Month: February 2017

Man indicted for stealing running gear

A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging an Olathe man who worked at a store catering to runners with stealing more than $250,000 in merchandise, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Craig W. Sullivan, 41, Olathe, Kan., is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleges the crimes occurred while Sullivan worked for Garry Gribble’s Running Sports, which has five locations in the Kansas City area. Sullivan oversaw merchandise arriving at the main store in Overland Park. He was responsible for distributing merchandise to the other locations.

The indictment alleges Sullivan stole merchandise — mainly Garmin GPS running watches – and sold them to an individual in California who operated an online business on eBay. Sullivan shipped the stolen merchandise to California via the U.S. Postal Service and received payment via PayPal, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. The indictment alleges he received 51 payments totaling about $275,780.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The U.S. Postal Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

Sullivan is innocent until proven guilty.

KCK student receives KU undergraduate research award

A student from Kansas City, Kan., is one of 51 University of Kansas students receiving a $1,000 undergraduate research award to pursue academic projects.

Jeffery Heppler, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., majoring in environmental studies, will receive the grant to study “Cuban Agricultural Transitions and Renewing U.S. Relations,” mentored by Paul Stock, sociology.

Storm spotter training offered Feb. 21

A Storm Spotter Training Seminar will be offered from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Technical Education Center, 6565 State Ave., Kansas City, Kan.

The seminar’s host is the Wyandotte County Emergency Management. The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo., is presenting the program.

The program may be of interest from those who are interested in storms and want to be better prepared to deal with severe weather.

The interactive seminar is designed to enhance attendees’ ability to correctly recognize, identify and relay information about severe weather, according to a spokesman. It also demonstrates the difference between severe from non-severe weather.

Real -time reports are critical to the National Weather Service warning forecasters during severe weather events.

This class is free and open to people of all ages and will leave you with the knowledge on “how to” and “what to” report to the National Weather Service.