Topeka police arrested a woman in connection with crimes that included marijuana distribution and methamphetamine possession on Thursday, three days after her 18th birthday.
Taken into custody was Amythest Mae Jordan Whitmarsh, who turned 18 on Monday, according to Shawnee County Jail records. Her age enables Whitmarsh to be prosecuted as an adult under Kansas statute.
Gretchen Spiker, public relations specialist for the Topeka Police Department, said officers about 2:30 p.m. Thursday were trying to locate 40-year-old Justin Leroy Jordan, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, when they saw him get into a car Whitmarsh was driving in the 200 block of S.E. 7th.
The case against former Congressman Steve Watkins will not go to trial, part of a deal agreed to earlier this week that would drop charges of voter fraud as long as Watkins stays out of trouble.
The diversion agreement was formalized Monday, according to the Shawnee County District Court records, something confirmed by Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay in a release.
Kagay said that Watkins applied for diversion in February. The program sets out conditions that, if met, will allow all three charges against Watkins to be dropped. That includes a requirement that he remain law-abiding, as well as a $250 fee.
To sum up the first 20 minutes of her Tuesday morning hearing to suppress statements, Dana Chandler bluntly told prosecutor Daniel Dunbar during a short recess to consider the statutes surrounding Chandler’s motion to get a new judge.
“How’s this for a s -show, Dan?” she asked after getting Dunbar s attention. Dunbar didn t respond and looked away from Chandler.
As part of a now yearslong process to retry Chandler for allegedly killing her former husband, Mike Sisco, and his fiancée, Karen Harkness in 2002, Chandler started Tuesday’s hearing with a motion asking Shawnee County District Judge Cheryl Rios to assign the case to another judge.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay announced Tuesday he had charged Topekan Paul Gavino Mendez with crimes that included rape linked to a sexual assault allegedly committed in 2019.
Mendez, 44, was also charged with one count each of kidnapping, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary, Kagay said in a news release.
The victim, a 55-year-old woman who is acquainted with Mendez, reported the crimes were committed Aug. 18, 2019, in the 3700 block of S.W. Plaza Drive, said Gretchen Spiker, public relations specialist for the Topeka Police Department.
Mendez was being questioned by Topeka police in reference to a separate ongoing investigation when he was arrested Jan. 28 in the 1500 block of S.E. 21st in connection with the 2019 sexual assault, Spiker said.
Gov. Laura Kelly has been pushing for years for Medicaid expansion in Kansas, a priority that has faced pushback from state Republicans who argued it would cost too much.
On Monday, the Democratic governor said she would put forth and present a bill with her solution ― legalize medical marijuana, and in the process, use that revenue to fund Medicaid.
It would kill two birds with one stone, as Kansas remains one of the few states to not expand Medicaid or legalize medical marijuana.
Here s what to know about her proposal.
What s in the bill?
The actual introduction of the bill, when its contents will be revealed, is set to come this week or next.