News

Transient man charged with arson, burglary, criminal trespass

Updated at 4:40 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9 A 36-year-old man who was arrested Saturday in Lawrence on suspicion of burglary and aggravated arson was charged Monday with four felonies and two misdemeanors. Michael Lenoy Hodges, whose address is listed as “transient” in the Douglas County Jail ...

Gov. Laura Kelly signs 4-piece crime bill

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly put a signature to a bundled law enforcement bill Friday elevating consequences for conviction of buying sexual relations, misuse of a laser pointer and crimes of vehicle and gift-card theft. The legislation was a holdover from the 2025 legislative session that ...

Jury awards $8.3M to family of teen who died at intake center

Jurors have awarded $8.3 million to the family of a Kansas foster teen who died in 2021 after he was held facedown for 39 minutes in a juvenile intake center while in the throes of a mental health crisis. Five juvenile officers in Sedgwick County either used excessive force on Cedric ...