Sedan

Defendant found guilty of wife’s shooting death

A southeast Kansas man has been found guilty of murder in the Christmas Eve 2001 shooting death of his estranged wife.

A Chautauqua County jury on Friday deliberated for three hours before finding Richard Reed, 52, of Elk City, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Shirley Reed, 35. He also was found guilty of aggravated burglary and of attempted second-degree murder for shooting his daughter, Rachel.

Rachel Reed, who was 16 when she was shot, hugged relatives and cried immediately after exiting the courtroom.

A pre-sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 25. The prosecutor told the judge he plans to ask that Reed serve a “Hard 50” sentence — life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years.

Kansas City, Mo.

Former officer’s brother sentenced in conspiracy

A Lee’s Summit man was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in prison for conspiring with his brother, a former Independence, Mo., police officer, to rob two undercover FBI agents.

U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs sentenced Scott A. McGarr, 42, to one year and 11 months in federal prison without parole. McGarr pleaded guilty in April 2002, to conspiring with his brother, Brian C. McGarr, to take money from two purported drug couriers who were actually undercover FBI agents.

Brian McGarr, 41, of Independence, was sentenced on Aug. 14 to four years and nine months in federal prison without parole.

The brothers were arrested after an FBI sting operation, following an investigation into allegations that Brian McGarr was using his position to identify drug dealers to rob.

Manhattan

Wheat variety unveiled

A new variety of hard red winter wheat is showing a lot of promise, a Kansas State University researcher said.

The new variety — called Overley — has beaten Jagger and other top-yielding varieties in five years of testing, said Allan Fritz, a wheat breeder with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

Fritz said the new variety was named for Carl Overley, an associate professor of agronomy and foundation seed manager at K-State for more than 40 years. He died in May 2002.