Teen suffers head injuries in east Lawrence wreck

A 19-year-Lawrence man was taken by air ambulance Wednesday afternoon to KU Med after he was injured in a car wreck.

Brendon Butler was taken by Life Star helicopter to the hospital in Kansas City, Kan., after he suffered head injuries in a two-vehicle collision in Brookwood Mobile Home Park. There was no information available late Wednesday about his condition.

Butler was driving an Acura Integra and pulled it out of a driveway into the path of a Ford Explorer, Lawrence Police said. The Explorer, driven by Deborah Walker, 63, Lawrence, struck the Integra’s left rear.

From left, Lawrence Police officers Chris Wech, Laurence Corder and Bruce Elliott examine the accident scene at the park, 1908 E. 19th St.

Walker was not injured. Two women passengers in the Explorer had minor injuries but declined treatment.

Baldwin

Suspended police officer turns in resignation

A Baldwin Police officer who had been suspended for disciplinary reasons turned in his resignation Monday.

Bill Dempsey initially had appealed his suspension for alleged misconduct. His first appeal was rejected by a hearing committee. Dempsey then planned to take his appeal to the City Council but resigned instead.

The suspension was ordered last month by city officials after they learned Dempsey had been convicted of auto theft in 1964 in California when he was 19. The conviction was later expunged from his record.

Baldwin city officials said someone convicted of a felony was prevented by Kansas law from being a law enforcement officer, even if the conviction has been expunged.

Dempsey is one of four Baldwin Police officers who have a pending lawsuit against the city for alleged civil rights violations stemming from a city investigation two years ago. Dempsey and his attorney, Dennis Hawver, have said they would modify the lawsuit to include charges that city officials harassed Dempsey.

Crime

Teen will go to boot camp for role in March beating

An Emporia teen is headed to boot camp as punishment for her role in a group beating earlier this year at a North Lawrence motel.

Officers will deliver Sara M. Bruce, 19, to the Labette Correctional Conservation Camp by Monday morning, where she’ll be required to complete a roughly six-month program as a condition of her probation.

Bruce pleaded guilty last month to aggravated battery. She admitted kicking 21-year-old Josh Greemore of Mayetta during a March 10 robbery at the Jayhawk Motel, 1004 N. Third St. According to court testimony, Greemore was staying in a nearby room and was with Bruce and four acquaintances when he was attacked.

Greemore was beaten, stabbed and dumped nearby at Riverfront Park, where a passer-by found him.

Dole Institute

Worship service raises $3,783 for VA programs

The interfaith worship service staged Sunday in conjunction with the Dole Institute of Politics dedication raised $3,783.25 for charity.

The collection money will go to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Topeka. The money will be used in the hospital’s veterans welfare fund, which serves a variety of needs for patients, said Jim Duncan, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church and co-organizer of the event.

The event, at the Lied Center, drew a capacity crowd of 2,100 people.

The collection was taken in KFC buckets, Duncan said, because when he was a child he saw the buckets used at televised Billy Graham crusades.