State team to assess threat information

Kansas has established a new team to gather and assess criminal and terrorist threat information.

The Kansas Threat Integration Center is a three-person team, supported by the Kansas National Guard, which is responsible for getting information vital to a community’s security to law enforcement officers.

The team, the first nationwide to be staffed full-time, includes senior representatives from the National Guard, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Highway Patrol. The team will focus on development, analysis and dissemination of threat information and work to increase threat awareness among local law enforcement, governments and private infrastructure providers.

The threat center team also will work closely with emergency management and homeland security officials and private sector agencies, said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general and director of Kansas Homeland Security.

Sentencing

Gardner man gets life for killing girlfriend

Olathe — A Gardner man was sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of his on-again, off-again girlfriend, but he will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

Matthew Lee Newton, 28, was sentenced last week in Johnson County District Court. He pleaded guilty in November to first-degree murder in the Aug. 30 death of Robin S. Gomez.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed not to seek the “hard 50” sentence, which would have required Newton to serve at least 50 years before being eligible for parole.

Travel

KHP beefing up patrols for holidays

Kansas Highway Patrol troopers are “aggressively patrolling” for intoxicated drivers this holiday week, Patrol Supt. Col. William Seck said.

In Kansas, drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08 or more face a minimum fine of $500, 48 hours in jail and a 30-day suspension of driving privileges. Repeat offenders face stiffer penalties.

During the 30-hour holiday reporting period during the 2003-2004 New Year’s holiday, Kansas law enforcement officers handled one fatality crash. Alcohol was a factor in that crash, Seck said. Highway Patrol troopers also arrested 39 drivers for driving under the influence during that same period, he said.

Motorists also should be aware of weather conditions. To check road conditions anywhere in the state, dial 511 to get the Kansas Advanced Traveling Information System. For road conditions anywhere in the United States dial 1-866-511-KDOT. Information also is available at http://511.ksdot.org.