Subject: Criminal Trials

• Growing Up Gangster, Part II

  June 20, 2007

• Raising Arizona: Edwin Hall's Summer Love Reappears

  September 6, 2007

• Kline's Office Goes On Trial

  September 12, 2007

• ‘Dimwit D.A.’ Update

  October 4, 2007

• Woman Behind Pro-Kline Quote Has a Secret

  October 22, 2007

• Special Prosecutor Worked for Kline and Contributed to His Campaign

  March 11, 2008

• BPU Grand Jury Adjourns, Two Indictments Remain Sealed

  September 8, 2008

• Alleged gang leader gets 10 years

  October 13, 2008

• Adrian Peterson's agent guilty of criminal deprivation of property

  November 11, 2008

• Morrison's mistress testifies

  Day two of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller's pretrial hearing finds mistress/Wonder Woman Linda Carter back on the stand and closing arguments. Wichita Eagle reporter Ron Sylvester once again Tweeted the hearing. My favorite part so far: Judge Clark Owens' ruling that ex-Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline can keep the lock on his personal diary.

  January 7, 2009

• Two years after acquittal for murder, Jawanza Brown sentenced to 36 years for assault

  Photo by Angela C. BondKeith BrownKeith Brown worked tirelessly from 2005 to 2007 to see his son Jawanza acquitted of murder charges in April 2007. But just eight months after a Jackson County jury read the words "not guilty" and Jawanza danced down the courtroom's hall, 19-year-old Jawanza was back in handcuffs, accused of a new shooting.  He opened fire on two men who'd honked at him from a car on the 2600 block of East 11th Street, according to the details of a trial that wrapped up yest

  March 12, 2009

• Prosecutor on Jawanza Brown case calls it "sad"

  Jawanza BrownBig whoops: Kevin Harrell was the prosecutor in the Jawanza Brown case that ended this week in a conviction and 36-year jail sentence for the 19-year-old. I'd previously reported that Teresa Moore was the state's attorney. My confusion came from the fact that Brown was scheduled for trials in two cases on the same day: Moore is the state's attorney for the other case, in which Brown is accused of three counts of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of drug possession an

  March 13, 2009

• Friday court docket

  Busy day in the courts. A jury acquitted Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller on 19 misdemeanor charges that he didn't get an independent second opinion on some abortions that he performed. How did I know Operation Rescue was going to cry that justice wasn't served?A Wyandotte County judge sentenced Brandon Hulett to life in prison (with no parole for 20 years). Hulett pleaded guilty to murdering bartender Lori Reynolds at the Gossip Inn in April 2008.  Woman slapper Larry "King Pink" John

  March 27, 2009

• Morrison’s Mistress

  Insiders finally tell how Paul Morrison’s lover ran amok — and then brought him down.

  August 21, 2008

• The War on La Familia

  May 1, 2008

• Murder Case Is Killed Again

  KCPD says its officer bungled a murder case, but a disappearing witness sunk the trial.

  February 7, 2008

• Blood for Blow

  January 10, 2008

• The Dimwit D.A.

  June 21, 2007

• It's Hard Out Here for a Player

  June 14, 2007

• Dead Man's Camp

  February 1, 2007

• Double Trouble

  December 8, 2005

• It's Sandersman!

  November 10, 2005

• Cuts Both Ways

  The deputy medical examiner gets probed.

  July 22, 2004

• A Bad Trip

  Rebecca Beach didn’t kill the drug dealer from Topeka. But she’s in prison for life because Kansas’ felony murder law says she did.

  June 10, 2004

• Horror Story

  October 30, 2003

• The Enforcer

  A prosecuter wears the black hat in David Wittig's white-collar-crime case.

  July 24, 2003

• Officers Unfriendly

  The Johnson County Sheriff's Department lets its own offenders enforce the law.

  December 19, 2002

• No Contest

  Dr. Louis Culp may die in prison after going for the funny bone but getting charged with rape.

  August 1, 2002

• So Long, Joe

  While Joe Armine waits to die, Missouri courts won't admit they could have been wrong.

  July 4, 2002

• Pot Luck

  A jury forgives two men for unwittingly hauling almost 400 pounds of weed.

  November 8, 2001

• Adventures in Wonderland

  April 19, 2001

• Pardon Me

  A former Black Panther awaits justice.

  April 5, 2001

• Let the Chips Fall

  One 14-year-old girl was on dangerous ground at Guy's Foods.

  August 24, 2000

• The Men to Call

  Charged with a serious crime? Low on funds? Kent Gipson and Sean O'Brien are the guys to call.

  April 27, 2000

• This is the guy who woke up Westport by (allegedly) shooting people Sunday morning

  This is Ricky Brooks. Ricky L. BrooksJackson County prosecutors charged him with lighting up Westport with an assault rifle early Sunday morning. Court records say the shooting occurred around 2:40 a.m. after an argument between two women inside America's Pub, which continued in the Chili's parking lot near Westport Road and Mill Street, when a man entered the fray. Court records say the man retrieved a rifle from the trunk of a car and shot at least six rounds into a Suburban containing one of

  May 4, 2009

• Leroy Green III pleads guilty to raping children

  Leroy Green III pleaded guilty today to three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and one count of rape. Green is the son of a former Wyandotte County Sheriff Leroy Green Jr.Leroy Green IIILast December, Green was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting four children, all younger than 14, between October 2001 and August 2008. He was charged with nine counts of rape and six counts of indecent liberties with a child.Wyandotte County District Judge Michael Grosko accepted the p

  May 11, 2009

• 'Scarface' Eduardo Escobar charged with last night's shooting

  Eduardo EscobarA member of the Mexican King gang shot a man in the abdomen last night, court records say. Kansas City police arrested 17-year-old Eduardo Escobar, aka "Scarface" and "Tomato," shortly after the shooting at 1016 Cleveland Ave. Police say Escobar had a loaded pistol grip shotgun hidden in his pants at the time of his arrest. Court records say that Escobar whipped out his shotgun and fired a round at the front passenger door of a 2002 Mazda Protege and struck the passenger in the a

  May 13, 2009

• Garrett Matthew Mason accused of stabbing two teen girls to death

  Garrett Matthew MasonEarlier today, 17-year-old Garrett Matthew Mason appeared in court on first-degree murder charges for the deaths of 14-year-old Kylie M. Leyva and 18-year-old Anne E. Reed. Mason faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. Police believe Mason fatally stabbed the teenage girls Sunday evening in Nevada, Missouri, 95 miles south of Kansas City. Mason was arrested hours after the girls' bodies were found at Reed's home, 618 North Cedar St. (

  May 26, 2009

• Killa City: Adrian W. Burks charged with first-degree murder in KCK quadruple homicide

  Adrian W. BurksWyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman charged Adrian W. Burks with four counts of first-degree murder in Monday's quadruple homicide in KCK. Gorman told reporters Thursday that domestic violence was "driving force" behind the homicides. But Gorman cautioned that his office and detectives are still trying to piece together what happened Monday at the home at 5234 Munice Drive. The bodies of 21-year-old Amanda J. Remmers, 66-year-old James A. Warren, 41-year-old Peggy Cas

  June 25, 2009

• Killa City: WyCo DA charges Anderson Cheffen with first-degree murder in toddler's death

  Anderson CheffenWyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman upgraded the charges against Anderson Cheffen on Tuesday to first-degree murder in the death of a 10-month-old child.On June 17, prosecutors charged 31-year-old Cheffen with physically abusing the baby in Edwardsville. Cheffen is locked up in the Wyandotte County Jail with a $1 million bond. Cheffen's next court date is scheduled for July 21.

  July 8, 2009

• American Violet

  July 16, 2009

• A 69-year-old man is accused of committing five rapes in 1982

  Samuel S. JohnsonJackson County prosecutors charged Samuel S. Johnson with six counts of felony rape, two counts of felony attempted sodomy and one count of first-degree robbery Thursday. Court records allege that Johnson, 69, raped five women in between June 7 and August 26 of 1982. Johnson allegedly threatened to kill the women with a knife if they didn't have sex with him. DNA evidence linked Johnson to the crimes. Court documents say Johnson is incarcerated in the South Central Correctional

  July 16, 2009

• KCTV 5: Shon Pernice's son asks his dad to 'put the knife down' on 911 tapes

  Shon PerniceKCTV 5 interviewed Shon Pernice's neighbor, the one accusing Pernice of stealing his gun. But the exclusive interview wasn't all that interesting; at least, compared to the 911 tapes of calls made by Pernice on the the Fourth of July -- the night he was arrested for disturbing the peace for crashing the same neighbor's party. KCTV 5 reports that:Pernice "said he would kill them [his neighbors]."One of Pernice's children says "dad you are too mad ... put the knife down."Pernice is des

  July 17, 2009

• Why did prosecutors drop the murder charge against Birmingham White?

  KCPDBirmingham White Birmingham White, 24, was released from the Jackson County Detention Center July 7, one day after Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar dropped the second-degree murder and armed-criminal-action charges against him. White had been accused of killing a man he called his best friend, 31-year-old Dwight Gill. Gill was found dead on a picnic table in Noble Park near 73rd and Indiana on July 28, 2008, surrounded by 9 mm bullet casings, cigarette butts and two empty containers o

  July 24, 2009

• The worst blowjobs of these guys' lives

  Krystal Myers​This is the worst thought out robbery that I have ever heard of. Imagine the pitch: OK, ladies, you're going to give these guys blowjobs to distract these two guys. Then we'll come up from behind and rob these guys -- or shoot them (while you're blowing them) and then rob them. Then we'll take the money and drugs and run.That's the story alleged in court records about a shooting early Wednesday morning at 2713 Cleveland. Police found two men shot several times in an alley. One of

  July 30, 2009

• Killa City: Antwan S. Wooden charged with the murder of James Ragsdale

  James Ragsdale​ Antwan S. Wooden is the man who shot and killed James Ragsdale on July 18, Jackson County prosecutors allege.Prosecutors charged Wooden Wednesday with second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree assault. Ragsdale, 30, is the grandson of Kansas City School board member, Helen Ragsdale. Court documents give this account: A car containing Ragsdale and other men pulled into a driveway in the 4300 block of Flora around 3:05 a.m. when an

  August 13, 2009

• Killa City: Irvan L. Nunnally charged with murder in the death of Cedric J. Dent

  Irvan L. Nunnally​Cedric J. Dent​A botched robbery led to the death of Cedric J. Dent and murder charges against 21-year-old Irvan L. Nunnally. Jackson County prosecutors charged Nunnally today with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action first-degree robbery in connection with Dent's death. Dent's lifeless body was found in the front passenger seat of a PT Cruiser at 305 Maple on March 2. Dent had been shot several times. Court records give this account: Cedric Dent picked

  September 15, 2009

• Killa City: Clifford E. Harris charged with killing Travis McGaugh

  Clifford E. Harris​Travis T. McGaugh​Jackson County prosecutors charged Clifford E. Harris today with the murder of Travis T. McGaugh. McGaugh, 18, was killed in a drive-by shooting on April 8. McGaugh and another man were sitting in a Ford Explorer near 5921 Walrond Ave. around 5:28 p.m. when they were shot by a man in a red Ford truck. The surviving shooting victim told police that Harris pulled up in the truck and began firing shots into the Explorer. At the scene, police found 9mm shell

  October 9, 2009

• Jill Conaghan suspected of Overland Park hit-and-run

  Jill Conaghan​Jill Theresa Conaghan was arrested Tuesday for suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving in connection with the hit-and-run death of an Overland Park woman who was killed while tending to her garden.Police also suspect Conaghan, 19, of leaving the scene of an accident, minor in possession of alcohol and driving on the sidewalk. The Johnson County District Attorney has not yet charged Conaghan. In July, 70-year-old Sandra Carocari was working in her garden when she

  November 4, 2009

• Lower bond denied for alleged OP hit-and-run driver

  Jill Conaghan​A Johnson County judge denied bond yesterday for Jill Conaghan, the 19-year-old woman charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence in connection with the hit-and-run death of an Overland Park woman.The Kansas City Star reports that the judge refused to lower Conaghan's bond due to her history of drug abuse. The judge even said her abuse of drugs left him "genuinely concerned about public safety." Meanwhile, Conaghan's defense attorneys argued in favor of

  November 6, 2009