August 2016 – Page 84 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Dupree says he’s ready to do his part to make Wyandotte County safer

Mark Dupree, who won election in the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s contest on Tuesday night, said today that he was excited about helping and doing his part to make Wyandotte County safer.

Dupree defeated incumbent District Attorney Jerome Gorman, 7,052 votes to 4,840 votes, according to the unofficial election results from the election commissioner’s office. There was a 21 percent voter turnout, considered high for this county. There are no Republicans running for the office in November. Gorman has been district attorney since 2004 and has been a prosecutor in the office for 35 years.

“I’m also grateful to Wyandotte County citizens for electing me,” Dupree said. “They voted for me, and I’m going to do everything in my power to serve to the best of the ability I have.” He added he always wants to end with “To God be the glory.”

Dupree said he plans to take a proactive approach to dealing with crime, while prosecuting very effectively in the courtroom. He said he favors prosecution against violent crimes, while using such tools as veterans court, drug court and diversion on smaller nonviolent offenses. He is concerned about dealing with truancy and the pipeline from schools to prison.

He credited God and hard work for his win.

Dupree is the child of two pastors in Kansas City, Kan., and he said, “The Lord told me to run, and if I ran, I would win.”

Dupree, 34, is an attorney in private practice. His brother, Timothy Dupree, was elected a Wyandotte County District Court judge in 2014.

He said he has been working hard for a year and a half, engaging with the community and talking about their issues.

“You cannot serve people unless you have an ear for the people,” he said.

“The only way we can make Wyandotte safer is if we do it together,” he said.

Also, he credited his wife, Shanelle Dupree, a lawyer who served as campaign manager, coordinating a social media campaign and a ground campaign.

“I’m thankful for the years that Gorman gave to Wyandotte County and I believe that we will be able to build off the foundation that is there to further assist and help make Wyandotte County safer,” Dupree said.

Arizona man sentenced in real estate fraud case

An Arizona man was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison for taking part in a real estate fraud scheme in which developers borrowed to build townhomes at Table Rock Lake, acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said today. In addition, he was ordered to pay more than $14.2 million in restitution.

James B. Clarkson, 45, Casa Grande, Ariz., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

In his plea, he admitted that while he was working as a mortgage broker he entered into an agreement with co-defendants David Drake and Donald Snider to advertise and obtain investors for their Indian Ridge Project. Drake and Snider planned to construct townhomes near Table Rock Lake and sell them as vacation homes.

Clarkson prepared loan applications for buyers in which he made false statements. He inflated borrowers’ income to make sure they qualified for loans.

Drake and Snider obtained 51 construction loans for their project. The loan agreements required construction costs be paid before seeking reimbursement. Instead, Drake and Snider failed to do enough construction to justify the funding they received. Only 13 homes were started and none of them were completed. Drake and Snider used the money from the loans for personal expenses and expenses related to other construction projects.

Drake and Snider are awaiting sentencing.

Beall commended the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Secret Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.

Community members turn out for Night Out Against Crime

by Lou Braswell

The Neighborhood Crime Prevention Patrol presented National Night Out Against Crime Aug. 2 at the National Guard Armory, 18th and Ridge.

The attendance shows our community’s willingness to work together. There were commercial tables with information, along with many of neighborhood watch groups willing to share information.

Mayor Mark Holland, Police Chief Terry Ziegler, Fire Chief John Paul Jones, and Sheriff Don Ash spoke to the group. Also on display was a Wall to Remember Exhibit of Kansas Fallen Military. Debbie Austin is the state of Kansas representative for the exhibit.

Jack Barnes, president of American Fallen Warrior Memorial Foundation, was also present to discuss the progress toward having a permanent memorial located in Kansas City, Kan. The foundation hopes to build a national memorial here. He was one of the speakers at the event.

2016 National Night Out Against Crime shirts were available to the first 100 neighborhood group members to register at the event.

NCPP works closely with the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department by patrolling areas in Kansas City, Kan., reporting anything that seems suspicious, helping with the search and rescues when called upon. The neighborhood patrollers are referred to as the “eyes and ears” of law enforcement officers. Classes to become a patroller with NCPP are conducted yearly at the Police Academy with a class beginning in September. Those who are interested may contact Kendall McReynolds at [email protected]
for information.

Lou Braswell is an NCPP board member.