Kansas
Kansas judge throws out machine gun possession charge, cites Second Amendment
A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment.
If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns, including homemade automatic weapons that many police and prosecutors blame for fueling gun violence.
Broomes, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted last year. Morgan was accused of possessing a model AM-15 .300-caliber machine gun and a machine gun conversion device known as a “Glock switch” that can make a semi-automatic weapon fire like a machine gun.
“The court finds that the Second Amendment applies to the weapons charged because they are ‘bearable arms’ within the original meaning of the amendment,” Broomes wrote. He added that the government “has the burden to show that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical firearm regulation tradition.”
As of Friday, no appeal had been filed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita declined comment.
Federal prosecutors in the case said in earlier court filings that the “Supreme Court has made clear that regulations of machineguns fall outside the Second Amendment.”
A June 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was seen as a major expansion of gun rights. The ruling said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
Jacob Charles, an associate law professor at Pepperdine University who tracks Second Amendment cases, said the Kansas ruling is direct fallout from the Bruen decision.
“It gives lower court judges the ability to pick and choose the historical record in a way that they think the Second Amendment should be read,” Charles said.
Charles expects Broomes’ ruling to be overturned, citing Supreme Court precedent allowing for regulation of machine guns.
Communities across the U.S. have dealt with a surge of shootings carried out with weapons converted to fully automatic in recent years. These weapons are typically converted using small pieces of metal made with a 3D printer or ordered online.
Guns with conversion devices have been used in several mass shootings, including one that left four dead at a Sweet Sixteen party in Alabama last year and another that left six people dead in a bar district in Sacramento, California, in 2022. In Houston, police officer William Jeffrey died in 2021 after being shot with a converted gun while serving a warrant.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available, The Associated Press reported in March.
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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