Charges reduced in alleged rape case

It was initially called a rape. But there are indications it could have been a case of prostitution gone awry.

The second of two defendants entered a plea Tuesday to greatly reduced charges in the alleged rape of a Eudora woman June 22 in the 2400 block of Alabama.

Ricardo S. Velazquez, 20, pleaded no contest to attempted aggravated sexual battery, a felony, and misdemeanor criminal restraint.

The victim told police she met Velazquez and another man about 3 a.m. while walking nearby and went to their apartment to use their telephone. Once inside, she told police, they began groping her and wouldn’t let her leave.

But both men told police the same story: that she agreed to have sex with them for $50, then took their money and tried to leave.

“They were not able to have any period of time to discuss or coordinate their testimony,” Velazquez’s attorney, Shelley Bock, said in court Tuesday.

Velazquez will be sentenced next month. A co-defendant, Eduardo G. Gonzalez, received 12 months’ probation last week after entering a plea to two misdemeanors.

Fundraiser

Hornsby to headline ‘Treads and Threads’

Bruce Hornsby will headline the entertainment at this year’s “Treads and Threads” fundraiser for the University of Kansas Hospital, the hospital announced Tuesday.

Hornsby, a three-time Grammy winner known for such songs as “The Way It Is” and “Gonna Be Some Changes Made,” will perform at the fourth annual event Sept. 9 in the infield of the Kansas Speedway.

Also performing will be the Bill Pollack Band.

Tickets are available beginning at $150 each. Admission begins at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.treadsandthreads.org or call 913-588-8888.

Bike-Aid

Cyclists plan to stop in Lawrence

Ten bicyclists will stop in Lawrence as part of Bike-Aid.

The cyclists will arrive Monday night and stay at Kansas University’s Ecumenical Ministries Center, 1204 Oread Ave.

The stop in Lawrence is one of several during a 10-week journey from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. During the ride, the cyclists will stop in 63 communities and spread awareness of fair trade and sustainable living.