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A green end to November
WELFARE
Fraud may be costing state $22M By Bill Draper Associated Press
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
GOLFERS RYAN CATLIN, LEFT, AND BILL WAGNER, both of Lawrence, enjoy an afternoon of golf Wednesday despite chilly temperatures and windy conditions on the last day of November at the Lawrence Country Club course. “It’s not too bad,” said Wagner about the weather, which reached into the 50s. “We actually took off some layers.”
CRIME
Suspect in 2nd recent robbery at bank arrested By Alex Parker aparker@ljworld.com
A Lawrence bank was robbed for the second time in less than five months on Wednesday afternoon. But this time, the culprit was caught. Lawrence police responded about 3:30 p.m. to a call at the Central National Bank branch at 603 W. Ninth St., after a man walked into the bank and demanded money from tellers, who complied
with his demands. He then left the bank with an undetermined amount of money. A police officer in the area spotted the suspect, who was apprehended after a brief foot chase and taken into custody without further incident. Charges have yet to be filed against the suspect, according to the FBI, and Lawrence police declined to release more information about the case. The bank was also robbed on July 14, when a suspect, described as a white man in
his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall, with brown hair, wearing a green cap, blue jeans and a black zip-up coat, evaded capture after taking an undisclosed amount of money. Another unrelated bank robbery occurred the next day in Ottawa, and that suspect, Timothy Glen Caskey of Minnesota, was arrested in Texas days later, after allegedly kidnapping his wife and fleeing south. FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said her agency dis-
patched agents to assist with the investigation of Wednesday’s robbery. “Robbing a bank is violation of federal statute so it does fall in the FBI’s jurisdiction,” she said. “But we have to have our local law enforcement with us; they are always the first responders to these (cases).” Patton said she had no information that Wednesday’s attempted heist was related to the July robbery. She said the FBI routinely compares
1985 case reopened to find real rapist By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com
A detective with the Topeka Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit said he’s been in contact with a California scientist who might hold the clue to a decades-old unsolved rape case. “We will proceed with it full force,” said Detective Adam Arensdorf, who’s been assigned to follow up on DNA evidence, stored in a cooler since 1992, that cleared Topeka man Joe Jones of a 1985 rape. Arensdorf said the case was reopened following a Lawrence Journal-World investigation that identified the existence of the DNA as part of a special feature on Jones’ case. Jones was exonerated by the DNA in 1992, but no one else was ever arrested for the crime.
The DNA might still be testable and could potentially identify the real rapist once it’s entered in a national DNA database, which didn’t exist in Jones 1992, Arensdorf said. It’s not yet clear how much DNA evidence is still in the possession of Ed Blake, the scientist who originally tested the evidence and testified at the hearing that freed Jones. Blake tested the original material, froze and kept some remnant extract, then sent the original material, which hasn’t been located, back to the Topeka Police. Blake said that he thinks he might have enough of the
— Reporter Shaun Hittle can be reached at 8327173. Follow him at Twitter.com/shaunhittle.
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By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com
Today marks three years since the last sexual assault police have connected to a serial rapist who’s suspected of committing 14 rapes in Lawrence and Manhattan since 2000. Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib spoke with the JournalWorld about the case, in the first such interview granted by authorities on the investigation in several years. Though no suspect has ever been publicly identified, Khatib said detectives continue to investigate the crimes in coordination with Riley County
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Summary of the case:
In 2008, Lawrence and Riley County officials warned the public about a string of rapes they think were committed by the same man.
The assaults began in 2000 in Manhattan. Most have occurred in the early morning, during a college break period, and at apartment complexes with a large number of college students.
Police have connected the serial rapist to 14 rapes and one attempted rape between Oct. 1, 2000, and Dec. 1, 2008.
Eight of the attacks occurred in Manhattan and six in Lawrence.
Descriptions of the suspect have varied. He’s been described as a white man, anywhere from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, and 160 to 220 pounds. Age description has varied from early- to late-20s.
In some cases a knife or gun has been used.
Police have not released whether DNA or fingerprint evidence was found.
Anyone with information should call Lawrence police at 830-7430 or Riley County police at 785-537-2112.
For more information and a map of the crimes, visit LJWorld.com.
Please see SERIAL, page 2A
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— Digital editor Alex Parker can be reached at 832-6356. Follow him on Twitter @ AlexParker. — Reporter Shaun Hittle contributed to this report.
Serial rapes still unsolved years later
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remnant material to test the DNA and obtain a match using today’s more advanced technology. The 1992 testing excluded Jones as the rapist, but, at the time, limits in the emerging DNA technology could not have positively identified a suspect. In the coming weeks, Arensdorf said, the department should have updates on how it plans to pursue the case. Though the five-year statute of limitations for prosecution of rape cases in Kansas has long passed, Kansas law allows for prosecution of rape and murder cases for up to one year after DNA evidence has identified a suspect. For more on this case, visit LJWorld.com.
similarities in all cases to look for possible links. Thirty-three bank robberies took place in the Kansas City area last year; Patton said it is likely that 2011’s totals will be slightly higher. Representatives of Central National Bank were unavailable for comment Wednesday.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — State auditors trying to weed out food-stamp fraud believe more than 7,000 people in Kansas may be getting benefits to which they aren’t entitled and costing taxpayers as much as $22 million a year, the state’s top social services official said Wednesday. R o b Siedlecki, director of the Kansas Department Siedlecki of Social and Rehabilitation Services, blamed what he called lax enforcement under previous administrations that cut back on fraud investigators — an allegation quickly rejected by his predecessor, who said the department did what it could with limited resources. Siedlecki said that he understands many people need assistance and that it’s his job to ensure qualified residents receive help. But he noted that every dollar wasted on fraud could have been given to someone who was eligible to receive it. “We know people are hurting,” he said. “But if you want to game the system, we’re going to come after you.”
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