WRITER: Kim Callahan

Fires set at multiple business locations in North Lawrence; 19-year old in custody; she was arrested in different arson case just days before

Updated at 5:19 p.m. Thursday Lawrence police have arrested a 19-year-old woman on suspicion of setting multiple fires at or near several North Lawrence businesses on Wednesday night — one of which devastated a printing business. Court records indicate that the woman had also been arrested in another arson case earlier in the week and was out on bond when Wednesday's fires occurred. A police spokesman said ...

Man who killed Eudora child in hit-and-run sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison

Story updated at 5:59 p.m. Tuesday: A man who killed a Eudora child in a hit-and-run accident in May was sentenced on Tuesday in Douglas County District Court to nearly six years in prison. Judge Amy Hanley handed down the maximum possible sentence to Jose Alfredo Galiano Meza after a lengthy and emotional hearing at which loved ones of the accident victim, Brooklyn Brouhard, spoke to the court about the ...

Woman accused of killing baby at day care renews plea for freedom as she faces 2nd trial

As a woman accused of killing a baby at a Eudora day care faces a new trial, she is renewing her motion to be freed from house arrest in the 6-year-old murder case — a move that prosecutors oppose as “entirely devoid of any legitimate legal basis.” The woman, Carrody Buchhorn, 47, was convicted in 2018 of killing 9-month-old Oliver “Ollie” L. Ortiz in 2016 at the day care where she worked. Her ...

Judge expresses dismay over Douglas County DA's relationship with law enforcement, appears to partially side with sheriff's concerns for now

A Douglas County District Court judge has expressed concern about the District Attorney’s Office becoming “crossways with all of the law enforcement in the entire county” and appeared to side at least partially and for the time being with the sheriff in his dispute with the DA. Judge Sally Pokorny made the comment Monday at a hearing regarding Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister’s motion to quash a ...

17 paintings stolen from Lawrence's Art in the Park event; reward offered for their return

Updated at 12:01 p.m. Monday Organizers of Art in the Park were shocked Saturday morning to discover that a number of paintings had been stolen overnight from one of the festival participants at the annual event, and they are offering a reward for the return of the artwork. Maria Martin, president of the Lawrence Art Guild, which hosts Art in the Park, told the Journal-World Monday that the event had been ...

Iranian students at KU decry brutal government crackdown; 'they are killing people in the streets'

While most University of Kansas students are gearing up for midterms and celebrating the KU football team, one group of students — those from Iran — are losing sleep and agonizing over the fate of loved ones back home. “Everyone is distracted from their education and classes and projects. … It's really hard for us to go to sleep at night because there are always new people being killed and arrested,” ...