Showing posts with label kansas criminal defense lawyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kansas criminal defense lawyer. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Need a criminal record expunged in Kansas?
If you have a criminal record and you are tired of the negative consequences of something you did a long time ago...watch this video. I have put together a video explaining the entire process from start to finish. If you need help getting your record expunged contact our office today. Don't live with the negative stigma any longer.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Kansas City woman seeks payment for proving man's wrongful conviction
Two wrongfully convicted men were released from prison. That's a good thing. But their actions after their release are questionable if what Anne Danaher is saying is true. She claims she is the lady responsible for their release and they haven't shared any of the nearly $12 million they have collected in settlement for their claim against the city for the wrongful conviction. If the facts as stated are true these men owe her their lives and probably some of their money. The story follows.
Kansas City Woman seeks payment for proving man's wrongful conviction
Kansas City Woman seeks payment for proving man's wrongful conviction
DES MOINES, Iowa — Anne Danaher is largely responsible for freeing
two Omaha men wrongly convicted in a 1977 murder and now seeking $100
million from the police officers they claim framed them for the crime,
but as she watches the civil trial in a federal courtroom she wonders
why she’s never been compensated for her years of work on their behalf.
Danaher, now of Kansas City, hopes Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee will ultimately remember she’s the one who pursued their freedom for nine years after they had exhausted appeals and attorneys had given up. If not, a lawsuit she’s filed could force at least one of the men to pay Danaher for her work. “That’s what this is all about,” she said. “They do not want to pay me.” The civil trial began Nov. 1 in Des Moines and could conclude next week. Lawyers for the men declined to comment on Danaher’s role in the matter.
Danaher was 37 and a prison barber at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison in 1993 when she met members of Harrington’s family at the prison. That meeting and discussions with Harrington during 15-minute haircuts convinced her he was innocent in the killing of a former Council Bluffs police officer. “I sensed an injustice based on my background of coming from Kansas City and growing up in the inner city,” Danaher said. “I’ve always had a passion for the pursuit of justice and I just took on that role and wanted to correct an error that I believed had been committed.”
Harrington insisted that he wasn’t involved in the shotgun murder of former police Capt. John Schweer, who was killed one night in July 1977 while working as a security guard for car dealerships in Council Bluffs. In 1994 Harrington asked Danaher for help. She had no law degree and no background in criminal investigation, but she was determined to understand how Harrington could have been convicted with no physical evidence and on the testimony of several scared teenagers.
She soon discovered that Harrington had exhausted his appeals and without new evidence, he’d have to serve his life prison sentence.
Danaher, now 55, said Harrington agreed if he was ever freed, she’d be paid for her help. Harrington even wrote and signed a promise to share with her 20 percent of anything he might receive for a wrongful conviction. She considers this a contract. Danaher quit her prison job to devote her time to researching the case, working with Mary Kennedy, a lawyer from Waterloo who helped inmates with appeals. Kennedy said Danaher’s commitment and belief in Harrington cannot be overstated.
“It was many, many years of just dead end after dead end after dead end,” Kennedy said. “She drove everywhere and did everything. She slept in her car. She drove five times a month for 10 years to the prison.”
Although two decades had passed since the original murder trial, Danaher found key witnesses who said they had been threatened and coerced to lie by police investigators and prosecutors. But it was in 1999 that Danaher stumbled upon the evidence that would free the two men. She obtained the complete Council Bluffs police files in the Schweer murder case and uncovered police reports that had not been provided to the attorneys defending Harrington and McGhee. The reports describe a white man who had been seen by witnesses near the car lot with a shotgun and that Schweer had confronted the man days before he was shot. The reports indicated that police had considered the man a suspect but stopped pursuing him after they began focusing on Harrington and McGhee, two black teenagers from neighboring Omaha.
“When I looked at those reports my jaw just dropped,” Kennedy said. “It’s unprecedented. Usually by that time the evidence is gone.”
Kennedy sought a new trial for Harrington based on newly discovered evidence. It took three years and several appeals, but the Iowa Supreme Court in February 2003 found that the withheld reports would have allowed Harrington’s defense attorney to present an alternative suspect in the Schweer murder. The evidence could have placed doubt in the minds of jurors about the guilt of Harrington and McGhee.
The Supreme Court reversed Harrington’s conviction. It took a few more legal maneuvers but by October 2003 both men were released after spending 25 of their 43 years in prison. In 2005 they sued the prosecutors, Pottawattamie County, the investigating police officers and the city of Council Bluffs.
A federal judge found that the prosecutors violated the men’s constitutional right to due process. Appeals in the case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2009 the court heard arguments but before it could rule, the county settled the case in January 2010 by offering Harrington $7 million and McGhee nearly $5 million.
Danaher sought to be paid but has received no money from either man. Last year she filed a lawsuit seeking payment. A judge dismissed McGhee’s portion of the case in March, concluding she couldn’t prove he promised to pay her. McGhee’s attorney, Steve Davis of Chicago, declined to comment.
The case involving Harrington is pending in U.S. District Court in Des Moines and is scheduled for trial late next year. Harrington’s attorneys did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
Danaher said she and Harrington had grown close, but that ended once he was released. Within nine days of getting out of prison he was back in Omaha living a life that didn’t include her, she said.
Danaher has been in court daily during the trial, in which Harrington and McGhee allege two retired Council Bluffs police officers and the city should be held responsible for their wrongful imprisonment.
The city of Council Bluffs and the retired officers dispute allegations they framed McGhee and Harrington and contend they had enough evidence to take to prosecutors, noting the men were convicted in two separate jury trials.
Danaher watches lawyers representing McGhee and Harrington use the information she uncovered as they seek $100 million. Their attorneys will get tens of millions of dollars if the jury rules in their favor.
Kennedy said she finds it unbelievable that they won’t share any money with Danaher.
“They don’t even acknowledge that she did anything,” Kennedy said. “Even if they just reimbursed her for her expenses it would be a phenomenal amount.”
Danaher, now of Kansas City, hopes Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee will ultimately remember she’s the one who pursued their freedom for nine years after they had exhausted appeals and attorneys had given up. If not, a lawsuit she’s filed could force at least one of the men to pay Danaher for her work. “That’s what this is all about,” she said. “They do not want to pay me.” The civil trial began Nov. 1 in Des Moines and could conclude next week. Lawyers for the men declined to comment on Danaher’s role in the matter.
Danaher was 37 and a prison barber at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison in 1993 when she met members of Harrington’s family at the prison. That meeting and discussions with Harrington during 15-minute haircuts convinced her he was innocent in the killing of a former Council Bluffs police officer. “I sensed an injustice based on my background of coming from Kansas City and growing up in the inner city,” Danaher said. “I’ve always had a passion for the pursuit of justice and I just took on that role and wanted to correct an error that I believed had been committed.”
Harrington insisted that he wasn’t involved in the shotgun murder of former police Capt. John Schweer, who was killed one night in July 1977 while working as a security guard for car dealerships in Council Bluffs. In 1994 Harrington asked Danaher for help. She had no law degree and no background in criminal investigation, but she was determined to understand how Harrington could have been convicted with no physical evidence and on the testimony of several scared teenagers.
She soon discovered that Harrington had exhausted his appeals and without new evidence, he’d have to serve his life prison sentence.
Danaher, now 55, said Harrington agreed if he was ever freed, she’d be paid for her help. Harrington even wrote and signed a promise to share with her 20 percent of anything he might receive for a wrongful conviction. She considers this a contract. Danaher quit her prison job to devote her time to researching the case, working with Mary Kennedy, a lawyer from Waterloo who helped inmates with appeals. Kennedy said Danaher’s commitment and belief in Harrington cannot be overstated.
“It was many, many years of just dead end after dead end after dead end,” Kennedy said. “She drove everywhere and did everything. She slept in her car. She drove five times a month for 10 years to the prison.”
Although two decades had passed since the original murder trial, Danaher found key witnesses who said they had been threatened and coerced to lie by police investigators and prosecutors. But it was in 1999 that Danaher stumbled upon the evidence that would free the two men. She obtained the complete Council Bluffs police files in the Schweer murder case and uncovered police reports that had not been provided to the attorneys defending Harrington and McGhee. The reports describe a white man who had been seen by witnesses near the car lot with a shotgun and that Schweer had confronted the man days before he was shot. The reports indicated that police had considered the man a suspect but stopped pursuing him after they began focusing on Harrington and McGhee, two black teenagers from neighboring Omaha.
“When I looked at those reports my jaw just dropped,” Kennedy said. “It’s unprecedented. Usually by that time the evidence is gone.”
Kennedy sought a new trial for Harrington based on newly discovered evidence. It took three years and several appeals, but the Iowa Supreme Court in February 2003 found that the withheld reports would have allowed Harrington’s defense attorney to present an alternative suspect in the Schweer murder. The evidence could have placed doubt in the minds of jurors about the guilt of Harrington and McGhee.
The Supreme Court reversed Harrington’s conviction. It took a few more legal maneuvers but by October 2003 both men were released after spending 25 of their 43 years in prison. In 2005 they sued the prosecutors, Pottawattamie County, the investigating police officers and the city of Council Bluffs.
A federal judge found that the prosecutors violated the men’s constitutional right to due process. Appeals in the case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2009 the court heard arguments but before it could rule, the county settled the case in January 2010 by offering Harrington $7 million and McGhee nearly $5 million.
Danaher sought to be paid but has received no money from either man. Last year she filed a lawsuit seeking payment. A judge dismissed McGhee’s portion of the case in March, concluding she couldn’t prove he promised to pay her. McGhee’s attorney, Steve Davis of Chicago, declined to comment.
The case involving Harrington is pending in U.S. District Court in Des Moines and is scheduled for trial late next year. Harrington’s attorneys did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
Danaher said she and Harrington had grown close, but that ended once he was released. Within nine days of getting out of prison he was back in Omaha living a life that didn’t include her, she said.
Danaher has been in court daily during the trial, in which Harrington and McGhee allege two retired Council Bluffs police officers and the city should be held responsible for their wrongful imprisonment.
The city of Council Bluffs and the retired officers dispute allegations they framed McGhee and Harrington and contend they had enough evidence to take to prosecutors, noting the men were convicted in two separate jury trials.
Danaher watches lawyers representing McGhee and Harrington use the information she uncovered as they seek $100 million. Their attorneys will get tens of millions of dollars if the jury rules in their favor.
Kennedy said she finds it unbelievable that they won’t share any money with Danaher.
“They don’t even acknowledge that she did anything,” Kennedy said. “Even if they just reimbursed her for her expenses it would be a phenomenal amount.”
Monday, November 12, 2012
Mother Participated in letting Two Daughters get Raped
This is one of the strangest and just all around sickening displays of disregard for the safety of one's children I have seen. It turns out that the mother of these young girls was not only turning a blind eye to the rapes of her two young daughters she was actually helping the man. Some of the quotes are just completely ridiculous. Here is the article in the Kansas City Star. Then followed up by another update from the Star.KCK firls testify in rape, human trafficking trial.
By: Hurst Laviana
A Kansas City, Kan., woman described to a Sedgwick County jury Wednesday how she made repeated trips to Wichita with her young teenage daughters so a Wichita man could have sex with them in an east Wichita motel room. “Who rented the room?” Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett asked.
“Sometimes I did, sometimes he did,” the mother said. “The lights were on?” Bennett asked. “Correct.” “You could see what he was doing to your girls?” “Correct. I’d tell him to stop but he wouldn’t. He told me he’s the head of the household, and he wanted things to go the way he wanted them to go.”
The testimony came in the trial of James Lamont Brown, 49, who is facing multiple counts of rape and aggravated human trafficking for crimes that allegedly occurred from April 2010 through June 2011. The girls, now 14 and 15 years old, both testified Wednesday that Brown had sex with them on at least five weekend trips they made to Wichita with their mother in 2010 and 2011. The younger sister said they followed the same routine every time after checking into the Econo Lodge at 8302 E. Kellogg.
“He would take off his clothes. Mom would take off her clothes, and they would have sex,” the girl said. “And then he would come to me.”
The mother, who is not being named to protect the identity of her daughters, has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated human trafficking and is facing a sentence of life without parole for 25 years.
Seconds after defense lawyer Mark Sevart finished cross-examining the older girl, Brown startled the courtroom by announcing, “Objection. I’ve got a list of questions.” After the jury was excused, Brown told District Judge Greg Waller that he had prepared a list of questions he wanted to ask the girl, but that his lawyer, Sevart, refused to ask them. Waller asked why the questions hadn’t been given to Sevart earlier. Sevart said that his client had refused to meet with him when he tried to visit him several times in jail. Waller refused a request by Brown that he be allowed to represent himself for the duration of the trial.
After the jury returned, the mother said that Brown wanted to get both of her daughters pregnant so he could expand the size of his family. She didn’t have a clear answer when Bennett asked why she allowed the abuse to happen. “Why didn’t you turn around in Emporia and go home?” Bennett asked at one point. “I should have, but I didn’t,” she said.
The prosecution is scheduled to rest its case Thursday.
Wichita Man Found Guilty of Raping two KCK girls
By Hurst Laviana
A Sedgwick County jury on Friday convicted a Wichita man of 17 of 20 felony charges that accused him of raping two Kansas City, Kan., girls after their mother checked them into a Wichita hotel so the man could have sex with them. Prosecutors said police became involved after the younger girl mentioned the abuse to a woman who was braiding her hair.
The defendant, James Lamont Brown, 49, showed no emotion as District Judge Greg Waller read the verdicts shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday. Waller set sentencing for Jan. 10. Because of his extensive criminal record, Brown would face a mandatory sentence of life without parole even if convicted of only one of the 20 charges. Brown was charged with 10 counts each of rape and aggravated human trafficking for having sex with the girls, who are now 14 and 15, in 2010 and 2011. Some of the charges cover a time when the girls were 11 and 12 years old.
The girls’ mother, who is not being named to protect the identity of her daughters, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated human trafficking and is facing a sentence of life without parole for 25 years. She testified this week that on at least five occasions she sat on a motel bed and watched as Brown had sex with her daughters. Both girls also testified that Brown had sex with them on multiple occasions. Brown denied the allegations when he testified Thursday in his own behalf.
At the outset of the trial, Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett said the rapes occurred after the mother drove the girls to the same hotel. He said the rapes always occurred in rooms with two beds. The mother and one daughter would typically sit on one bed, he said, while Brown had sex with the other daughter on the other bed. He said the girls often cried during the rapes. “Sometimes he would stop if they cried loud enough,” Bennett said. “Other times he wouldn’t.” The younger sister testified that they followed the same routine every time after checking into the motel. “He would take off his clothes. Mom would take off her clothes, and they would have sex,” the girl said. “And then he would come to me.”
The mother testified that Brown, whom she identified as a cousin, wanted to get both of her daughters pregnant so he could expand the size of his family. At one point, Bennett asked the mother if she could see what Brown was doing to the girls. “Correct. I’d tell him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He told me he’s the head of the household, and he wanted things to go the way he wanted them to go.”
She didn’t have a clear answer when Bennett asked why she allowed the abuse to happen. “Why didn’t you turn around in Emporia and go home?” Bennett asked. “I should have, but I didn’t,” she said.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Question: I got a speeding ticket and the officer told me I had a warrant out. What do I do?
This was a question submitted through my sister site. Newspaperattorney.com
Newspaperattorney.com is a site that I created and where I allow people to write in and I will answer questions for them about legal issues. Currently we have about 17 newspapers publishing the article in their print or on their website. This was a recent question that I thought may be relevant for the this blog.
Q: I live in Kansas and I was pulled over for speeding in Kansas. When I got pulled over the officer told me I had a warrant out for my arrest. The officer didn't arrest me but told me to clear it up. He also told me my license was suspended. I don't know why the warrant was issued or where the warrant is from. What should I do?
A: I would start in Kansas, and I would start with the Kansas Department of Revenue. Most of the time people have a warrant out for not showing up to court. Many times this is because a person has a traffic ticket they didn't take care of. When you get a ticket and don't go to court then the judge will often do two things: 1) Suspend your driver's license 2) issue a warrant for your arrest. This may be what happened. To find out where the ticket was issued you can go to the Kansas Department of Revenue's website and check why your license is suspended. This video will explain how to do it.
Once you have found out where your license is suspended then you can begin the process of taking care of the warrant and addressing the suspension. If this doesn't provide you with the answer you need (no warrants are present) then you may have a warrant out for a criminal case. If the warrant is because of a criminal case you may want to contact a criminal defense lawyer so that he/she can surrender you to the court and get a bond set for your release. This may save you money on a bond, and will give you an opportunity to talk with a criminal defense lawyer. To determine if you have a warrant on a criminal case you can go to the jail in your county and ask, or you can have a lawyer send in a written request to the sheriff's office. Beware if you go in to the jail they may arrest you if you have a warrant out. Depending on what state you are in this process will obviously differ. Spend a little time researching on google and call a local criminal defense lawyer if you need additional help. Good Luck!
Newspaperattorney.com is a site that I created and where I allow people to write in and I will answer questions for them about legal issues. Currently we have about 17 newspapers publishing the article in their print or on their website. This was a recent question that I thought may be relevant for the this blog.
Q: I live in Kansas and I was pulled over for speeding in Kansas. When I got pulled over the officer told me I had a warrant out for my arrest. The officer didn't arrest me but told me to clear it up. He also told me my license was suspended. I don't know why the warrant was issued or where the warrant is from. What should I do?
A: I would start in Kansas, and I would start with the Kansas Department of Revenue. Most of the time people have a warrant out for not showing up to court. Many times this is because a person has a traffic ticket they didn't take care of. When you get a ticket and don't go to court then the judge will often do two things: 1) Suspend your driver's license 2) issue a warrant for your arrest. This may be what happened. To find out where the ticket was issued you can go to the Kansas Department of Revenue's website and check why your license is suspended. This video will explain how to do it.
Once you have found out where your license is suspended then you can begin the process of taking care of the warrant and addressing the suspension. If this doesn't provide you with the answer you need (no warrants are present) then you may have a warrant out for a criminal case. If the warrant is because of a criminal case you may want to contact a criminal defense lawyer so that he/she can surrender you to the court and get a bond set for your release. This may save you money on a bond, and will give you an opportunity to talk with a criminal defense lawyer. To determine if you have a warrant on a criminal case you can go to the jail in your county and ask, or you can have a lawyer send in a written request to the sheriff's office. Beware if you go in to the jail they may arrest you if you have a warrant out. Depending on what state you are in this process will obviously differ. Spend a little time researching on google and call a local criminal defense lawyer if you need additional help. Good Luck!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Fake Pot is more like PCP than Marijuana
Looks like a drug task force seized some Fake marijuana from some local business people this week. The police had been buying this stuff from the the store to do some testing on it to determine its chemical composition. They were doing this to see if it fell within the confines of the prior state ban on such substances. It did not; however, the sought to have it outlawed under UR 144. The new substance had been the cause of several people getting admitted to the hospital over the last few weeks.As it turns out the "potpourri" which is marketed as fake marijuana is actually more like PCP chemically. Users of the drug believed it to be like pot and more difficult to overdose on. This misconception led to overuse or the drug and that ended up with several people in the hospital. Do yourself a favor, and don't use this stuff. It seems dangerous.
If you find yourself in need of a criminal defense lawyer because of possession of this chemical or because of some action you did why under the influence of this chemical please give our office a call.
Here is the article published in the Salina Journal.
SALINA, Kan. — Kansas law enforcement officers seized herbal potpourri from three Salina businesses and one alleged supplier even as federal agents nationwide were embarking on an unrelated crackdown against manufacturers and sellers of synthetic designer drugs. The Salina Journal (http://bit.ly/SW4gw6) reported Thursday that no arrests were made during the Salina seizures, which were conducted Wednesday by the I-135-I-70 Drug Task Force. Separately, the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday seized more than $36 million in cash and arrested 91 people in the nationwide crackdown.
In Salina, the businesses voluntarily handed over their supplies after being informed of a ban on chemical substance UR 144 that went into effect in Kansas on Monday, Lt. Jim Norton, commander of the I-135-I-70 Drug Task Force, said. Police were holding the seized items as evidence. "The owners believed they were selling legal drugs that are not controlled," Norton said. "That was true until Monday, when it became controlled." A local business that was importing large quantities of the substance and supplying it to other stores was notified of that change Wednesday, he said. While officers were in the stores seizing the synthetic drugs, several people came in seeking to buy herbal potpourri, he said.
Salina police started seeing cases of people overdosing on herbal potpourri, considered an alternative to marijuana, and another designer drug called bath salts in spring 2010. Salina's police chief testified in January 2011 before a legislative committee against the synthetics, calling them mind-altering, dangerous drugs. The Legislature later passed a bill to make it illegal to manufacture, sell, distribute or possess seven classes of chemicals known to be applied to dried plant material and sold as "herbal potpourri" or "incense." That law worked to keep local sales of the designer drugs out of Salina for about a year, Norton said. When they started emerging again several months ago, police started buying quantities of the drugs at the three stores for lab testing.
Norton said tests showed the substances being sold were a new class of chemical that wasn't covered by the earlier state ban. That led the police department, Johnson County crime lab and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to seek an emergency order to take them off the streets. The Kansas Board of Pharmacy approved a temporary ban on UR 144 a week ago; the Legislative Joint Committee on Rules and Regulations voted Monday to put it into effect immediately. Dr. Keir Swisher, co-medical director of Salina Regional Health Center's emergency department, said large numbers of people having bad reactions to herbal potpourri and bath salts started showing up in the emergency room in September 2000. Swisher compared patients he was seeing in Salina during the initial wave of herbal potpourri and bath salts usage to PCP and crack addicts he had regularly treated at a Chicago hospital. He said he had no doubt that long-term usage could cause permanent damage to the brain and other body systems.
The Salina hospital hadn't seen an herbal potpourri patient for four or five months before a resurgence that started about six weeks ago. In the last month-and-a-half, Swisher said, an average of two to three patients per week were being brought in, including a 15-year-old who bought the herbal potpourri locally. Norton said herbal potpourri, with all of its chemicals, is more like PCP than marijuana. But because it's marketed as an alternative to marijuana, users don't realize they can overdose on it. "It mimics PCP with a rapid heart rate, aggression, agitation and breathing problems," Norton said. "The issues it's causing to people's bodies are unbelievable. It has to be stopped."
In Salina, the businesses voluntarily handed over their supplies after being informed of a ban on chemical substance UR 144 that went into effect in Kansas on Monday, Lt. Jim Norton, commander of the I-135-I-70 Drug Task Force, said. Police were holding the seized items as evidence. "The owners believed they were selling legal drugs that are not controlled," Norton said. "That was true until Monday, when it became controlled." A local business that was importing large quantities of the substance and supplying it to other stores was notified of that change Wednesday, he said. While officers were in the stores seizing the synthetic drugs, several people came in seeking to buy herbal potpourri, he said.
Salina police started seeing cases of people overdosing on herbal potpourri, considered an alternative to marijuana, and another designer drug called bath salts in spring 2010. Salina's police chief testified in January 2011 before a legislative committee against the synthetics, calling them mind-altering, dangerous drugs. The Legislature later passed a bill to make it illegal to manufacture, sell, distribute or possess seven classes of chemicals known to be applied to dried plant material and sold as "herbal potpourri" or "incense." That law worked to keep local sales of the designer drugs out of Salina for about a year, Norton said. When they started emerging again several months ago, police started buying quantities of the drugs at the three stores for lab testing.
Norton said tests showed the substances being sold were a new class of chemical that wasn't covered by the earlier state ban. That led the police department, Johnson County crime lab and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to seek an emergency order to take them off the streets. The Kansas Board of Pharmacy approved a temporary ban on UR 144 a week ago; the Legislative Joint Committee on Rules and Regulations voted Monday to put it into effect immediately. Dr. Keir Swisher, co-medical director of Salina Regional Health Center's emergency department, said large numbers of people having bad reactions to herbal potpourri and bath salts started showing up in the emergency room in September 2000. Swisher compared patients he was seeing in Salina during the initial wave of herbal potpourri and bath salts usage to PCP and crack addicts he had regularly treated at a Chicago hospital. He said he had no doubt that long-term usage could cause permanent damage to the brain and other body systems.
The Salina hospital hadn't seen an herbal potpourri patient for four or five months before a resurgence that started about six weeks ago. In the last month-and-a-half, Swisher said, an average of two to three patients per week were being brought in, including a 15-year-old who bought the herbal potpourri locally. Norton said herbal potpourri, with all of its chemicals, is more like PCP than marijuana. But because it's marketed as an alternative to marijuana, users don't realize they can overdose on it. "It mimics PCP with a rapid heart rate, aggression, agitation and breathing problems," Norton said. "The issues it's causing to people's bodies are unbelievable. It has to be stopped."
Information from: The Salina Journal, http://www.salina.com
Friday, July 27, 2012
Kansas Drug case keeps on growing...
I'll just say it right now. College kids smoke pot. This is not the news of the century. Four out of every five people that come into my office with misdemeanor pot possession charges looking for a criminal defense lawyer are either in college or are college age. It is a great privilege to be a basketball player at the University of Kansas, however, it is not completely unheard of for a college kid to act like a college kid. Regardless of if they play basketball or not.
This is why I don't understand why the idea that some college kid may have bought pot from a drug dealer is a big deal. I think the real story is the size of this bust. We are talking about quite a lot of drugs and quite a lot of money. The charges just seem to keep on coming and this case keeps growing as if to no end. Here is the article in the Kansas City Star about the new charges and the size of the bust.
Kansas Drug Case expands to 101 counts, 35 indicted
The Associated Press
This is why I don't understand why the idea that some college kid may have bought pot from a drug dealer is a big deal. I think the real story is the size of this bust. We are talking about quite a lot of drugs and quite a lot of money. The charges just seem to keep on coming and this case keeps growing as if to no end. Here is the article in the Kansas City Star about the new charges and the size of the bust.
Kansas Drug Case expands to 101 counts, 35 indicted
The Associated Press
WICHITA -- Nearly
three dozen people were indicted Thursday for what federal prosecutors
say was a ring that supplied about $17 million worth of “high-grade”
drugs to customers, including marijuana to members of last year's
University of Kansas basketball team.
The U.S. Attorney's office for Kansas said the 101-count indictment involves 35 defendants, most of them from Kansas. The defendants supplied drugs to residents in Johnson and Douglas counties, prosecutors said.
At a hearing last month, assistant U.S. attorney Terra Moorhead said one of the defendants, a 32-year-old Overland Park man, supplied marijuana to multiple members of the Jayhawks' 2010-11 basketball squad. The university would not comment on the case then and officials with the school did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Thursday.
The university said then that its internal drug-testing policy requires all freshman or new transfer student athletes to take a drug test “within a reasonable amount of time” after arriving on campus. All teams that qualify for postseason play also may be subject to testing. The indictment stemmed from an original federal complaint filed in June that accused 25 people and included only one count. The new charges including conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 kilos of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms.
In announcing the indictment Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release that two Lawrence residents, Los Rovell Dahda, 30, and Chad Eugene Bauman, 33, “made millions” leading the drug ring. Lawyers listed in online court records as representing Dahda and Bauman did not immediately return phone messages left Thursday evening. Prosecutors are seeking additional penalties for several of the defendants for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of high schools, a middle school and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence from about 2005 to 2012. They're also asking a judge to order the forfeiture of $16.9 million in cash and real estate they allege was gained from the scheme.
The U.S. Attorney's office for Kansas said the 101-count indictment involves 35 defendants, most of them from Kansas. The defendants supplied drugs to residents in Johnson and Douglas counties, prosecutors said.
At a hearing last month, assistant U.S. attorney Terra Moorhead said one of the defendants, a 32-year-old Overland Park man, supplied marijuana to multiple members of the Jayhawks' 2010-11 basketball squad. The university would not comment on the case then and officials with the school did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Thursday.
The university said then that its internal drug-testing policy requires all freshman or new transfer student athletes to take a drug test “within a reasonable amount of time” after arriving on campus. All teams that qualify for postseason play also may be subject to testing. The indictment stemmed from an original federal complaint filed in June that accused 25 people and included only one count. The new charges including conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 kilos of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms.
In announcing the indictment Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release that two Lawrence residents, Los Rovell Dahda, 30, and Chad Eugene Bauman, 33, “made millions” leading the drug ring. Lawyers listed in online court records as representing Dahda and Bauman did not immediately return phone messages left Thursday evening. Prosecutors are seeking additional penalties for several of the defendants for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of high schools, a middle school and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence from about 2005 to 2012. They're also asking a judge to order the forfeiture of $16.9 million in cash and real estate they allege was gained from the scheme.
Monday, March 26, 2012
People Organize in Kansas to express support for Florida Teen's tragic death.
I'm not one to chime in to much on controversal criminal actions but it appears that many people across the nation are outraged with the death of this young man. I am not sure what exactly happened but its just a damn shame this kid died. I think that this man needs to stop pretending he is a police officer.
I understand protecting your belongings and your family, but maybe this man should have just let it go or called the police and let them pursue it. Police have special training for these types of conflict situations and there is a reason for that. This is it. Normal people aren't equiped to fight crime.
It appears that many other people feel the same way. Here is the article in the Eagle.
Hundreds march in northeast Wichita to protest Fla. teen’s killing
By: Dion Lefler
About 500 Wichitans gathered Friday for a march to protest the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teenager at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida — and to call for repeal of a Kansas “stand your ground” law that is apparently more permissive of violence than the Florida statute that has shielded the shooter there from arrest.
The hastily organized protest started with about 250 people, with hundreds more driving by honking in support. Many of those passers-by parked and joined the demonstration, which began at the corner of 21st and Hillside and marched twice back and forth to a nearby Wichita police substation. The march coincided with demonstrations across the country — some reaching the tens of thousands — protesting the shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17.
President Obama said the shooting should prompt Americans to “do some soul-searching.”
Personalizing the incident, the president said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Trayvon was shot Feb. 26 while walking home from a convenience store in the gated community of Sanford, Fla. Trayvon, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt in a light rain, had been watching the NBA All-Star game and walked to the store to buy iced tea and Skittles candies. The local neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, spotted Trayvon and called 911 to report him as a suspicious person. Ignoring a dispatcher’s advice not to pursue, Zimmerman left his car and followed Trayvon on foot, leading to the confrontation where the teen was shot to death.
Trayvon’s girlfriend has said she was on the phone with him until moments before his death and that he was scared that Zimmerman was following him. Police emergency tapes recorded someone screaming for help just before a gunshot, and what may have been a muttered racial slur by Zimmerman. An attorney for Zimmerman said that his client is not racist and that the facts will show he acted in self-defense. Orlando criminal defense attorney Craig Sonner said Friday on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 that he has advised Zimmerman to cooperate in the investigation. Zimmerman told Sanford police that he shot Martin after a fight. The controversy went national because Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman or confiscate his weapon, saying he was shielded by Florida’s stand-your-ground law, which authorizes private citizens to use deadly force if they feel threatened with attack.
The Sanford police chief, who defended the decision not to arrest Zimmerman, has temporarily stepped down pending further investigation by state and federal authorities. Many of the demonstrators in Wichita and elsewhere have joined in protest in what is being loosely termed the “Million Hoodie March,” a reference to the apparel item — a hooded sweatshirt — that appeared to have raised Zimmerman’s suspicions. Marchers also waved cans of iced tea and bags of Skittles amid alternating chants of “I am Trayvon’s mother” and “I am Trayvon’s father.”
Treva Smith, marketing director for a home-health-care company, took time off from work to hold a sign reading “I love Skittles, iced tea and I’m black. Am I next?” She said she came to the march in support of Trayvon’s family. “I don’t think justice has been served and I don’t think it’s going to be served,” she said. Parrishon Marshall said the law has clearly failed. “Kim Kardashian, they arrested someone for throwing flour on her, but nobody’s been arrested in this shooting,” she said. While the marchers were predominantly African-American, a substantial number of white people also joined the protest. Among them were the Rev. Gary Blaine, pastor of the Hearth, a Congregational church.
“Shoot first and ask questions later is part of the DNA of western society,” he said. “When you get those two things, racism and violence, wrapped together, it’s truly deadly.”
Mary Dean, a leader of the group Kansas Justice Advocates, said she was surprised by the turnout since she’d had only one day to get the word out. “I really wasn’t expecting this big of a crowd,” she said. “People are really passionate about this issue.” She carried a sign calling for the repeal of the stand-your-ground law. “You can be walking with a hoodie and someone thinks you look suspicious and you can be shot? It’s scary,” she said.
I understand protecting your belongings and your family, but maybe this man should have just let it go or called the police and let them pursue it. Police have special training for these types of conflict situations and there is a reason for that. This is it. Normal people aren't equiped to fight crime.
It appears that many other people feel the same way. Here is the article in the Eagle.
Hundreds march in northeast Wichita to protest Fla. teen’s killing
By: Dion Lefler
About 500 Wichitans gathered Friday for a march to protest the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teenager at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida — and to call for repeal of a Kansas “stand your ground” law that is apparently more permissive of violence than the Florida statute that has shielded the shooter there from arrest.
The hastily organized protest started with about 250 people, with hundreds more driving by honking in support. Many of those passers-by parked and joined the demonstration, which began at the corner of 21st and Hillside and marched twice back and forth to a nearby Wichita police substation. The march coincided with demonstrations across the country — some reaching the tens of thousands — protesting the shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17.
President Obama said the shooting should prompt Americans to “do some soul-searching.”
Personalizing the incident, the president said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Trayvon was shot Feb. 26 while walking home from a convenience store in the gated community of Sanford, Fla. Trayvon, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt in a light rain, had been watching the NBA All-Star game and walked to the store to buy iced tea and Skittles candies. The local neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, spotted Trayvon and called 911 to report him as a suspicious person. Ignoring a dispatcher’s advice not to pursue, Zimmerman left his car and followed Trayvon on foot, leading to the confrontation where the teen was shot to death.
Trayvon’s girlfriend has said she was on the phone with him until moments before his death and that he was scared that Zimmerman was following him. Police emergency tapes recorded someone screaming for help just before a gunshot, and what may have been a muttered racial slur by Zimmerman. An attorney for Zimmerman said that his client is not racist and that the facts will show he acted in self-defense. Orlando criminal defense attorney Craig Sonner said Friday on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 that he has advised Zimmerman to cooperate in the investigation. Zimmerman told Sanford police that he shot Martin after a fight. The controversy went national because Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman or confiscate his weapon, saying he was shielded by Florida’s stand-your-ground law, which authorizes private citizens to use deadly force if they feel threatened with attack.
The Sanford police chief, who defended the decision not to arrest Zimmerman, has temporarily stepped down pending further investigation by state and federal authorities. Many of the demonstrators in Wichita and elsewhere have joined in protest in what is being loosely termed the “Million Hoodie March,” a reference to the apparel item — a hooded sweatshirt — that appeared to have raised Zimmerman’s suspicions. Marchers also waved cans of iced tea and bags of Skittles amid alternating chants of “I am Trayvon’s mother” and “I am Trayvon’s father.”
Treva Smith, marketing director for a home-health-care company, took time off from work to hold a sign reading “I love Skittles, iced tea and I’m black. Am I next?” She said she came to the march in support of Trayvon’s family. “I don’t think justice has been served and I don’t think it’s going to be served,” she said. Parrishon Marshall said the law has clearly failed. “Kim Kardashian, they arrested someone for throwing flour on her, but nobody’s been arrested in this shooting,” she said. While the marchers were predominantly African-American, a substantial number of white people also joined the protest. Among them were the Rev. Gary Blaine, pastor of the Hearth, a Congregational church.
“Shoot first and ask questions later is part of the DNA of western society,” he said. “When you get those two things, racism and violence, wrapped together, it’s truly deadly.”
Mary Dean, a leader of the group Kansas Justice Advocates, said she was surprised by the turnout since she’d had only one day to get the word out. “I really wasn’t expecting this big of a crowd,” she said. “People are really passionate about this issue.” She carried a sign calling for the repeal of the stand-your-ground law. “You can be walking with a hoodie and someone thinks you look suspicious and you can be shot? It’s scary,” she said.
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