Category: Johnson County

Convicted killer of three at Jewish Community Center dies in prison

The convicted killer of three people at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park has died in prison, according to a statement from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., who was convicted of the murder of three people at the Jewish Community Center, died on Monday, May 3, at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, according to a statement from KDOC.

He was serving a sentence for capital murder, attempted murder and firearms convictions.

Frazier Glenn Cross Jr. was an alias for Frazier Glenn Miller Jr.

Miller, an anti-Semite, shot and killed three persons in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center on April 13, 2014, including a 14-year-old boy, Reat Underwood; his grandfather, William Corporon; and a woman visiting her mother at an assisted living center, Teresa LaManno. None of the persons he killed was Jewish.

Miller reportedly shouted “Heil Hitler” while in the back seat of a police car at the Jewish Community Center, following the shooting.

A preliminary assessment indicated that the cause of Miller’s death Monday was from natural causes, according to KDOC. The cause of death is pending an autopsy.

Miller was appealing his death sentence in a case heard before the Kansas Supreme Court on March 29 and 30. The decision was pending. Miller had represented himself at the district court trial.

According to information online from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Miller was the founder and former leader of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Patriot Party, paramilitary organizations in the 1980s. He was a member of a neo-Nazi group in North Carolina. The group attacked and killed Communist marchers in Greensboro, North Carolina.

He later turned up in Missouri after serving a prison term. In 1987, he was in the Springfield, Missouri, area. He went to prison for another three years on a weapons charge, and as part of a plea deal he testified against other white supremacists, according to SPLC information.

He later ran for Congress in Missouri in 2006. He ran for the Senate in Missouri in 2010. While running for office he made anti-Semitic statements, according to the SPLC website.

KDOT to provide U.S. 69 expansion project updates at virtual public meeting tonight

The Kansas Department of Transportation, along with the Kansas Turnpike Authority and the city of Overland Park, will hold a virtual public meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, to update the public on the U.S. 69 expansion project.

Initiated last fall, the project is studying how best to reduce congestion along U.S. 69 between 103rd and 179th streets, according to officials. This project is in Johnson County.

At the virtual public meeting, project team members will discuss the alternatives considered so far including improving transit, increasing technology and using other strategies.

They also will explain why adding capacity – either non-tolled, general-purpose lanes or express toll lanes – best meet the project’s purpose and need based on the study team’s analysis. After the presentation, attendees may submit comments and questions.

To join the live virtual meeting, members of the public may visit the project website, www.69express.org, and follow links at the time of the event.

In addition to the virtual public meeting, a virtual open house will be available on www.69express.org from April 16 to 30.

A link on the home page – www.69express.org/public-information-meetings/ – will direct people to the virtual open house, where they can view project materials. Participants also can ask questions and provide comments through an online form that goes directly to the project team. The open house will provide the same information covered in the live public meeting.

Results from a survey and focus groups conducted in early 2021, as well as a comparison of the impacts of the tolled and non-tolled alternatives and next steps in the project schedule, will be available.

Anyone who requires special assistance or accommodations to attend the meeting or open house, would like printed copies of the meeting materials or needs more information, contact Kelsey Heavin at (816) 527-2468 or [email protected].

The U.S. 69 corridor is the busiest four-lane highway in Kansas, with heavy congestion during rush hours and at other times. Previous studies indicate that U.S. 69 congestion will increase significantly in the future as Overland Park grows to the south, with peak travel times projected to triple by 2040.

Project updates by clicking the News link on the website home page, following the project’s Facebook and Twitter pages and subscribing to the Project’s electronic newsletter. The Feedback section of the website also provides a link to a comment form.

Kansas City, Missouri, man sentenced for distributing heroin

A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced on federal charges of distributing heroin, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Titus Sanders, 24, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to acting U.S. attorney Duston Slinkard.

Sanders pleaded guilty on Oct. 19 to the charge.

According to court records, Westwood, Kansas, police responded to a Walmart and found a man suffering from a drug overdose. The victim later died as a result of the overdose, according to records. Information contained on the victim’s cell phone led police to Sanders as the source of the heroin purchase, according to court records.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Westwood, Kansas, Police Department, Fairway, Kansas, Police Department, Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, Overland Park Police Department, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Krug and Kim Flannigan prosecuted the case.