Month: August 2016

Heat advisory in effect from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. today

Heat advisory in effect Thursday. (National Weather Service graphic
Heat advisory in effect Thursday. (National Weather Service graphic

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, as the high is expected to 96 today with a heat index of 106.

According to the weather service, this weekend will be cooler with showers and thunderstorms possible. Some storms may produce heavy rain.

Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m., the weather service said. The low will be around 75 and a south wind will be 5 to 7 mph, becoming west after midnight.

Friday, expect a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 85, the weather service said. It will be mostly cloudy with a high 85, and a north northeast wind of 5 to 8 mph.

Friday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 69 and a northeast wind of 7 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday’s forecast includes a 30 percent chance of storms and showers, with a high near 79 and an east northeast wind of7 to 10 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday night, the chance of rain and storms is 50 percent, with a low of 68, the weather service said.

Sunday, expect a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 84, according to the weather service.

Federal grand jury indicts KCK man on drug, gun charge

Imon L. Wright, 34, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 30, 2016, in Wyandotte County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the marijuana charge, not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the first firearm charge, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the second firearm charge. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Tobacco investigated. Tris Hunt is prosecuting for the U.S. attorney’s office.

New sheriff’s vehicle hit by gunfire today

A new sheriff’s deputy vehicle had only been on the road for a day or two when its window was shot out, according to Wyandotte County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Kelli Bailiff.

She said the new Dodge Charger, a marked white sheriff’s vehicle with blue lettering, was parked in the driveway of a deputy this morning when the damage was discovered. No one was in the car at the time of the shooting.

The shooting happened between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. today in the 2500 block of North 57th St., sheriff’s officers believe. The sheriff’s vehicle was one of the vehicles that officers may drive home. Dispatchers received a call about shots fired in the area, she said.

The deputy had worked the night shift and had been at home for a few hours when the damage was discovered, she said.

“Our deputy walked out and made contact with the officers and realized someone had fired five to six shots into the window of his new vehicle,” Lt. Bailiff said. “He just got it yesterday or the day before, brand new to the department.

“That part stings a little bit, because we’re short on vehicles anyway,” she said.

But the car is salvageable, she added. There is some damage to the window and some internal damage that is being assessed, possible damage to the dashboard, she added. She doesn’t think the police radio or the police cameras have been damaged.

The case is just being treated as a criminal damage case at this point, like any other damage to a vehicle, she said. Criminal damage to sheriff’s vehicles has happened occasionally in the past, she added.

Lt. Bailiff asked anyone with information about it to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Officers are more diligent and more vigilant of their surroundings every day, Lt. Bailiff said. They’re not riding in pairs in the Sheriff’s Department, as the police officers here are, because of staffing reasons.