WRITER: Sara Shepherd

Funding a drug court is the next step for Douglas County's incarceration alternatives, DA tells commissioners

Story updated at 3:03 p.m. Monday, July 1: The Douglas County district attorney says his office already has programs successfully diverting numerous simpler cases from court. Taking those efforts to the next level won’t be as simple or cheap. “We’re getting down to the hard cases,” District Attorney Charles Branson said. Creating a drug court may be expensive and resource-heavy, but it’s a needed ...

Man convicted in Eudora bar murder settles civil lawsuit with victim’s family

A lawsuit brought by the family of a Eudora murder victim against his killer has been settled and dismissed. According to Douglas County District Court records, the case was formally dismissed June 17. Defendant Danny W. Queen and plaintiff Scott Hopson jointly requested the dismissal after reaching a settlement in late April. The terms of that settlement were not filed in court. Hopson told the ...

Lawrence man raped sleeping woman while a guest at her house, affidavit alleges

A Lawrence man reportedly raped a woman who’d allowed him to stay at her house as she slept deeply from ingesting alcohol and sleeping pills, a police affidavit says. Perry L. Oatis, 54, was arrested at the scene in the early morning hours of May 27, after the woman’s roommate saw him assaulting her and called police. Oatis was charged the next day in Douglas County District Court with rape for allegedly ...

Woman who sold sex at Lawrence massage parlors gets probation

A woman who operated a prostitution business out of massage parlors in Lawrence and Topeka was sentenced to probation on Wednesday in federal court in Topeka. In addition to serving three years on probation, Weiling Nielsen, 54, agreed to pay a $650,000 judgment representing proceeds from her crimes, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release after her sentencing. Nielsen owned and operated Naima ...

Topeka man charged in Lawrence payday loan store robbery

A Topeka man has been charged in federal court with robbing payday loan businesses in Lawrence and Topeka. Derick Renee Crawford, 29, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release. Crawford faces two counts of commercial robbery for allegedly robbing the Advance America store at 2223 Louisiana St. in Lawrence on Feb. 21 and, about a month ...

Gunshots send people running at Lawrence apartment complex

Gunshots fired at a Lawrence apartment complex apparently sent a number of people running Tuesday night, but no one was hit. The disturbance was reported just after 11:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 1000 block of West 24th Street. Multiple callers reported hearing gunshots and seeing multiple people run into a nearby residence, Sgt. Amy Rhoads of the Lawrence Police Department said Wednesday in an email. She said ...