WRITER: Kim Callahan

Statements of man accused of cocaine-for-sex crimes against teen will not be suppressed, judge rules

Incriminating statements made by an alleged sex offender will not be suppressed after a Douglas County judge on Thursday found that the statements were knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently made to police after a Miranda warning. The defendant in the case, Kendrick Deandre Atkins, 25, of Lawrence, is facing multiple sex crime charges, including aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated human ...

Man who was accused of hammer attack pleads no contest to criminal threat, faces 16 months in prison

A Lawrence man who was accused of going on a violent rampage with a hammer and a Jeep last spring pleaded no contest on Wednesday in Douglas County District Court to felony criminal threat and now faces more than a year in prison. Ronald Dwayne Walters, 51, was originally charged with multiple felonies, including aggravated battery, criminal threat and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, after an ...

Teen ordered to stand trial for first-degree murder in shooting death of Lawrence 17-year-old; state says boy was shot with his own gun

Updated at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 A Douglas County judge has ordered a Lawrence teen to stand trial for first-degree, premeditated murder in the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy earlier this year. The defendant, Cir Allen Keith Glover, 19, appeared in court Wednesday for the second part of his preliminary hearing on the original charge of second-degree murder in the death of Isaiah Neal. Glover is ...

As of Oct. 15, all police scanner traffic in Douglas County will be encrypted and unavailable to public and news outlets

The days of police business being aired over a “scanner” are nearing their end as Douglas County law enforcement agencies move to a system of fully encrypted radio communication to comply with a federal mandate. This means that the public, including news outlets, will not be able to hear over a police scanner communications between law enforcement and emergency dispatch regarding incidents such as car ...

Film crew shooting supernatural suspense thriller at iconic Lawrence mansion

Michael Coffey has been wanting to film a thriller in Lawrence for the past seven years — ever since he conceived of the screenplay for “One Eye Open.” He found the perfect setting right away: the Ludington-Thacher House — that mid-19th century brick mansion that turns everyone’s head as they drive down the 1600 block of Tennessee Street. And he even cast some of the roles. But he just couldn’t ...

DA candidates try to make the case that their type of experience is what the office needs most

The topic of experience dominated Monday’s district attorney candidate forum, with Republican Mike Warner touting his three decades as a prosecutor and Democrat Dakota Loomis emphasizing his longtime familiarity with and connections to the local legal system. The two candidates, vying to replace embattled one-term DA Suzanne Valdez, met for the second time in a week, this time at a forum hosted by the Douglas ...