Kansas
Former Kansas reporter accepts $235K settlement in lawsuit over police raid of local newspaper
A former reporter for a Kansas newspaper has accepted $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the local newspaper that made national headlines for concerns about press freedom violations.
Former Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver reached the settlement on June 25 following her lawsuit against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, who is accused of reinjuring Gruver’s previously injured hand when he allegedly grabbed her personal phone during an Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the newspaper.
The settlement removed Cody from the lawsuit, but the Marion County sheriff and the county’s prosecutor – who were also sued by Gruver over the raid – were not covered by the settlement, according to The Associated Press.
Gruver’s lawsuit is one of five federal suits filed over the raid against the city, county and eight current or former elected officials or law enforcement officers.
KANSAS POLICE RAID NEWSPAPER’S OFFICE, PUBLISHER’S HOME TO SEIZE RECORDS; REPORTER INJURED
A former reporter for the Marion County Record in Kansas has accepted $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit after she was injured during a police raid on the newspaper. (AP)
Cody led the raid on the newspaper’s office, the home of publisher Eric Meyer and the home of a then-city council member after a source contacted the newspaper and the then-city council member with information about a restaurant owner who was trying to obtain a liquor license.
The source said Kari Newell had been convicted of drunk driving and was driving without a valid driver’s license, and that law enforcement was allegedly ignoring Newell’s repeated violations.
Meyer decided not to publish the story and instead told Cody and Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez about the information offered by the source. Law enforcement then launched an investigation and obtained a search warrant for evidence of identity theft and criminal use of a computer and alerted Newell.
Computers, cellphones and reporting materials were then seized over alleged violations related to identity theft and unlawful acts concerning computers after a search warrant was signed by Marion County District Court Magistrate Judge Laura Viar. Law enforcement was also given authorization to search for devices used to access the Kansas Department of Revenue’s records website, as well as documents and records pertaining to Newell.
KANSAS REPORTER SUES TOWN, LOCAL OFFICIALS OVER POLICE RAID OF NEWSPAPER OFFICE
The federal Privacy Protection Act prohibits law enforcement from most searches of journalists and newsrooms and usually requires police to issue subpoenas rather than search warrants. The police department said at the time that the law does not apply to instances when journalists are suspected of criminal wrongdoing.
At the time, Cody said he had evidence that the newspaper, reporter Phyllis Zorn and the then-city council member had committed identity theft or other computer crimes through obtaining information about Newell. The three denied doing anything illegal and charges were never filed.
Zorn is seeking $950,000 in damages in her federal lawsuit for being deprived of press and speech freedoms and the protection from unreasonable police searches guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit by former Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver is one of five federal lawsuits filed over the raid of the newspaper. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
During the search of the newspaper office and Meyer’s home, officers removed two computers and an Alexa smart speaker used by Meyer’s 98-year-old mother and newspaper co-owner. She collapsed and died in her home the day after the raid despite otherwise being in good health for her age, her son said at the time.
Meyer and the newspaper filed a federal lawsuit alleging the raid caused his mother’s death. The lawsuit also suggested the raid was carried out in response to an investigation into Cody’s background.
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Cody seized Gruber’s personal phone and had her desk searched. While she was not involved in obtaining the driving record, she was investigating Cody’s past.
The raid led to national outrage over press freedom concerns. Cody resigned as police chief less than two months after the raid.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kansas
Kansas City, Missouri, police searching for 30-year-old missing man
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is asking for the public’s help locating a missing man.
Jacob Phillips, 30, was last talked to around 10:17 p.m. Wednesday.
Phillips is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel-colored eyes, according to KCPD.
Police said his family is concerned for his well-being.
If anyone sees Phillips, they are urged to call the KCPD Missing Persons Unit at 816-234-5043 or 911.
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Kansas
Kansas State freshman Jack Fleischaker, 19, dies after falling from fraternity house window
A Kansas State University freshman died after he fell from a fraternity house window — just weeks away from the end of the semester.
Jack Fleischaker, 19, plunged from a second-floor window at the Sigma Chi house on the Manhattan, Kan., campus around 3:15 a.m. on April 25.
He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, but died three days later, according to the Riley County Police Department.
Police are investigating exactly how the fatal fall unfolded, but said foul play is not suspected.
“RCPD extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and the K-State community during this very tragic time,” the department said in a statement to People.
The fraternity said Fleischaker’s death appears to be accidental.
“This was a heartbreaking accident, and there is no indication that anyone is at fault,” Sigma Chi International Fraternity spokesperson Michael Church said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jack’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. We are actively supporting the chapter with mental health and wellness resources and are grateful for the assistance provided by Kansas State University’s administration as well.”
Fleischaker, from Overland Park, Kan., was studying accounting and finance and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, according to his LinkedIn and Instagram profiles.
As police continue to investigate, Kansas State University said it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“The university has offered support to the family and has also offered assistance and student support resources to the fraternity members,” spokesperson Michelle Geering said in a statement to the Kansas City Star.
“We are reviewing available information to determine the next steps in accordance with our policies and procedures.”
The horrifying incident comes four years after Sigma Chi’s University of Kansas chapter was shut down by its national organization in 2022 over hazing violations and lying about it.
There have been no recent hazing reports involving the Kansas State chapter, according to the Kansas City Star.
Friends and family are reeling from the sudden loss.
“This is a tragic accident that nobody anticipated,” family pastor and friend Gar Demo told KMBC.
“Every trajectory in their life has changed in an instant,” he added.
Demo said the family has faced devastating loss before. Fleischaker’s sister Natalie died 13 years ago from a brain tumor.
“[The family] went through the incredible pain of losing a child then, and I think they’re asking the question,” Demo said.
“All of us who know them are asking, why did this happen? How could this happen to this family?”
“I think to walk with them again in a different kind of situation but still to lose another child is just not something I have a playbook for,” he said.
“But we walk with our faith and we walk there and we show our strength with them and surround them with the love that we can share.”
In the days after the fall, hundreds gathered at the hospital to say their goodbyes, according to KAKE News.
Fleischaker was an organ donor and is expected to help save lives.
Kansas
Kansas Supreme Court affirms conviction in Wichita teen’s 2021 murder
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A man had his conviction in the 2021 killing of a Wichita teen upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday.
In a unanimous opinion, the court says that there was plenty of evidence to convict Tyler Kelly and that he had a fair trial.
Kelly was found guilty by a Sedgwick County jury in 2023 of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary and aggravated assault in the July 17, 2021, shooting death of 16-year-old Joseph Florence. Court records show Kelly and a 16-year-old broke into Florence’s home to confront him over a girl.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years for first-degree murder. He also got 43 months for aggravated burglary and 13 months for aggravated assault.
The judge ordered that he serve the 25 years, plus the additional 56 months before he could be considered for parole.
Kelly appealed his conviction. He argued there was not enough evidence to prove he entered Florence’s home illegally or intended to commit a crime, and he made claims of multiple incidents of prosecutorial error. He also argued that the jury should have been given use-of-force instructions to support his self-defense claim.
In an opinion written by Justice Larkin Walsh, the court says there is more than sufficient evidence that Kelly entered the home illegally with intent to assault Florence. The justices determined that Kelly received a fair trial that was free from prosecutorial error.
“We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to affirm these convictions,” the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “This ruling brings a final measure of justice to the victims and their families, and it validates the hard work of our prosecutors and local law enforcement in securing this conviction.”
Kelly is currently housed in the Hutchinson Correctional Facility with an earliest possible release date of May 1, 2048, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
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