Law, Pitch

Sam Brownback responds to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on new Kansas gun law

Ben Palosaari — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:41:00 -0500

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder have become grudging pen pals in the last week. Brownback lately has been championing a new Kansas law that attempts to shield firearms in the state from federal regulation.…

St. Patrick's Day DUI crackdown planned all weekend

Ben Palosaari — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:17:00 -0500

It's going to be 80 degrees this afternoon. The Big 12 tournament is bringing hoops fans downtown.…

Ron Partee, wannabe Saul Goodman, pleads guilty to money laundering in drug case

Justin Kendall — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:27:55 -0600

Better call Saul! That has a better ring than "better call Ronald."…

Man accused of ax attack after Pitch reporter asks about homeless-camp killing

Matt Pearce — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:18:00 -0500

A dark update to one of our stories published this morning: Last week, The Pitch visited a homeless camp along the Missouri River near East Front Street and North Kansas Avenue where Joe Loehr was found dead on September 8.

A person of interest in Loehr's killing, 56-year-old Mike Gullett, was still living there.…

Fast Eddie, British fugitive found in Missouri, gets deported

Ben Palosaari — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:33:00 -0500

Edward John Maher, aka Fast Eddie, a Briton long thought to have orchestrated a 1993 $1.5-million bank heist in Essex, England, who was found to be living in Ozark, Missouri in February has been deported. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the news yesterday.…

Michelle Preston, ex-Shawnee Mission West teacher, must register as sex offender, gets probation

Justin Kendall — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:48:00 -0500

Michelle Preston, the former Shawnee Mission West teacher accused of having sexual encounters with students, won't be getting prison time. Preston, 28, was sentenced Friday to three years' probation and must register as a sex offender, according to KCTV 5.…

Red-light cameras work, study says; judge rules some tickets unconstitutional

Ben Palosaari — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:53:00 -0500

The same week that the Kansas City Police Department and American Traffic Solution declared red-light cameras in KC a success, a circuit judge in St. Louis ruled that some tickets ATS sent to motorists are unconstitutional, The Kansas City Daily Record reports.

In a narrow ruling on Monday, Judge Theresa Counts Burke acquitted driver Nicholas Pateri and state Sen. Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis) of running red lights because the tickets ATS mailed to them did not give the drivers a court date or fully inform them about their options to challenge the citations.…

Kristen Lamb found not guilty of possessing child porn

Justin Kendall — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:56:00 -0500

In March 2011, a 20-year-old woman named Kristen Lamb was accused of possessing child pornography. At the time, a Cyber Crimes Task Force in Boone County discovered a computer in Columbia offering child porn through a file-sharing program, which they traced to Lamb's apartment.…

Have you seen these dumpers?

Ben Palosaari — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:59:49 -0600

Kansas City officials are asking for the public's help this week in identifying two men who illegally dumped a crap-ton of picket fencing in the middle of the 8100 block of Wabash Avenue. A city camera photographed two men in a Dodge Ram pickup unload the giant pile of wood on January 24 at 2:34 in the afternoon.…

Eric Bratton charged in Independence Center mall shooting

Justin Kendall — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:44:00 -0600

Eric Bratton, pictured above, is charged with first-degree aggravated assault, second-degree aggravated assault and two counts of armed criminal action for the Saturday-afternoon shooting at the Independence Center shopping mall.

Court records say Bratton, 24, and the male shooting victims got into an altercation after Bratton made a comment about the female shooting victim's butt.…

Two shot at Independence Center shopping mall, police looking for suspects

Justin Kendall — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:36:00 -0600

http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/ArticleArchives?tag=David%20LogsdonThe most terrifying story of the weekend came Saturday afternoon when two teens were shot at the Independence Center shopping mall. The shooting victims — a 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl — are expected to recover, KCTV Channel 5 reported.…

Former employee accuses Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for fostering a 'sexually hostile workplace'

Justin Kendall — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:06:47 -0600

In late November, a whistle-blower named Larry Probst accused the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph of fostering a "sexually hostile workplace." Two months later, Probst is the latest person to file a lawsuit against the diocese.…

Ex-Chief Tamarick Vanover accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend

Justin Kendall — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:08:01 -0600

Former Kansas City Chief Tamarick Vanover is in trouble again. This time, the former wide receiver is charged with beating his girlfriend, who is almost nine months' pregnant, according to the Tallahassee Democrat (h/t: KC Chiefs Blog).…

Bradley Cook pleads guilty in Missouri sex slave case

Justin Kendall — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:49:01 -0600

Bradley Cook pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a Missouri sex-slave case.

Cook, also known as “PutHer2GoodUse,” pleaded guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion of a young mentally deficient woman who was tortured for several years in a Lebanon, Missouri, home.…

Kansas City police release sketch of man suspected of sexually assaulting 71-year-old woman

Justin Kendall — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:19:00 -0600

Kansas City police have released a sketch of a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 71-year-old woman in her home on December 15.

Police say a man confronted the woman in her home in the 3200 block of East 10th Street around 7:30 p.m. last Thursday.…

Rachelle Santiago gets three years of probation for harassing Fort Riley soldier

Justin Kendall — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:00:00 -0600

Therapist Rachelle Santiago sent a text message to a Fort Riley soldier saying: "You want a crazy bitch, I will be your crazy bitch."

Santiago, 44, was treating a soldier for post-traumatic stress disorder.…

Susan Montee's children arrested after altercation outside bar

Justin Kendall — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:11:00 -0600

Missouri Lt. Gov. candidate Susan Montee's daughter and two sons were arrested after an altercation outside a bar in St. Joseph.

The St. Joseph News-Press reported that the Montee children were in St. Joe for Thanksgiving with their mother, former leader of the Missouri Democratic Party and former state auditor.…

Jesse Dimmick sues Topeka couple who he took hostage for turning him in to police

Justin Kendall — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:50:39 -0600

Jesse Dimmick wishes his hostages were struck with Stockholm Syndrome. Dimmick, convicted of holding a Topeka couple hostage, is suing his victims for turning him into police after he drifted off to dreamland, Fox 4 reported.…

Federal judge throws out Jonathan Whitworth's lawsuit against SWAT team that killed his pit bull

Justin Kendall — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:46:24 -0600

If you've seen the YouTube video above of the February 2010 raid of a home in Columbia, Missouri, the images are likely burned in your brain. Columbia police raided Jonathan Whitworth's home looking for drugs.…

Ex-Clay County Auditor William Norris charged after Russ Ptacek investigation that revealed nude photos and stalking charges

Justin Kendall — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:01:20 -0600

Russ Ptacek equals results. The KSHB Channel 41 reporter's investigation into now-former Clay County Auditor William Norris has led to criminal charges.…

Stephen Maxwell accused of battery and criminal restraint by public defender for courtroom incident

Justin Kendall — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:31:18 -0600

The former lead attorney for Phill Kline has been accused of battery and criminal restraint by a public defender stemming from an incident inside a Reno County courtroom.

The Reno County Sheriff's Office is investigating an alleged incident involving Stephen Maxwell, now a senior assistant district attorney in Reno County, the Hutchinson News reported.…

Vatican quiet on the indictment of Bishop Robert Finn, Time reports

Justin Kendall — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:43:50 -0500

We're now seeing the fallout from the indictment of Bishop Robert Finn, who's accused of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse in the Rev. Shawn Ratigan child-pornography case.

Time magazine has a fascinating look at the Vatican's reaction — or lack of reaction — to the indictment of Finn, the first bishop in the United States to be indicted for failing to report suspected abuse by a priest under his watch.…

Wichita man stabbed in the scrotum with a hypodermic needle

Justin Kendall — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:05:04 -0500

Fellas, this will be the most painful story you read all day. Be thankful that you aren't the Wichita man who was stabbed in the scrotum with a hypodermic needle.…

'Whistle-blower' sues KC Catholic Diocese, claims she was forced out of her job after offering help in the Rev. Shawn Ratigan child-porn case

Justin Kendall — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:49:47 -0500

Another lawsuit is being filed against Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent out an e-mail today saying a "whistle-blower" is suing after being forced out of her job last month due to “her advocacy within the diocese on behalf of victims and changes in policy to prevent future abuses.” This all comes back to the Rev. Shawn Ratigan child-pornography case.…

Court strikes down Missouri city's ban on funeral protests

Ben Palosaari — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:34:00 -0500

Yesterday was busy for the Westboro Baptist Church! Steve Jobs died, giving the haters of everything a chance to drag America's most beloved CEO through the dirt, and they won another court case involving bans on protesting at funerals.…