Charges dismissed in KDOT assault case

Prosecutors won’t make a second attempt to prove a Douglas County man assaulted Kansas Department of Transportation workers with a shotgun along the proposed realignment of U.S. Highway 59.

Last month jurors couldn’t reach a verdict in the trial of Robert M. Krische, 46, on two counts of aggravated assault, which caused the case to end in a mistrial. Earlier this month, Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney’s office moved to dismiss the charges instead of trying the case again.

“After reviewing the evidence in this case, we felt that we would not be able to do any better on a retrial,” Kenney said.

Krische’s attorney argued his client was trying to defend his home and was concerned because the workers wouldn’t leave his property. The workers believe Krische and his family had been notified of the work, but they hadn’t.

Events

Former congressman to speak at Lied Center

Former Congressman J.C. Watts, R-Okla., will speak at 7:30 p.m. today at the Lied Center.

He will be the 36th speaker in the Vickers Memorial Lecture Series at the Kansas University school of business. The series honors J.A. Vickers and Robert F. Vickers Sr., oil executives from Wichita.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

The goal of the series is to “debate or discuss subjects vital to maintaining a free political and market society.