Felons w/firearms: No no no

From U.S. Attorney Todd Graves 3:33 p.m.:

Eight felons indicted today for illegal gun possession:

• Lemont D. Amos, 34, KC, SW .38.
• Raul Alcanta-Munoz, 34, KCK, Winchester 20-gauge shotgun, no visible serial #.
• Eddie B. Cantrell, DOB unknown, KC, Rigarmi .25-caliber semi-automatic.
• Kacy D. Lark, 26, KC, SW .45.
• John B. Parker, 32, KC, Sig Sauer 9mm pistol.
• Brian L. Starr, 26, KC, Hi-Point Firearms .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
• Rickey J. Sanders, 22, KC, F.I.E. .38.
• Willix J. Walker, 24, KC, SWD semi-automatic, 50 rounds Norinco 9X19 CJ 93 ammo, 32 rounds Wolf 9mm ammo.

Cases are separate and unrelated, Graves said.
Investigating agencies: KCPD, ATF. Also Indy PD, ICE
Prosecutors: AUSAs David A. Barnes, Jess E. Michaelsen, Bruce E. Clark, Christina Y. Tabor,
Special AUSA Stefan C. Hughes

KC homicide #108: Dilworth

From Kansas City poilce 4:02 p.m.:

• The man who was killed this morning has been identified as Raymond D. Dilworth, black/male, 01/05/1984, of KC/MO.  Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline at 816.474.8477.

Woman, 48, accused in KC homicide

From Kansas City police 2:28 p.m:

• The Jackson County Prosecutors Office has charged Linda K. Thomas, black female, 05/29/1957 of KCMO with 2nd Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action in the stabbing death of Eric E. Brown, that occurred on October 29, 2005 at 81st and Campbell. A $200,000 cash only bond amount has been set in this case. Ms. Thomas is in custody.

Judge clears KCPD on contempt

From Kansas City police 11:04 a.m.:

• "Today Judge John M. Torrence heard from the police department regarding the release of the videotape involved in the Matthew J. Butt case.  After the hearing the judge ruled that no member of the police department engaged in contemptuous behavior."
• Full press release (text file)

Get smart about sex offenders

By Greg Reeves
Last week I posted an item about the Kansas Department of Corrections' restrictions on paroled sex offenders during Halloween. I headlined it, "Kansas Halloween for pedophiles".

KDOC PR chief Frances Breyne called to ask me to change the word "pedophile."

"My concern", she told me, "is that not only is the term 'pedophile' a huge misnomer when it comes to the sex-offending population, but that it causes a lot of fear and anxiety in the community that we're trying to counteract by way of real education and research.

Along those lines, KDOC is holding a community forum Thursday in Topeka. Details (Word file)

All The Star's crime stories today

This blog is meant to be your one-stop resource for crime-related stories in The Star. Here are today's crime-related stories:

Man shot to death; woman wounded
Shooting victim taken to hospital
County sheriff will add deputy dogs
Court ponders disclosure dilemma
Lawyer ticketed for handgun in bag
Pot-laced brownies lead to charges against teen
County OKs overtime for KC police
Brunswick woman’s body is identified
Metropolitan digest
Deliberations begin in trial of ex-head of space center

KC homicide #108: 20 shells

From Kansas City police 6:32 a.m.:

• Officers were called to 4109 Virginia on Tuesday (11/01/2005) morning at 344 am to investigate a shooting.  Upon arriving officers found a 25 year old man lying in the street.  That man had been shot to death.  A 20 year old female was transported to an area hospital for treatment.  Her injuries were extensive but are considered non-life threatening.  There were more than 20 shell casings left in the street from the shooting.  The man and woman were returning to a relative's (the male's) home when the shooting took place.  Anyone with information is asked to call the tips hotline at 816.474.8477. 
• This is the 108th homicide for 2005.

Overland Park offenses, Monday

A robbery, and more:

Download: Overland Park reported offenses for October 31, 2005
(PDF)

Plaza DUI: Last arrest

By Greg Reeves
3 a.m. Sunday, police sobriety checkpoint, Plaza. It's really 4 a.m., but clocks have moved back an hour.
Young driver, shaved head, open shirt over a black T, cross on a necklace, chewing gum, not too uptight. Toes the line. Trooper asks him to walk the walk.
The young man looks at the trooper and smiles as if to say, "Why are you testing me? I'm drunk!"

Plaza DUI: Bad bedside manner

By Greg Reeves
A very tall young man is asked to step from his car at the police sobriety checkpoint on the Plaza at 1:44 a.m. Sunday.
He's maybe 6'5"; unafraid, head held high. He looks in control.
Two costumed friends get out of the car with him. They don't look too worried - maybe because one's dressed as a doctor. They cross the street to wait. Their driver follows a state trooper.
To my surprise, another trooper, looking on, says, "Oh, no, he's not intoxicated at all. He can barely stand up!"
Later I see the man's friends talking with a parking control officer. She's nodding her head. She comes back across the street.
"All of those people have been just complete a**holes!" she says.

Plaza DUI: M&S Grill comes through

By Greg Reeves
If you run a small business in a city, you tend to appreciate the police. They stand between you and a variety of bad guys and urban blight.
In that light, two employees of the M & S Grill, 4646 J.C. Nichols Parkway, showed up with a cart full of soda and bottled water to the police sobriety checkpoint on the Plaza shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday.
What the cops did not say:

• We're sorry, we cannot accept this gift because of our ethics guidelines.
• We appreciate this gift but must reimburse you for its cost.

What they did say: "Thank you!", "Hey, thanks!", "We really appreciate that!"

Plaza DUI: First arrest

By Greg Reeves
10:52 p.m. Saturday, sobriety checkpoint, Halloween weekend, Country Club Plaza:

• Very wobbly blonde
• Costumed, orange boots, blue-star skirt
• Had anything to drink tonight?
• Cries, face in hands
• Are you going to complete my test?
• Wobbly, barefoot
• Black stockings
• Falls backward on one-thousand-two

Plaza DUI: 1,056 sober drivers

By Greg Reeves
Police checked 1,086 cars in the sobriety checkpoint on the Plaza this weekend, and arrested 30 drivers for DUI.
That means 1,056 drivers passed through the checkpoint sober. Maybe 100 of those had been drinking, were tested and found sober. Not bad for Halloween weekend.
"It's good to see a lot of cabs," MHP Sgt. Rick Fletcher says.
11:35 p.m. - Cab full of costumed young partygoers pulls up. Robin Hood shouts from the back seat: "We 've spent 50 cents since we've been in this checkpoint! Is that tax-deductible?"
11:46 p.m. - Chevy Tahoe, music pumping, full of happy drunks who act like they just won the lottery - because they have a designated driver. Trooper Waters: "Live it up, as long as you have a sober driver!"
2:05 a.m. - More just-from-a-bar people in a cab. Passenger reaches out the window as he spies the police's self-catered food table: "FOO0-D!" he shouts as the cab pulls away.

Plaza DUI: BAT-mobile, where are you?

By Greg Reeves
Two dozen Kansas City cops and state troopers roll up to 46th Terrace and J.C. Nichols Parkway shortly after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, ready to launch a sobriety checkpoint.
Problem: the BAT van, back at traffic headquarters, won't start. What's a BAT van, I ask. That's what holds the traffic cones needed to set up the checkpoint, I'm told. What does BAT stand for? No one knows, exactly.
10 p.m. - no BAT van.
10:30 p.m. - no BAT van.
10:40 p.m. - BAT van!
10:43 p.m. - Officers have laid out a 200-foot line of cones. Theories are offered about what BAT stands for:

• Blood-Alcohol Testing
• Blood-Alcohol Truck
• Blood-Alcohol Transport

Sounds good to me.

Plaza DUI: Tinkerbell goes down

By Greg Reeves
Saturday night, Plaza sobriety checkpoint. Tinkerbell toes the line. Blonde hair up, wings in place, puffball flipflops.
A state trooper is telling her to put one foot directly in front of the other, walk nine steps, turn around and come back. To someone who's been drinking, this is like advanced ballroom.
Tinkerbell looks a bit wobbly to me. She bends down, gets rid of the flipflops and walks the walk.
I see her later walking around holding her wings and not looking very happy. But I actually don't know if she was arrested. Troopers released those they arrested on signature bond - drunk drivers could get a ride home or just walk away.
That points up a big difference in the customer experience of this checkpoint. If Kansas City police arrested you, you had to go to the Central Patrol Division and bond out. Potentially, that meant a night in jail.
Rest of this series and other Sobriety Checkpoint stories

Plaza DUI: How it's done

By Greg Reeves
I observed the sobriety checkpoint operation by Kansas City police and the Missouri Highway Patrol on the Plaza this weekend, from 9 p.m. roll call to 3:30 a.m. shutdown. It was exhausting.
But I found the whole thing fascinating - tipsy young urbanites in Halloween costumes helped - and I'm going to lay out what I saw, snippet by snippet.

Supervising Sgt. Roger Hill at roll call:

"Any positive response at all to, 'Have you been drinking?', let's test 'em. I don't want to put any impaired drivers back on the road. If they refuse or won't participate, they will be arrested for DUI. Typically, unless they're belligerent, we don't handcuff people.

• Keep track of the number of cars you stop
• Keep track of the number of tests you give
• Keep track of the number of seatbelt warnings
• Keep track of the number of DUI arrests you make"