WRITER: Chris Conde

Douglas County jury acquits man who was accused of pushing woman down stairs; he says she fabricated the story as part of a custody battle

One side said a father pushed a mother down the stairs during an argument and threatened to crush her with a dresser. The other side said the mother made up the story to bolster her chances in a custody battle. Jurors in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday had to decide which they believed, and after two hours of deliberation, they found the father, 21-year-old Connor Ray Weil, not guilty of felony ...

Man who drunkenly crashed into Lawrence’s Big Mill restaurant gets probation but must serve 30 days in jail

A Lawrence man who was convicted of crashing into the Big Mill restaurant while drunk was sentenced to probation on Friday but will also have to serve 30 days in jail. In February, a jury convicted Brandon Lee Vess, 32, of two counts of aggravated battery by DUI, both felonies, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. Vess crashed his SUV into the Big Mill restaurant at 900 Mississippi St. on Nov. 4, ...

Wabaunsee sheriff vows to hunt down 'horse killer' and asks help of 'superstar sweet cat lady true crime internet sleuths'

A horse was shot near the interstate in Wabaunsee County, and the sheriff there has put out a call to “all superstar sweet cat lady true crime internet sleuths” to find the culprit. Sheriff Eric Kirsch issued a release on social media Thursday night that a horse had been “shot & killed by an unknown assailant” near Interstate 70 and Carlson Road, about 30 miles from the Douglas County line across ...

Attorneys ask again for a delay in Lawrence man's double homicide trial; judge will rule just days before it's scheduled to begin

Attorneys for a Lawrence man accused of killing two people are again asking a judge to delay his trial, and the judge is set to make the ruling less than a week before the trial's scheduled start date. The motion from Cline Boone and Matthew Cohen, the attorneys for 54-year-old Rodney Marshall, is the latest in a series of requests to postpone the trial, which is set to begin on March 31. Marshall is charged ...

Suspect evades arrest after crashing car against curb and fleeing on foot in Lawrence neighborhood; passenger in custody

A man evaded arrest Wednesday night after running from Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies in a car before crashing against a curb and then fleeing on foot, according to the sheriff's office. The suspect’s identity, however, is known and his passenger was left behind and was arrested on warrants. A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop the driver near the intersection of Seventh Street and ...

Dispute leads to shots fired at house on Haskell Avenue; police report no injuries from incident

Police are investigating Thursday after an argument allegedly resulted in a retaliatory shooting at a Lawrence residence. Officers were called to the 1600 block of Haskell Avenue Wednesday night where they found bullet shell casings outside of a Lawrence home, according to a release from the Lawrence Police Department on social media. Witnesses told police that after two people in the home who knew each ...