front license plate, making it harder to identify the vehicle.And by the time investigators did catch up with him weeks later, his apartment and office in nearby Pullman were scrubbed clean.“Spartan would be a kind characterization. There was nothing there, nothing of evidentiary value was found,” Thompson said of Kohberger’s apartment.The car, too, “had been essentially disassembled inside,” he added. “It was spotless. The defendant’s car had been meticulously cleaned inside.”<h2>The Q-tip that broke the case</h2>Investigators had honed in on Kohberger, but they needed to prove he was their suspect.With the DNA of a single mystery male on the knife sheath, they worked with the FBI and the local sanitation department to secretly retrieve garbage from the Pennsylvania home of Kohberger’s parents, seeking a DNA match to their suspect.“They conducted what’s called a trash pull during the nighttime hours,” Thompson said, and “took trash that had been set out on the street for collection” and sent it to Idaho’s forensics lab.The pile of garbage yielded investigative gold: A Q-tip that contained DNA identified “as coming from the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found by Madison Mogen’s body on the bed,” he said.With that, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he had gone for the holidays, and ultimately was extradited to Idaho for prosecution.<h2>The mysteries that remain</h2>Even while prosecutors detailed that night, a key question remains: Why did Kohberger target that house and those victims? Did he know them? And what was his motive?“We do not have evidence that the defendant had direct contact with 1122 or with residents in 1122, but we can put his phone in the area on those times,” Thompson said, referring to the house number where the murders took place.Some of that evidence may have come out at trial, and may yet be contained in documents related to the case that have been sealed by the court until after a July 23 sentencing hearing. A gag order in place for all attorneys in the case is still in effect as well.Those documents include witness lists, a list of exhibits, an analysis of the evidence, requests for additional discovery, filings about mitigating factors and various unsuccessful defense motions that sought to introduce alternative suspects, among other things.<h2>The families of the victims are split over the plea deal</h2>With the case solved, families remain divided over its resolution.The deal stipulates that Kohberger will be spared execution in exchange for four consecutive life sentences. He also waived his right to appeal and to challenge the sentence.Chapin’s and Mogen’s families support the deal.“We now embark on a new path. We embark on a path of hope and healing,” Mogen’s family said in a statement.The family of Kaylee Goncalves publicly denounced the plea deal ahead of Wednesday’s hearing and her father refused to attend the proceedings.Goncalves 18-year-old sister, Aubrie Goncalves, said in a Facebook post that “Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world.”“Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever,” she wrote.

Q-tip and spotless car: Key evidence linking suspect to murders of 4 Idaho students

Court document outlines missed opportunities for DCF, district attorney to shield her

By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — An attorney representing Mickel Cherry in the rape and murder of a 5-year-old Topeka girl asserted in a court document Friday that Kansas’ child welfare agency and the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office missed opportunities to intervene and possibly save her life.

Cherry, a former Texas resident who entered a guilty plea last year to murder and sexual assault charges to avoid the death penalty, confessed to killing Zoey Felix in October 2023 at a tent encampment used by homeless people. Zoey was left in Cherry’s care by the girl’s father while he was at work.

Defense counsel Peter Conley, a state deputy capital defender, said in court documents that Felix’s welfare was investigated seven separate times by the Kansas Department for Children and Families in the year before her death. After a DUI charge against the girl’s mother, Conley said, DCF informed District Attorney Mike Kagay’s office that evidence indicated Felix’s mother engaged in abuse or neglect of the girl.

The district attorney eventually began child-in-need-of-care proceedings, but Felix died before the legal system advanced the case to a point where she could be placed in state custody and potentially placed in the foster care system. Instead of the promise of safety, Felix was strangled by Cherry, who had endured years of abuse from his mother before placed in the Texas foster care system from age 5 to 18.

Conley’s filing on behalf of the 27-year-old Cherry says his client had to bear ultimate responsibility for raping and killing Felix, but the case raised important issues.

“Kansas had multiple opportunities to protect her from the harm she endured,” Conley wrote in the court document. “While it is easy and tempting to place all the blame on Mickel Cherry, we must also confront a harder truth. The systems designed to protect children failed her. Not because they lacked authority, but because we have tolerated that failure. Our systems can save children. We must expect, and demand, that they do.”

He said Felix’s murder was “entirely avoidable” and that “multiple moments of intervention were present that could have saved her.”

A DCF spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment about the defense attorney’s court filing and the pending sentencing of Cherry.

The document outlining DCF’s involvement with Felix as well as Cherry’s own life experience in foster care was filed by Conley in preparation for sentencing at a Shawnee County District Court hearing scheduled to start Monday. Cherry pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and rape of a child in December.

Conley requested Cherry be ordered to serve two concurrent 25-year-to-life sentences in prison. In that were the result, Cherry wouldn’t be eligible for release until after serving a quarter century behind bars.

On behalf of the district attorney’s office, Kagay recommended two life sentences for the murder and rape to be served consecutively. That would create a minimum 50-year term in prison before consideration of parole.

If released from the Kansas Department of Corrections in the future, Cherry would be subject to civil commitment at a state psychiatric hospital under Kansas laws applied to sexually violent predators.

Conley’s supplement to the court record said it was an “open secret that those (former foster) children, abused and neglected, become the majority of defendants and victims in our legal system.” He said the Cherry case was a “trainwreck of childhood trauma and institutional indifference.”

He wrote that it was troubling a homeless and developmentally disabled Texan who spent much of his childhood in a foster care system that was ruled by the courts to be “constitutionally inadequate” and where “rape, abuse, psychotropic medication and instability were the norm” came to occupy a makeshift camp with Felix and her father.

He posed questions about how Felix, known to be chronically truant from preschool, found by police wandering Topeka streets, subject of multiple DCF investigations and on the district attorney’s radar, fell through the cracks of a system that could have removed her from unsafe living conditions.

In September 2022, Conley’s court document says, DCF received the first report concerning Felix residing with her mother, who was allegedly abusing drugs and the victim of domestic violence. DCF closed that case after the mother refused to participate in the state’s voluntary family preservation program. On a scale forecasting the “lasting safety” of a family, DCF gave Felix’s home environment a nine on the 10-point scale with 10 reflecting confidence the problems were no more serious than those of a typical family.

Less than two months later, Topeka police were called to help locate Felix at 2:42 a.m. She was found at a house a block away. Law enforcement officers returned the girl to her mother and reported to DCF the mother could be neglecting Felix.

A Topeka school contacted DCF in November 2022 to report Felix had missed 25 days of school during the fall part of the academic year. The document filed by Conley said it wasn’t clear if the school or DCF referred the truancy to the district attorney’s office.

On Nov. 18, 2022, DCF was informed Felix’s mother was arrested for DUI after a traffic accident in which Felix was sitting unbuckled in the front seat of the vehicle. Felix was placed in police protective custody until released to her father.

Despite four cases raising questions about Felix’s well-being, Conley’s filing said, DCF records didn’t indicate whether the state agency sought to confirm the father’s ability to care for Felix.

In May 2023, DCF received a report that indicated Felix’s father had been evicted from his home and the girl was back in the care of her mother, who had been released from jail on the DUI charge and placed on probation. At this point, in June 2023, DCF issued a finding of “lack of supervision” regarding Felix. That was apparently shared with the district attorney’s office, but child-in-need-of-care proceedings weren’t immediately initiated.

The district attorney subsequently launched that proceeding on Felix’s behalf to determine whether she was abused, neglected or otherwise unsafe. DCF continued to give a score of nine out of 10 on the “lasting safety” scale applied to Felix, the court document said.

DCF was again notified in August 2023 — two months before Felix’s death — that the girl was living with her mother in a house without running water. The report said the girl didn’t have shoes, was wearing the same clothes every day and was “outside around the neighborhood for hours at a time.”

“DCF sent an investigator to the house seven times in September, but no one was ever home. The case was closed,” Corley wrote in the court document.

In fact, he wrote, Felix was now relying on her father for parental care and was closer to falling victim to Cherry at the homeless camp.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696342029742.png" alt="Mickel Cherry-photo Shawnee County Jail" />
 <figcaption>Mickel Cherry-photo Shawnee County Jail</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Court document outlines missed opportunities for DCF, district attorney to shield her</h2>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — An attorney representing Mickel Cherry in the rape and murder of a 5-year-old Topeka girl asserted in a court document Friday that Kansas’ child welfare agency and the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office missed opportunities to intervene and possibly save her life.Cherry, a former Texas resident who entered a guilty plea last year to murder and sexual assault charges to avoid the death penalty, confessed to killing Zoey Felix in October 2023 at a tent encampment used by homeless people. Zoey was left in Cherry’s care by the girl’s father while he was at work.Defense counsel Peter Conley, a state deputy capital defender, said in court documents that Felix’s welfare was investigated seven separate times by the Kansas Department for Children and Families in the year before her death. After a DUI charge against the girl’s mother, Conley said, DCF informed District Attorney Mike Kagay’s office that evidence indicated Felix’s mother engaged in abuse or neglect of the girl.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696600819324.png" alt="Zoey Felix -photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Zoey Felix -photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>The district attorney eventually began child-in-need-of-care proceedings, but Felix died before the legal system advanced the case to a point where she could be placed in state custody and potentially placed in the foster care system. Instead of the promise of safety, Felix was strangled by Cherry, who had endured years of abuse from his mother before placed in the Texas foster care system from age 5 to 18.Conley’s filing on behalf of the 27-year-old Cherry says his client had to bear ultimate responsibility for raping and killing Felix, but the case raised important issues.“Kansas had multiple opportunities to protect her from the harm she endured,” Conley wrote in the court document. “While it is easy and tempting to place all the blame on Mickel Cherry, we must also confront a harder truth. The systems designed to protect children failed her. Not because they lacked authority, but because we have tolerated that failure. Our systems can save children. We must expect, and demand, that they do.”He said Felix’s murder was “entirely avoidable” and that “multiple moments of intervention were present that could have saved her.”A DCF spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment about the defense attorney’s court filing and the pending sentencing of Cherry.<h2>Trainwreck of trauma</h2>The document outlining DCF’s involvement with Felix as well as Cherry’s own life experience in foster care was filed by Conley in preparation for sentencing at a Shawnee County District Court hearing scheduled to start Monday. Cherry pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and rape of a child in December.Conley requested Cherry be ordered to serve two concurrent 25-year-to-life sentences in prison. In that were the result, Cherry wouldn’t be eligible for release until after serving a quarter century behind bars.On behalf of the district attorney’s office, Kagay recommended two life sentences for the murder and rape to be served consecutively. That would create a minimum 50-year term in prison before consideration of parole.If released from the Kansas Department of Corrections in the future, Cherry would be subject to civil commitment at a state psychiatric hospital under Kansas laws applied to sexually violent predators.Conley’s supplement to the court record said it was an “open secret that those (former foster) children, abused and neglected, become the majority of defendants and victims in our legal system.” He said the Cherry case was a “trainwreck of childhood trauma and institutional indifference.”He wrote that it was troubling a homeless and developmentally disabled Texan who spent much of his childhood in a foster care system that was ruled by the courts to be “constitutionally inadequate” and where “rape, abuse, psychotropic medication and instability were the norm” came to occupy a makeshift camp with Felix and her father.He posed questions about how Felix, known to be chronically truant from preschool, found by police wandering Topeka streets, subject of multiple DCF investigations and on the district attorney’s radar, fell through the cracks of a system that could have removed her from unsafe living conditions.In September 2022, Conley’s court document says, DCF received the first report concerning Felix residing with her mother, who was allegedly abusing drugs and the victim of domestic violence. DCF closed that case after the mother refused to participate in the state’s voluntary family preservation program. On a scale forecasting the “lasting safety” of a family, DCF gave Felix’s home environment a nine on the 10-point scale with 10 reflecting confidence the problems were no more serious than those of a typical family.Less than two months later, Topeka police were called to help locate Felix at 2:42 a.m. She was found at a house a block away. Law enforcement officers returned the girl to her mother and reported to DCF the mother could be neglecting Felix.A Topeka school contacted DCF in November 2022 to report Felix had missed 25 days of school during the fall part of the academic year. The document filed by Conley said it wasn’t clear if the school or DCF referred the truancy to the district attorney’s office.On Nov. 18, 2022, DCF was informed Felix’s mother was arrested for DUI after a traffic accident in which Felix was sitting unbuckled in the front seat of the vehicle. Felix was placed in police protective custody until released to her father.<h2>‘Case was closed’</h2>Despite four cases raising questions about Felix’s well-being, Conley’s filing said, DCF records didn’t indicate whether the state agency sought to confirm the father’s ability to care for Felix.In May 2023, DCF received a report that indicated Felix’s father had been evicted from his home and the girl was back in the care of her mother, who had been released from jail on the DUI charge and placed on probation. At this point, in June 2023, DCF issued a finding of “lack of supervision” regarding Felix. That was apparently shared with the district attorney’s office, but child-in-need-of-care proceedings weren’t immediately initiated.The district attorney subsequently launched that proceeding on Felix’s behalf to determine whether she was abused, neglected or otherwise unsafe. DCF continued to give a score of nine out of 10 on the “lasting safety” scale applied to Felix, the court document said.DCF was again notified in August 2023 — two months before Felix’s death — that the girl was living with her mother in a house without running water. The report said the girl didn’t have shoes, was wearing the same clothes every day and was “outside around the neighborhood for hours at a time.”“DCF sent an investigator to the house seven times in September, but no one was ever home. The case was closed,” Corley wrote in the court document.In fact, he wrote, Felix was now relying on her father for parental care and was closer to falling victim to Cherry at the homeless camp.

Kan. defense attorney: State’s child protection system failed murdered 5-year-old girl

JACKSON COUNTY, Kan.—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations. Just before 7:30p.m. July 8, a Sheriff's Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2025 Chevy Malibu for a traffic infraction on 150th Road near Q. Road in rural Jackson County according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 The investigation into the traffic stop led to the discovery of illegal drug contraband. 

Vonda Jewell Lacour , 63, of Carnegie, Oklahoma, was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges that include possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751988175040.png" alt="Lacour photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Lacour photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY, Kan.—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations. Just before 7:30p.m. July 8, a Sheriff's Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2025 Chevy Malibu for a traffic infraction on 150th Road near Q. Road in rural Jackson County according to Sheriff Tim Morse. The investigation into the traffic stop led to the discovery of illegal drug contraband. Vonda Jewell Lacour , 63, of Carnegie, Oklahoma, was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges that include possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Oklahoma woman was transporting meth in Kansas

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new drug allegations after an encounter with a deputy sheriff.

Just after 8p.m. June 29,&nbsp; a sheriff's deputy made contact with a man in the 200 block of NE Norris Street in rural Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

During the encounter, it was discovered that the individual, identified as 37-year-old Daniel S. Brewer of Topeka had a warrant for his arrest. The deputy also found illegal narcotics.

The deputy arrested Brewer booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections (SNDOC) on the requested charges of Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant and Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body

Brewer had a parole violation hold for the Kansas Department of Corrections. He has previous convictions for burglary, theft and drugs according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751380706320.png" alt="Brewer photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Brewer photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new drug allegations after an encounter with a deputy sheriff.Just after 8p.m. June 29,&nbsp; a sheriff's deputy made contact with a man in the 200 block of NE Norris Street in rural Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.During the encounter, it was discovered that the individual, identified as 37-year-old Daniel S. Brewer of Topeka had a warrant for his arrest. The deputy also found illegal narcotics.The deputy arrested Brewer booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections (SNDOC) on the requested charges of Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant and Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human bodyBrewer had a parole violation hold for the Kansas Department of Corrections. He has previous convictions for burglary, theft and drugs according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Wanted Kansas felon remains jailed after encounter with deputy

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations.&nbsp;

Just before 4a.m. July 9, a sheriff's deputy&nbsp;conducted a traffic stop on a bicyclist near NE Paramore Street and NE Quincy Street for a traffic violation, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. During the investigation, the individual initially gave a false name and date of birth. 

When notified that he had a warrant for his arrest, the man then gave his real name and date of birth, in which he also had a warrant for his arrest. Illegal narcotics were also located.

Geddy L. Barlow, 37, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Dept. of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body and Interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751971521153.png" alt="Barlow photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Barlow photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations.&nbsp;Just before 4a.m. July 9, a sheriff's deputy&nbsp;conducted a traffic stop on a bicyclist near NE Paramore Street and NE Quincy Street for a traffic violation, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. During the investigation, the individual initially gave a false name and date of birth. When notified that he had a warrant for his arrest, the man then gave his real name and date of birth, in which he also had a warrant for his arrest. Illegal narcotics were also located.Geddy L. Barlow, 37, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Dept. of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of an opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant, Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body and Interference with law enforcement.

Kan. drug suspect on bicycle lied to deputy about his name

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man injured in a fatal fight on July 4, made his first court appearance in the case Wednesday.

&nbsp;Eduardo Diaz-Yobal, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in&nbsp;the death of 43-year-old Cesar Gonzalez, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Early Friday, police responded to a report of an assault in the 3000 block of North Fairview in Wichita, according to a media release from Wichita Police. A caller reported witnessing a man attacking another man. The victim was later identified as 33-year-old Cesar Gonzalez of Wichita.&nbsp;

Before officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene. Officers found Gonzalez unresponsive in the parking lot. Sedgwick County EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased at 1:54 a.m.

Officers located the suspect identified in Sedgwick County arrest records as&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/inmatesearch/Details.aspx?Id=254855">Eduardo Diaz-Yorbal, 33, Wichita,</a>&nbsp;in the 300 block of W. 29th Street and took him into custody without incident.

Diaz-Yorbal had injuries consistent with the altercation and was admitted to an area hospital for treatment, released and then booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of first-degree murder and for a probation violation, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751715135638.png" alt="DIAZ-YOBAL-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>DIAZ-YOBAL-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man injured in a fatal fight on July 4, made his first court appearance in the case Wednesday.&nbsp;Eduardo Diaz-Yobal, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in&nbsp;the death of 43-year-old Cesar Gonzalez, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Early Friday, police responded to a report of an assault in the 3000 block of North Fairview in Wichita, according to a media release from Wichita Police. A caller reported witnessing a man attacking another man. The victim was later identified as 33-year-old Cesar Gonzalez of Wichita.&nbsp;Before officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene. Officers found Gonzalez unresponsive in the parking lot. Sedgwick County EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased at 1:54 a.m.Officers located the suspect identified in Sedgwick County arrest records as&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/inmatesearch/Details.aspx?Id=254855">Eduardo Diaz-Yorbal, 33, Wichita,</a>&nbsp;in the 300 block of W. 29th Street and took him into custody without incident.Diaz-Yorbal had injuries consistent with the altercation and was admitted to an area hospital for treatment, released and then booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of first-degree murder and for a probation violation, according to online jail records.

Kansas man injured in deadly July 4, fight goes before a judge

Recent Booking Activity for the Geary County Detention Center. All persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law.

Bonds have been posted. Photos are unavailable.

David Burke, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08

Quinten Williams, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08

Cervantis Hunter,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/08

Stanley Shultz, Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of marijuana; Criminal damage to property; Burglary, arrested 07/08

Orville Nelson, Criminal threat, arrested 07/08

Daniel Watson,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/09

Eddie Brooks, Outside warrant, arrested 07/10

Jesse Alberto Perez, Failure to appear, arrested 07/10

Damian Ash,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/10

Renato De Pradines,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/10

Recent Booking Activity for the Geary County Detention Center. All persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752250315325.jpeg" alt="Sergio Quarles,&nbsp;Failure to appear; Probation violation, arrested 07/08" />
 <figcaption>Sergio Quarles,&nbsp;Failure to appear; Probation violation, arrested 07/08</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752250346877.jpeg" alt="Patrick Fantroy, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08" />
 <figcaption>Patrick Fantroy, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752250413641.jpeg" alt="Davion Rhodes, Interference with LEO, Obstruct/resist/oppose felony warrant service or execution; Failure to appear; Aggravated battery, Knowingly cause great bodily harm or disfigurement; Criminal threat, cause terror, evacuation or disruption, arrested 07/08" />
 <figcaption>Davion Rhodes, Interference with LEO, Obstruct/resist/oppose felony warrant service or execution; Failure to appear; Aggravated battery, Knowingly cause great bodily harm or disfigurement; Criminal threat, cause terror, evacuation or disruption, arrested 07/08</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752250686073.jpeg" alt="Amanda Defulvio, Failure to appear (Four counts), arrested 07/09" />
 <figcaption>Amanda Defulvio, Failure to appear (Four counts), arrested 07/09</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752250697746.jpeg" alt="Rashawn Boone, Failure to appear, arrested 07/09" />
 <figcaption>Rashawn Boone, Failure to appear, arrested 07/09</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251482985.jpeg" alt="Thomas Carter, Transporting an open container; Possession of marijuana; Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of controlled substance; Driving while suspended (3rd or subsequent conviction), arrested 07/09" />
 <figcaption>Thomas Carter, Transporting an open container; Possession of marijuana; Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of controlled substance; Driving while suspended (3rd or subsequent conviction), arrested 07/09</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251621306.jpeg" alt="Jocelyn Quarcoo,&nbsp;Transporting an open container; Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of marijuana; Possession of controlled substance, arrested 07/09" />
 <figcaption>Jocelyn Quarcoo,&nbsp;Transporting an open container; Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of marijuana; Possession of controlled substance, arrested 07/09</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251690671.jpeg" alt="Shavonnie Broughton, Outside warrant; Failure to appear, arrested 07/09" />
 <figcaption>Shavonnie Broughton, Outside warrant; Failure to appear, arrested 07/09</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251828791.jpeg" alt="Kevon Moore,&nbsp;Failure to appear (Two counts), arrested 07/10" />
 <figcaption>Kevon Moore,&nbsp;Failure to appear (Two counts), arrested 07/10</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251856185.jpeg" alt="Alvine Gayle, Failure to appear, arrested 07/10" />
 <figcaption>Alvine Gayle, Failure to appear, arrested 07/10</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752251886361.jpeg" alt="Frederick Swinson,&nbsp;Failure to appear (Two counts), arrested 07/10" />
 <figcaption>Frederick Swinson,&nbsp;Failure to appear (Two counts), arrested 07/10</figcaption>
 </figure>Bonds have been posted. Photos are unavailable.David Burke, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08Quinten Williams, Failure to appear, arrested 07/08Cervantis Hunter,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/08Stanley Shultz, Use/possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body; Possession of marijuana; Criminal damage to property; Burglary, arrested 07/08Orville Nelson, Criminal threat, arrested 07/08Daniel Watson,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/09Eddie Brooks, Outside warrant, arrested 07/10Jesse Alberto Perez, Failure to appear, arrested 07/10Damian Ash,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/10Renato De Pradines,&nbsp;Failure to appear, arrested 07/10Recent Booking Activity for the Geary County Detention Center. All persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law.

Geary County Booking Photos July 9-11

BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a triple-fatal crash that occurred June 11, in Butler County have arrested the driver involved.

On July 3, a warrant was issued in the District Court of Butler County Kansas for Tyler J. Beauclaire 24, of Mansura, Louisiana for three (3) counts of Murder in the Second Degree and two (2) counts of Aggravated Battery, according to Butler County Undersheriff Daimon Cundiff.

Just after 6:30p.m. onn Wednesday, Beech Grove, Indiana police arrested Beauclaire in Beech Grove, for that warrant..

Beauclaire is alleged to be the driver of the Black Chevrolet truck that struck the vehicle driven by Eliot Eichbauer and occupied by teenagers Arlo and Silas Eichbauer, killing all three. It is believed that Beauclaire left the state of Kansas, went back to Louisiana for a period of time, and was then located in Beech Grove, in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

The two counts of Aggravated Battery are for the passengers in the truck that Beauclaire is alleged to have been driving. The sheriff's office has no released their names but they did sustain serious injuries in the crash. Alcohol is still believed to be a factor in the crash but investigators do not have those results yet.

Locating Beauclaire was a collaborative effort between Butler County Sheriff’s Investigators, the Louisiana State Police, and the Beech Grove Indiana Police Department.

BUTLER COUNTY—Three people died in an accident just after 10p.m. Wednesday in Butler County.

According to Butler County Undersheriff Daimon Cundiff, investigators and a witness indicated a Chevrolet pick-up was eastbound on U.S. Highway 400 in rural Leon Kansas. The Chevrolet pickup crossed into oncoming traffic, and struck a westbound Toyota Tacoma driven by 46-year-old Eliot Eichbaucher of Wichita, head-on.

The witness told deputies that the Chevrolet truck had been weaving back and forth on the highway just prior to the crash.

&nbsp;Eichbauer and both of his passengers, 19-year-old Arlo Eichbauer and 16-year-old Silas Eichbauer, both of Wichita were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to Cundiff.

Arlo Eichbauer is Eliot Eichbauer’s son and Silas Eichbauer is Eliot’s nephew, according to Cundiff.

The three occupants of the Chevrolet truck were all transported to a Wichita area hospital with severe injuries. This crash is still under investigation and alcohol is believed to be a factor.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749817987755.png" alt="Eliot Eichbauer and both of his passengers, 19-year-old Arlo Eichbauer and 16-year-old Silas Eichbauer died in the crash -photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Eliot Eichbauer and both of his passengers, 19-year-old Arlo Eichbauer and 16-year-old Silas Eichbauer died in the crash -photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a triple-fatal crash that occurred June 11, in Butler County have arrested the driver involved.On July 3, a warrant was issued in the District Court of Butler County Kansas for Tyler J. Beauclaire 24, of Mansura, Louisiana for three (3) counts of Murder in the Second Degree and two (2) counts of Aggravated Battery, according to Butler County Undersheriff Daimon Cundiff.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752246036660.png" alt="Beauclaire is being held in the Marion County, Indiana jail" />
 <figcaption>Beauclaire is being held in the Marion County, Indiana jail</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 6:30p.m. onn Wednesday, Beech Grove, Indiana police arrested Beauclaire in Beech Grove, for that warrant..Beauclaire is alleged to be the driver of the Black Chevrolet truck that struck the vehicle driven by Eliot Eichbauer and occupied by teenagers Arlo and Silas Eichbauer, killing all three. It is believed that Beauclaire left the state of Kansas, went back to Louisiana for a period of time, and was then located in Beech Grove, in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.The two counts of Aggravated Battery are for the passengers in the truck that Beauclaire is alleged to have been driving. The sheriff's office has no released their names but they did sustain serious injuries in the crash. Alcohol is still believed to be a factor in the crash but investigators do not have those results yet.Locating Beauclaire was a collaborative effort between Butler County Sheriff’s Investigators, the Louisiana State Police, and the Beech Grove Indiana Police Department.----------BUTLER COUNTY—Three people died in an accident just after 10p.m. Wednesday in Butler County.According to Butler County Undersheriff Daimon Cundiff, investigators and a witness indicated a Chevrolet pick-up was eastbound on U.S. Highway 400 in rural Leon Kansas. The Chevrolet pickup crossed into oncoming traffic, and struck a westbound Toyota Tacoma driven by 46-year-old Eliot Eichbaucher of Wichita, head-on.The witness told deputies that the Chevrolet truck had been weaving back and forth on the highway just prior to the crash.&nbsp;Eichbauer and both of his passengers, 19-year-old Arlo Eichbauer and 16-year-old Silas Eichbauer, both of Wichita were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to Cundiff.Arlo Eichbauer is Eliot Eichbauer’s son and Silas Eichbauer is Eliot’s nephew, according to Cundiff.The three occupants of the Chevrolet truck were all transported to a Wichita area hospital with severe injuries. This crash is still under investigation and alcohol is believed to be a factor.

Driver in triple-fatal Kansas crash captured in Indiana

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a Junction City man on multiple allegations after an arrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Just after 3p.m. Wednesday, police arrested 37-year-old Marcus Jackson of Junction City on a Riley County District Court warrant, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

He is being held on requested charges that include aggravated burglary, aggravated domestic battery, criminal damage to property, aggravated sexual battery, violation of a protection order, aggravated kidnapping and attempted rape.

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a Junction City man on multiple allegations after an arrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just after 3p.m. Wednesday, police arrested 37-year-old Marcus Jackson of Junction City on a Riley County District Court warrant, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.He is being held on requested charges that include aggravated burglary, aggravated domestic battery, criminal damage to property, aggravated sexual battery, violation of a protection order, aggravated kidnapping and attempted rape.

Junction City man held on a $150,000 bond for alleged violent crimes

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas stepfather accused in the child abuse death of a toddler made his first court appearance on Wednesday.

Shawn D. Lewis, 33, was charged with first degree murder and child abust in the death of his 2-year-old stepson, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorneys office.

On July 3, police responded to Wesley Medical Center after being notified of a two-year-old boy who was brought to the hospital with severe injuries after a reported fall, according to Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses.

During the investigation, it was determined that the injuries sustained by the child were inconsistent with the facts provided by Lewis who as caring for the child at the time the boy was injured.&nbsp;

Patrol officers and investigators from the Exploited Missing Children’s Unit and the WPD Homicide Unit began investigating this case due to the severity of the injuries.&nbsp;

On July 3, police arrested the 33-year-old step-father of the boy Shawn D. Lewis, on requested charges of Aggravated Battery, head trauma/permanent and Child Abuse.

On Saturday the child, John Landon Delano, died of his injuries.&nbsp; Lewis is being held on a $2 million bond and is due back in court July 21.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751843575801.png" alt="Lewis photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Lewis photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas stepfather accused in the child abuse death of a toddler made his first court appearance on Wednesday.Shawn D. Lewis, 33, was charged with first degree murder and child abust in the death of his 2-year-old stepson, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorneys office.On July 3, police responded to Wesley Medical Center after being notified of a two-year-old boy who was brought to the hospital with severe injuries after a reported fall, according to Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses.During the investigation, it was determined that the injuries sustained by the child were inconsistent with the facts provided by Lewis who as caring for the child at the time the boy was injured.&nbsp;Patrol officers and investigators from the Exploited Missing Children’s Unit and the WPD Homicide Unit began investigating this case due to the severity of the injuries.&nbsp;On July 3, police arrested the 33-year-old step-father of the boy Shawn D. Lewis, on requested charges of Aggravated Battery, head trauma/permanent and Child Abuse.On Saturday the child, John Landon Delano, died of his injuries.&nbsp; Lewis is being held on a $2 million bond and is due back in court July 21.

Kan. man accused in 2-year-old stepson's death faces a judge

CHEROKEE COUNTY&nbsp;– The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a firefighter of the Coffeyville Fire Department for child sex crimes.

Just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday,&nbsp; KBI agents arrested 25-year-old Spencer Barnard, of Baxter Springs, after a traffic stop in Cherokee County. Barnard was arrested on requested charges of sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated indecent solicitation of a child, according to a media release from the KBI.

KBI agents and sheriff’s deputies also conducted a search warrant at a residence at 1004 Cherokee Ave., in Baxter Springs, related to the case.

Following the arrest, Barnard was booked into the Cherokee County Jail.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752098616252.png" alt="Barnard photo Cherokee Co." />
 <figcaption>Barnard photo Cherokee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>CHEROKEE COUNTY&nbsp;– The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a firefighter of the Coffeyville Fire Department for child sex crimes.Just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday,&nbsp; KBI agents arrested 25-year-old Spencer Barnard, of Baxter Springs, after a traffic stop in Cherokee County. Barnard was arrested on requested charges of sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated indecent solicitation of a child, according to a media release from the KBI.KBI agents and sheriff’s deputies also conducted a search warrant at a residence at 1004 Cherokee Ave., in Baxter Springs, related to the case.Following the arrest, Barnard was booked into the Cherokee County Jail.&nbsp;

Kansas firefighter accused of child sex crimes

KANSAS CITY, KAN.– A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging a Kansas man on drug trafficking and illegal firearms offenses, according to the United State's Attorney.

Marquis V. Bridgeman, 26, of Kansas City, Kansas, is charged with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a machine gun, one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to court documents.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Kansas Highway Patrol are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting the case

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751486918750.png" alt="Bridgeman from an earlier arrest in Wyandotte County" />
 <figcaption>Bridgeman from an earlier arrest in Wyandotte County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, KAN.– A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging a Kansas man on drug trafficking and illegal firearms offenses, according to the United State's Attorney.Marquis V. Bridgeman, 26, of Kansas City, Kansas, is charged with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a machine gun, one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to court documents.The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Kansas Highway Patrol are investigating the case.Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting the case

Indictment: Kan. man had a machine gun and was selling fentanyl

MCPHERSON, Kan. — McPherson County Crimestoppers is asking for the public’s help in tracking down three would-be thieves who attempted to withdraw cash from an ATM — the hard way.

According to police, the attempted theft happened on June 29, 2025, when three suspects, disguised in hoodies and hats, tried to break into an ATM. Surveillance footage shows the trio fumbling with tools and prying the machine open, apparently unaware that their entire “heist” was being recorded on multiple cameras.

“Let’s just say the ATM wasn’t impressed — and neither are we,” they said in a Facebook post.

Police described the suspects as male and likely inexperienced in any actual form of ATM theft. Investigators are urging anyone who may recognize the individuals — or knows a roommate, ex, or coworker who suddenly seems flush with cash — to contact Crime Stoppers.

Tips can be made anonymously, and information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752076537158.jpeg" alt="Photo McPherson County Crime Stoppers" />
 <figcaption>Photo McPherson County Crime Stoppers</figcaption>
 </figure>MARC JACOBS Hutch Post&nbsp;MCPHERSON, Kan. — McPherson County Crimestoppers is asking for the public’s help in tracking down three would-be thieves who attempted to withdraw cash from an ATM — the hard way.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752101355143.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>According to police, the attempted theft happened on June 29, 2025, when three suspects, disguised in hoodies and hats, tried to break into an ATM. Surveillance footage shows the trio fumbling with tools and prying the machine open, apparently unaware that their entire “heist” was being recorded on multiple cameras.“Let’s just say the ATM wasn’t impressed — and neither are we,” they said in a Facebook post.Police described the suspects as male and likely inexperienced in any actual form of ATM theft. Investigators are urging anyone who may recognize the individuals — or knows a roommate, ex, or coworker who suddenly seems flush with cash — to contact Crime Stoppers.Tips can be made anonymously, and information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward

Police ask for help to ID Kansas ATM theft suspects

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations&nbsp;

Just before 10 p.m. July 6, a sheriff's deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen white 2000 Ford F-150 near SE 5th Street and SE Tefft Street in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. 

The driver, later identified as 25-year-old Anthony A. Weems of Topeka, refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit ended in the 500 block of SE Lamar Street when Weems ran from the pickup. Investigators eventually found him inside a residence nearby.

Weems was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charge of Possession of stolen property, Flee or attempt to elude, Fail to stop at a stop sign, Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, Reckless driving, Speeding and Failure to give signal when changing lanes or turning.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751919452150.png" alt="Weems photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Weems photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations&nbsp;Just before 10 p.m. July 6, a sheriff's deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen white 2000 Ford F-150 near SE 5th Street and SE Tefft Street in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The driver, later identified as 25-year-old Anthony A. Weems of Topeka, refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit ended in the 500 block of SE Lamar Street when Weems ran from the pickup. Investigators eventually found him inside a residence nearby.Weems was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charge of Possession of stolen property, Flee or attempt to elude, Fail to stop at a stop sign, Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, Reckless driving, Speeding and Failure to give signal when changing lanes or turning.

Stolen pickup suspect found hiding in Kansas home

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement investigating a deadly shooting in Topeka have identified the victim as 28-year-old Destiny Voss, according to Topeka Police Lt. Ronnie Connell.

Just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a local hospital in reference to a victim, later identified as Voss, suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. A short time later, he died of his injuries. Investigators determined the shooting occurred in the 3200 Block of SW Randolph in Topeka.

This is the city’s 9th homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or released suspect details.

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement investigating a deadly shooting in Topeka have identified the victim as 28-year-old Destiny Voss, according to Topeka Police Lt. Ronnie Connell.Just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a local hospital in reference to a victim, later identified as Voss, suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. A short time later, he died of his injuries. Investigators determined the shooting occurred in the 3200 Block of SW Randolph in Topeka.This is the city’s 9th homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or released suspect details.

Police ID Kansas man who died in weekend shooting 

LABETTE COUNTY&nbsp;–The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Labette County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Edna man for alleged child sex crimes.

On Monday, July 7, around 12 p.m., KBI agents and the Labette County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old David Stevens, of Edna, at the Labette County Sheriff’s Office. Stevens was arrested for six counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

The KBI Child Victims Unit began investigating after a cyber tip was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in March. On June 2, KBI agents and deputies from the Labette County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence located at 215 N. Marks Ave., in Edna.

&nbsp;Stevens is being held in the the Labette County Jail without bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751992375310.png" alt="Stevens photo Labette County&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Stevens photo Labette County&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>LABETTE COUNTY&nbsp;–The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Labette County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Edna man for alleged child sex crimes.On Monday, July 7, around 12 p.m., KBI agents and the Labette County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old David Stevens, of Edna, at the Labette County Sheriff’s Office. Stevens was arrested for six counts of sexual exploitation of a child.The KBI Child Victims Unit began investigating after a cyber tip was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in March. On June 2, KBI agents and deputies from the Labette County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence located at 215 N. Marks Ave., in Edna.&nbsp;Stevens is being held in the the Labette County Jail without bond.

Cyber tip led to arrest of Kansas man for alleged child sex crimes

Justices challenge claim partially obstructed text on license plate justifies traffic stop

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the drug-trafficking conviction of an Illinois-tagged motorist linked to evidence seized from a vehicle stopped by Geary County law enforcement merely because the frame around a license plate obstructed part of the state’s name.

The unanimous Supreme Court noted Kansas statute didn’t require a state’s name on license plates to be clearly legible. The justices agreed partial obstruction of a word on the out-of-state plate at the center of this case couldn’t provide a Kansas law enforcement officer the opportunity to formulate reasonable suspicion that a crime was or would occur to warrant a traffic stop.

This saga began in March 2021 when Geary County sheriff’s deputy Bradley Rose pulled over motorist Brian Beck on Interstate 70 near Junction City because he noticed half of the word “Illinois” couldn’t be easily read on the tag.

Rose nevertheless called in Beck’s tag to dispatch as “Illinois Charles John 14442” before stepping out of his cruiser, the Supreme Court opinion said. Rose said at trial Beck appeared “extremely nervous,” was breathing deeply during the traffic stop and admitted to being lost. The deputy decided that was enough to detain Beck and call in a drug dog.

During the canine inspection, the animal alerted to possible presence of illegal drugs. The vehicle search revealed a satchel with 2.1 pounds of methamphetamine. At one point, Beck tried to flee the scene but was arrested.

Geary County District Judge Courtney Boehm, an appointee of Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer, rejected the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained in the search. Beck was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute, failure to purchase a drug tax stamp and interference with a law enforcement officer.

<h2>Justices challenge claim partially obstructed text on license plate justifies traffic stop</h2>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the drug-trafficking conviction of an Illinois-tagged motorist linked to evidence seized from a vehicle stopped by Geary County law enforcement merely because the frame around a license plate obstructed part of the state’s name.The unanimous Supreme Court noted Kansas statute didn’t require a state’s name on license plates to be clearly legible. The justices agreed partial obstruction of a word on the out-of-state plate at the center of this case couldn’t provide a Kansas law enforcement officer the opportunity to formulate reasonable suspicion that a crime was or would occur to warrant a traffic stop.This saga began in March 2021 when Geary County sheriff’s deputy Bradley Rose pulled over motorist Brian Beck on Interstate 70 near Junction City because he noticed half of the word “Illinois” couldn’t be easily read on the tag.Rose nevertheless called in Beck’s tag to dispatch as “Illinois Charles John 14442” before stepping out of his cruiser, the Supreme Court opinion said. Rose said at trial Beck appeared “extremely nervous,” was breathing deeply during the traffic stop and admitted to being lost. The deputy decided that was enough to detain Beck and call in a drug dog.During the canine inspection, the animal alerted to possible presence of illegal drugs. The vehicle search revealed a satchel with 2.1 pounds of methamphetamine. At one point, Beck tried to flee the scene but was arrested.Geary County District Judge Courtney Boehm, an appointee of Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer, rejected the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained in the search. Beck was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute, failure to purchase a drug tax stamp and interference with a law enforcement officer.Beck, 56, was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison and was at Winfield Correctional Facility when the Supreme Court’s decision was handed down. A Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman said the agency wouldn’t release inmates until a court forwarded necessary paperwork to the prison.In 2024, a three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed Beck’s convictions based on a belief Beck’s license plate wasn’t clearly visible as required.Beck filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which concluded the Geary County judge applied an improper legal standard for deciding whether law enforcement had reasonable suspicion to justify a stop and search. The justices likewise concluded the Court of Appeals reached the wrong determination on suppression of evidence.“We reject the analytic framework adopted by the lower courts and their conclusions of law,” the Supreme Court decision said.The Supreme Court opinion authored by Justice Eric Rosen wiped Beck’s convictions off the books and sent the case back to district court to determine whether the deputy had “constitutionally valid grounds for making the stop and seizure.”The high court’s 13-page opinion could serve as a roadmap for Geary County’s reexamination of available evidence in the Beck case.“No statute requires displaying the Kansas state name anywhere other than on the registration decal, where it may be abbreviated,” said Rosen, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. “It places no such requirement on anything else printed on a license plate, whether it is an ‘I’m Pet Friendly’ logo or a state name.”The Supreme Court’s decision could offer relief to thousands of drivers in Kansas who installed or left in place brackets on license plates and unwittingly opened themselves to traffic stops, drug-dog searches and seizures by law enforcement.Supreme Court Justice Dan Biles, who also was appointed by Sebelius, was among members of the Supreme Court perplexed by willingness of the lower courts to broaden license plate regulation in a way that threatened motorists with a fine up to $2,500 or a jail sentence ranging from 30 days to six months.“There are a lot of frames that cover up half of the word ‘Kansas’ — a lot,” Biles said during oral argument of the case in November. “Anyone driving with that frame is subject to six months in jail? Is that where we’re at with the state’s position on this and this Court of Appeals’ decision?”“I believe that’s what the statute says,” said Kansas assistant solicitor general Ethan Zipf-Sigler, who unsuccessfully fought to sustain the verdict against Beck.Biles said the court record in the case was troubling because of assertions license plates in Kansas had to be clearly legible to a law enforcement officer located a safe distance from a targeted vehicle.“I’m really struck by how arbitrary the enforcement aspect is,” Biles said. “I can’t help but think the state is adding words to a statute that we don’t get to do.”Attorney Kasper Schirer, senior assistant appellate defender, argued on Beck’s behalf before the Supreme Court and said the traffic stop was unlawful from the outset.“When no law has been violated, when no traffic law has been violated, the Fourth Amendment does not allow for suspicionless seizures,” he said.