WRITER: Dylan Lysen

Lawrence man convicted of child pornography crimes after accepting plea deal

A Lawrence man was recently convicted of child pornography charges in Douglas County District Court after he agreed to a plea deal. Justin E. Lewis, 25, pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child on Nov. 29, according to court records. In both counts he was accused of conducting an internet search between January and May 2019 for a visual depiction of a child under the age of ...

Lawrence man accused of yearslong sexual abuse of a child now pursuing case resolution through mediation

A Lawrence man who recently asked to represent himself in court against significant child sex crime charges will now pursue mediation in the cases, which could result in him taking a plea deal. Judge Sally Pokorny on Tuesday allowed Dustyn Polk, 46, to pursue mediation in a case where he is charged with two counts of rape, three counts of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of aggravated indecent liberties ...

2 injured in wreck on I-70 in Lawrence

Story updated at 7 p.m. Monday: Two people were injured in a single-vehicle wreck on U.S. Interstate 70 just east of a Lawrence exit on Monday afternoon. Raul E. Dominguez, 38, of Topeka, and Allison Provancial, 44, of Lawrence, were both taken to LMH Health to be treated for serious injuries, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol crash log. The wreck occurred around 2:15 p.m. about half a mile east of the ...

Police identify person who died after head-on collision as 20-year-old Lawrence man

Lawrence police have identified the person who died after a head-on crash Saturday morning as a 20-year-old man. Lt. David Ernst of the Lawrence Police Department said on Monday that James Henderson Jr., of Lawrence, died from the injuries he suffered in the crash. The incident occurred around 12:15 a.m. at the 2500 block of West Sixth Street, near the intersection with Crestline Drive. Ernst previously said ...

Lawrence parentage case appears to serve as landmark ruling for unmarried same-sex couples

A recent ruling in Douglas County District Court resulted in a major legal victory for unmarried same-sex couples who have a child together. A couple in the Lawrence area — Amanda Torbett and Amanda Peterson — recently experienced the birth of their daughter, but were forced to fight through court to have both of their names included on the child’s original birth certificate. Lawrence attorney David ...

Hazardous winter weather expected to reach Lawrence on New Year's Eve

As the New Year is ushered in this weekend, coming with it will be hazardous weather that may disrupt some celebration plans. The Lawrence area is expected to see freezing rain just before the ball drops Friday evening and then possibly a significant accumulation of snow on Saturday. Jenni Pittman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service station in Topeka, told the Journal-World Thursday that a ...