Tag: Courts

Ismael Caballero was sentenced today to 14.6 years in state prison for the murder of Yazmin Rodriguez-Santillan and life without parole for the murders of her two children, Amerikha and Jeancarlo Rodriguez.

Caballero entered guilty pleas to capital murder for murdering the children, second-degree murder for killing Rodriguez-Santillan and arson for burning their home, according to the district attorney’s office spokesman.

Caballero killed Rodriguez-Santillan in the early morning hours in late December 2019. He later returned to kill the two children to prevent them from testifying against him, according to the pleas. He then set the house at 29 N. Mill St. on fire, hoping to destroy evidence of the crimes.

Family members were present in the courtroom and made statements to the court. The father of Amerikha and Jeancarlo was present via Zoom, from Mexico.

Six charges have been filed against a parent whose car hit an individual near the Carl Bruce Middle School on April 27.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark A. Dupree Sr. charged Tyla Lavelle Jack with aggravated battery, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal threat and battery against a law enforcement officer.

Five of the counts are felonies, and the last one, battery against a law enforcement officer, is a misdemeanor.

According to a police spokesman earlier this week, the incident took place around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 27. It started with a disagreement among a small group of female students at Carl Bruce Middle School, 2100 N. 18th St.

Parents were called, and one parent then was seriously injured when she was struck by a vehicle driven by another parent, police stated. No students were injured.

Jack voluntarily went to the police headquarters and turned herself in on Thursday.

The Kansas Supreme Court today reversed the conviction of Jasmon D. Watson, in an alleged Medicaid fraud case.

The case included discussion of time sheets that he submitted to a home health agency.

The Supreme Court found that the district court committed instructional error, and the cumulative error deprived Watson of a fair trial.

The Supreme Court also found the prosecutor misstated the law because an intent to defraud is an essential element of Medicaid fraud, while prosecution comments suggested otherwise.

The prosecutor erred when she said Watson did not provide any evidence to support his defense, according to the Supreme Court, because Watson testified and his testimony was evidence.

The combined effect of the errors prejudiced Watson’s right to a fair trial, the Supreme Court ruled. The case also had discussion about shifting the burden of proof.

Watson had been employed as a clerk at a store, and also was providing home health services through a local agency. The case was investigated by the Kansas attorney general’s office. Watson testified he always worked the number of hours shown on the home health time sheets, but not always in the schedule shown. His defense was that he acted without intent to defraud.

The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals ruling, it reversed the district court’s ruling based on a jury verdict and it remanded the case for a new trial.

The decision is online at https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/118710_1.pdf?ext=.pdf.