A Lawrence teen accused of fatally shooting a man in central Lawrence earlier this month was formally charged on Monday. Javier I. Romero, 18, was charged with first-degree murder, an off-grid felony that could result in life in prison if he is convicted of killing 21-year-old Christian Willis. He was also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a level-three felony drug ...
A Topeka man has been ordered to stand trial for a charge of rape stemming from a 2020 incident where he allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old woman. According to an affidavit in the case, the woman said Thomas J. Zarse, 22, assaulted her after she repeatedly said no to his advances. She also said she was in shock and unable to move during the incident. “My body just wouldn’t move,” the woman told ...
The Lawrence school district is considering the possibility of adding a COVID-19 testing plan that would allow students to return to school within a day of being labeled a close contact, superintendent Anthony Lewis told the Journal-World. “My expectation is that we are going to use testing to allow students to return the same day or the next day,” Lewis said. Lewis said he expects school district ...
Updated at 2:30 p.m. Friday A Lawrence toddler was killed in a shooting in eastern Lawrence on Friday. Police responded to a reported shooting in the 1500 block of Wedgewood Drive around 10:45 a.m., Lt. David Ernst of the Lawrence Police Department told the Journal-World. When officers arrived they found a 2-year-old was critically injured. The child was taken to LMH Health, but was later pronounced dead, ...
A third protest stemming from an alleged sexual assault at a University of Kansas fraternity last weekend was directed at the university leaders on Friday. A few dozen students gathered outside KU Chancellor Douglas Girod’s office in Strong Hall on the university’s campus chanting phrases such as “Stop protecting rapists” and “We believe her.” The loudest chants were demands for the fraternity, Phi ...
A Lawrence man convicted of a child sex crime for using social media to solicit nude photos from an underage girl was sentenced to more than two years in prison. Judge Sally Pokorny on Friday sentenced Jared C. Spears, 29, to 32 months, a little more than 2.5 years, for the conviction of sexual exploitation of a child, which is a level-five felony. Spears was convicted in July after entering a no contest plea ...