WRITER: Mackenzie Clark

Lawrence police can apply for no-knock warrants but don’t, spokesperson says

Across the country for several months, protesters have rallied behind a common refrain: "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor." Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville, Ky., emergency medical worker, was shot several times when plainclothes officers executed a search warrant at her apartment on March 13. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, is accused of shooting a police officer as the police entered because he ...

Prosecutors, defense counsel argue about alleged ‘bad acts’ of Lawrence homicide victim’s husband in Rontarus Washington Jr. case

Whether jurors will hear evidence of new alleged “bad acts” of a homicide victim’s husband is still to be determined after a motions hearing Friday in the case of Rontarus Washington Jr. It’s been almost six years since Nov. 7, 2014, when investigators say 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso was bludgeoned and stabbed to death in an apartment at 1727 W. 24th St. in Lawrence. Washington, now 24, was ...

Man facing endangerment charge after Lawrence boy shot, critically injured

The Douglas County district attorney’s office has filed a charge in connection with an August shooting that critically injured a 6-year-old boy. Rashun B. Lewis is facing a charge of aggravated endangering a child, a low-level felony, for allegedly allowing a child “to be placed in a situation in which the child’s life, body or health is endangered,” according to the charging document in the case. ...

Driver told police he didn’t see Lawrence woman, service dog before he struck them; woman later died

A driver told Lawrence police that he didn’t see a blind woman and her service dog crossing through an intersection until he struck them, according to a crash report. The woman died from her injuries several days later. Tamara Lucille Kearney, 61, of Lawrence, was walking northbound across Clinton Parkway in the eastern crosswalk at Lawrence Avenue with her service dog, Rex, at 10:12 a.m. July 29, ...

Lawrence club owner files legal action challenging Douglas County health order limiting hours

The owner of an adult entertainment club in Lawrence is taking legal action against a Douglas County health order that restricts its hours of operation. A health order had required Douglas County establishments with liquor licenses to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and to close at 10 p.m. beginning Sept. 4, the Journal-World has reported. The order came amid rising numbers of cases of COVID-19 in the area. ...

One week left to register to vote in Kansas; Douglas County Jail staff assisting inmates who request ballots

Kansas’ deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is just a week away: Tuesday, Oct. 13. In the meantime, staff members at the Douglas County Jail are helping inmates register and request advance ballots. Kansas residents 18 and older who are United States citizens are eligible to vote. That includes anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor, according to information on a flyer from ...