Topeka man charged in 2 vehicular assault cases

? Prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old man in two separate vehicular assault cases, including the recent death of a Topeka teenager.

Dustin Leftwich, of Topeka, was charged Thursday with premeditated first-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Brenna Morgart, who was struck and killed May 25 as she jogged along a Shawnee County road. Her body was found that night in a field about three miles from where authorities suspect she was struck.

Leftwich also was charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery and misdemeanor reporting false information in Morgart’s death, according to The Topeka Capital Journal. Kansas law states that a victim has to be alive when he or she is kidnapped. The aggravated battery and first-degree murder are two distinct offenses in the criminal charges.

The charges don’t indicate a possible motive for killing Morgart or how she died. Leftwich was arrested that same evening.

He also was charged with aggravated assault stemming from an assault on a 14-year-old girl a year ago with a vehicle. She survived. That victim, who was not identified in the charging documents, was listed as a possible witness in the case involving Morgart.

The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office said Friday that court documents don’t list a lawyer for Leftwich, who has been jailed on $1 million bond.

Leftwich and Morgart both attended Topeka’s Seaman High School. Leftwich graduated in 2010. Morgart graduated May 20.