Wichita

Felons receive home visits from officers

Hundreds of convicted felons in and around Wichita got a personal visit from law enforcement.

Officers from the Wichita Police Department and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s office did a door-to-door sweep Thursday, checking the addresses of 661 people who are on the state registry for sexual and violent crimes.

Typically, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation sends letters to those addresses every 90 days. If the KBI doesn’t get in contact with the person, it alerts the local sheriff. Statewide, there are about 3,700 people on the list, the majority for sexual crimes.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said Thursday’s effort was “proactive” and that his officers contacted many people on the list.

Atty. Gen. Phill Kline said in June that the state will audit the registry later this month by having face-to-face meetings with 150 people on the list.

First-time offenders must remain on the registry for 10 years while repeat offenders must remain on the list for life. Failure to register is treated as a low-level felony.

Wichita

Great Plains Nature Center Naturalist Jim Mason holds an American Alligator, estimated to be three-years old and four-feet long, in Wichita, Kan., Thursday, July 7, 2005. The alligator was captured Wednesday after Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks maintenance workers spotted it Tuesday in a culvert at the entrance to Cheney Reservoir in Wichita. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher)

2nd alligator captured

Kansas wildlife officers have captured the second alligator in the Wichita area in about three weeks, leading officials to think someone is dumping overgrown pets.

The 3- to 4-foot-long alligator, shown at right with Great Plains Nature Center naturalist Jim Mason, was captured Wednesday in shallow water near the entrance of Cheney State Park after being spotted by highway workers. The animal will likely be kept in a nearby park for educational programs, officials said.

The alligator is roughly the same size as the one caught last month in Wichita. That animal is now at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Biologists said that could mean the two came from the same owner, who might have bought them as babies and couldn’t take care of them. Kevin Jones, who heads law enforcement for the Department of Wildlife and Parks, said Kansas residents could own alligators but it was illegal to release them. The offense can carry a penalty of $500 and 30 days in jail.