Lawrence Police conducted three vehicle stops this morning, one resulting in an OUI related arrest.

At 3:40 a.m., Police were called to a North Lawrence gas station where a man was reporting that he had been the victim of a robbery. The man reported that he had been robbed by a cab driver after receiving a ride from Topeka to Lawrence. The man claiming to be the victim said that the cab driver left before allowing him to collect personal belongings from the cab’s trunk. One of those stolen personal items, the man claimed, was a backpack containing $20,000. At the request of officers on the scene, Dispatchers contacted the cab company to get the cab driver to return to the scene. The cab company reported that the man, now claiming to be a victim, had not paid for his cab ride and the cab driver was already most of the way back to Topeka. Eventually the cab driver returned to the scene in Lawrence and the man who made the claim of being the victim was taken into Police custody. That man has been booked into the Douglas County Jail where he faces charges of Criminal Damage to Property and Theft of Service. It was unclear if any of the man’s belongings were ever in the trunk of the cab or if he ever had a backpack containing $20,000.

Officers also reported making an arrest for Domestic Battery shortly before 4 a.m..

As of this report (8:15 a.m.) Police and Fire/Medical are on scene of a possible hazardous material recovery at Burcham Park, 200 Indiana Street after an officer located a “1ft x 1ft white cooler with a lot of duct tape on it and a substance leaking from it.” Crews are securing a perimeter and awaiting the arrival of a hazardous material team. No other information was immediately available regarding this incident.

None of this morning’s activity was reported to have involved any serious injuries.

The activity blogged here is only a sampling of some of the things that Douglas County Law Enforcement and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical respond on. To see a complete list of Lawrence Police activity, the department has that available on their website along with several easy to use maps that show approximate locations for Police activity.

Some of the activity blogged above was reported as it was unfolding by Operation 100 News. Learn how to receive breaking news updates here.

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