WRITER: Kim Callahan

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 ...

Students, judges, attorneys and others peaceably assemble to read the U.S. Constitution in its entirety

Kansas Appeals Court Judge Jacy Hurst drew more than a few chuckles Monday as she repeatedly — and a bit scornfully — emphasized the word “male” while reading aloud from the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Hurst was participating in a public reading of all 7,591 words of the Constitution — including its seven articles and 27 amendments — at the Douglas County Courthouse along with ...

At drug dealer's sentencing, mother describes 'crippling grief' of losing son to fentanyl overdose

A mother who lost a son to a fentanyl overdose described her “crippling grief” Friday morning to a Douglas County judge at the sentencing hearing of the woman who had a hand in the young man’s death. Christina Aldridge, the mother of Cameron Bricker, who died at age 26 on Dec. 9, 2022, after buying pills from the defendant, Terriana Audry Atkinson, placed a framed photo of her son on the lectern as she ...