Category: Courts

Wichita man arrested in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol breach

A Kansas man was arrested Monday for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Michael Eckerman, 37, of Wichita, is charged with federal offenses that include assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; obstruction of an official proceeding; and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building. Eckerman made his initial court appearance Monday in U.S. Magistrate Court for the District of Kansas.

According to court documents, Eckerman pushed his way to the front of a crowd outside the crypt of the U.S. Capitol building and yelled at officers.

He pushed one officer back several feet, making him fall down a small set of stairs and allowing rioters to move farther inside the Capitol. He then made it to Statuary Hall on the second floor and pushed his way through another set of officers, whom he yelled at for several minutes before making his way through a line of Capitol Police officers, according to court documents.

Eckerman then went through the House of Representatives side of the Capitol and entered the Rayburn reception room before exiting the Capitol through the upper house doors.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City and Washington Field Offices, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police.

In the eight months since Jan. 6, more than 600 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including at least 185 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

KCK woman pleads guilty to carjacking

A Kansas City, Kansas, woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing a vehicle at gunpoint from the parking garage at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.

Maricela Delores Lozano, 21, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

By pleading guilty today, Lozano admitted that she used a Century Arms Draco AK 47-style 9mm pistol during the theft of a Nissan Altima on July 19, 2020.

Lozano approached the owner of the Altima, who was attempting to start her vehicle to leave the parking garage of the Country Club Plaza, at about 5:48 p.m. on July 19, 2020. Lozano brandished the AK 47-style pistol, pointed it at the victim, and demanded her keys and cell phone, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Western District of Missouri.

The victim complied and walked away from the vehicle to a nearby business and used its phone to call the police, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Lozano later told investigators that she got into the driver’s seat and attempted to start the vehicle, but the ignition was a “push to start,” which confused Lozano because she had never encountered such technology. Once Lozano was able to start the vehicle, she drove out of the parking garage. Lozano stole a license plate from a Chevrolet sport utility vehicle and attached it to the Nissan, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Lozano, who was standing beside the stolen vehicle, was spotted by a Missouri State Highway Patrol corporal in a driveway in Fulton, Missouri, on July 21, 2020. When the officer drove toward her, she got into the vehicle and attempted to flee. The officer stopped the vehicle and arrested Lozano and a male passenger. The officer seized the loaded firearm from the floorboard behind the driver’s seat.

Under federal statutes, Lozano is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole, the U.S. attorney’s office stated. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the FBI.

Kansas Supreme Court upholds Wyandotte County murder sentence

The Kansas Supreme Court today upheld a Wyandotte County District Court ruling in a first-degree murder case.

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s ruling denying a motion from Meka Richardson to correct an illegal sentence.

Richardson is currently serving a hard-40 sentence after being convicted in 1992 of first-degree murder. She was convicted of the shooting death of Brenda Wassink.

Richardson filed a pro se motion challenging the 1992 sentence. She argued her sentence was illegal because it did not conform to a law concerning sentencing requirements.

Richardson said the law says requires a jury to unanimously convict her on a premeditation theory, before the judge can convene a separate trial to determine the hard-40 sentence.

Justice Melissa Standridge, writing the opinion, said the Supreme Court unanimously held that the jury instructions and the verdict form in this case conclusively showed the jury unanimously convicted Richardson of premeditated and felony first-degree murder.

The Supreme Court determined that the district court correctly construed Richardson’s motion as a motion to correct an illegal sentence and not as a motion for post-conviction relief.

To see this opinion, visit https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/123045.pdf?ext=.pdf.