WRITER: Kim Callahan

Lawrence man sentenced to 31 months in prison for killing 20-year-old

Updated at 6:09 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 A Lawrence man was sentenced Friday to 31 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter in connection with a 2023 shooting that killed a Topeka man. The man, Maliqe Crenshaw, 23, was originally charged with one felony count of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 20-year-old Cameron Renner on June 3, 2023, around 1 a.m. in the 2400 block of Cedarwood Drive, ...

Mother testifies about night her son was shot to death, allegedly by another teen; footage shows male with gun in area

Tempers flared Thursday morning outside a Douglas County courtroom, threatening to erupt into violence again, as a crowd exited a hearing for a Lawrence teen who is accused of killing another teen earlier this year. A similar incident played out in June after the defendant’s first court appearance, necessitating the intervention of sheriff’s deputies, as the Journal-World reported. Cir Allen Keith Glover, ...

Man gets mandatory prison sentence for aggravated assault with gun after victim tells court he forgives him

An Overbrook man who assaulted another man with a firearm last summer was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison for the crime. The man, Kevin Lee Lemon, 54, pleaded no contest to the offense on July 3 in Douglas County District Court. The offense falls under Kansas' Special Rule 1, which dictates a presumptive prison sentence if a firearm is used in the commission of a person felony. Lemon was arrested ...

Man pleads no contest to fifth DUI, could face years in prison

A man who was scheduled to stand trial this week for his fifth DUI instead pleaded no contest to the offense in a last-minute deal that let him evade several other charges. Dustin Lee Welch, 44, of Topeka, was found guilty Tuesday in Douglas County District Court of an incident on Sept. 4, 2022, in which his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit of .08 — the fifth time he had been caught ...

Woman lied to police about killing dog, critically injuring woman, according to allegations in affidavit

A woman accused in a March hit-and-run that killed a dog and critically injured its owner admitted to police that she was responsible for the accident after initially telling an elaborate lie about it, according to a recently released affidavit in the case. The arrest affidavit, the allegations of which have not been proved in court, details what police relied on to support the arrest of Lasean Dixon, of ...

2 candidates running for DA call the current office a total mess, offer ideas for fixing

The two men vying to lead the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for the next four years agree on one thing: The current DA’s Office is in shambles and desperately needs to be fixed. Neither Republican Mike Warner nor Democrat Dakota Loomis pulled any punches as they met as opponents for the first time Tuesday night in a forum at the Douglas County Fairgrounds sponsored by the Douglas County Rural ...