Douglas County Youth Services currently has halted in-person visitation but has no plan in place to release youths who have health concerns, a county leader said recently.
Meanwhile, at the state and national levels, youth justice advocacy groups have written letters pushing for youths to be released from juvenile detention centers and halting new admissions to such facilities, as concerns have grown over the ...
As Rontarus Washington Jr. left the courtroom on Oct. 4, 2019, following a hung jury in his murder trial, he told his mother, “Wipe them tears; they can’t keep me forever.”
That was before the coronavirus disease became a global pandemic and the Kansas Supreme Court suspended speedy trial laws “until further order.”
As of March 16, Washington had been in custody of the Douglas County Jail for five ...
The Douglas County district attorney’s office will be closed to the public through Friday, April 3, according to Cheryl Wright Kunard, assistant to DA Charles Branson.
The closure comes “(f)ollowing a multitude of orders and recommendations” by public health officials at the national, state and local levels, as well as the Kansas Supreme Court’s order restricting judicial operations statewide, Wright ...
Lawrence police investigated multiple calls involving weapons or gunshots Thursday night. However, it did not appear that any shots were actually fired, and in two unrelated incidents, both guns turned out to be BB guns, a department spokesman said.
Around 9:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the intersection of 10th and Massachusetts streets for a reported disturbance with weapons, Patrick Compton told the ...
A man suffered life-threatening injuries in an incident in Lawrence Friday afternoon, police said.
Just after 2 p.m., Lawrence police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 700 block of West 25th Street regarding an unknown emergency, LPD spokesman Patrick Compton said via email Friday. Emergency radio traffic shortly thereafter indicated that it was possibly a stabbing.
Upon arrival, officers found ...
The Lawrence Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are responding to calls for service with phone calls whenever they can in order to help “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both agencies have made some changes to procedures in recent days, and there may be more to come as guidance from public health officials becomes more stringent.
Lawrence Police Department spokesman ...
