A Lawrence man reportedly told police that he owed a “significant drug debt, which resulted in threats toward him and his wife,” so he went to a nearby bank to get money. James M. Pugh, 58, was arrested hours after a robbery was reported on Jan. 31 at Landmark National Bank, 2710 Iowa St. He is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of robbery, a midlevel-severity felony, and criminal ...
Updated to add booking photo at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday, March 10: A Lawrence man has been charged in Douglas County District Court with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Bruce Stanley Springsteen, 62, was arrested early Thursday and charged Friday afternoon. The complaint in his case alleges that Springsteen possessed child pornography on three occasions. Springsteen had his first court appearance ...
A retrial date was set Friday for Rontarus Washington Jr., who is coming up on five years in custody of the Douglas County Jail. Washington, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 7, 2014, death of 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso, who was his neighbor at Lawrence’s Cedarwood Apartments. The case has moved slowly because of various complications, primarily as new evidence has ...
City Manager Craig Owens says he thinks unrest within the Lawrence Police Department stems from a lack of direction and problems with communications. In his most detailed comments since the public learned last week that the Lawrence police officers union had taken a vote of no confidence in the chief of police, Owens did not endorse the union's sentiments. “I have confidence in Chief Burns' ability to ...
Updated with booking photo at 7:23 a.m. Friday: A Lawrence man recently charged with a child sex crime had been on contract with several University of Kansas women's athletics teams since 2015, according to KU leaders. A statement from KU Chancellor Douglas Girod and Athletic Director Jeff Long on Thursday leaves open a question of whether any student-athletes had made any complaints to team authorities and ...
A fire at an eastern Lawrence convenience store was caused by improper storage of oily rags that supported spontaneous combustion, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. Firefighters responded to the fire at 2200 Harper St., a Conoco, at 3:39 a.m. Feb. 27, the Journal-World previously reported. The fire was brought under control at 4:12 a.m., and no one was injured. The total fire loss is ...