Crime Scene KC: Holidays a'comin'!

By Greg Reeves
Hi everyone. Thanks very much for stopping by this past month, fans and critics alike. I'm taking some time off and will be back on Monday, Dec. 5.

Posting here, at least for part of each day, will be Star reporter Judy Thomas. About Judy

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone! Be nice. If you can't be nice, be careful.

(P.S. Judy's posts will still say "Posted by Greg Reeves" unless they get her a TypePad log-on in the meantime...)

KC homicide #114: Bicyclist

With this killing in the news today, here is the obituary published in The Star:
ROBERT WYNN OSBORN Robert Wynn Osborn, 43, Kansas City, MO tragically lost his life on November 20, 2005. Visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, 2005 at Missouri Funeral Care, 6113 Blue Ridge Blvd., Raytown, MO. Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 at the funeral home. Burial in Brooking Cemetery. Robert was born May 17, 1962 in Kansas City, MO. Robert was a member of the Boy Scouts where he earned Eagle Scout. He was a graduate of Raytown High School. While attending Purdue University, Robert was recommended to the Navy as a Pilot for Naval air-craft carriers. Robert was a member of the Huguenot Society and the Sons of the American Revolution. He was very interested in Egyptology and traveled to the pyramids during the millennium celebration. Robert loved aviation and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol. He is preceded in death by his mother, Martha Osborn. Survivors include: father, Glen Osborn, KCMO; brothers, Richard Osborn, KCMO, Ronald Osborn, Lancaster, TX; brother and sister-in-law, Randall and Kim Osborn, Pleasant Hill, MO. (Arr; Missouri Funeral Care, 816-3531700).

Star story yesterday

Feds hang up on Cass phone exec

In case you were thinking of teaming up with a business friend and billing each other back and forth with phony invoices to build up your capital, here's a reason not to:

• KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a New York man, who formerly was a controlling owner of the holding company that owns Cass County Telephone Company, was sentenced in federal court today for participating in a nearly $9 million conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
• Daniel D. Martino, 55, of Hawthorne, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs this morning to a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Daniel Martino to forfeit $500,000, which he already has paid to the government, representing the amount of money he caused to have been lost as a result of the conspiracy

Full two-page press release (Word)

Source: U.S. Attorney's office 3:48 p.m.

'Person of interest' in bicyclist's killing

From Kansas City police 2 p.m.:

• The KCMO PD's Homicide Unit is asking for your help with locating an individual who is wanted for questioning in regard to the shooting death of Robert Osborn.  The shooting occurred on November 20th, 2005, near 47th St. and Blue Ridge Bd.  The person of interest is Fabian Brown, a 20yr old KCMO resident.  He is known to be armed and dangerous so please do not approach him.  If you know his whereabouts call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

One person has already been charged in the killing.

Star story

Uncle Sam bites tax-dodging dentist

From U.S. Attorney Todd Graves' office 1:08 p.m.:

• ...Artis Lee Clark, 54, of Lee’s Summit, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple this morning...
• ...employed four persons at his dental practice at 616 E. 63rd St.
• ...failed to pay $2,647 in taxes from those employees for the fourth quarter of 2001.
• Maximum possible penalty: 5 years in prison, $250K fine

Full press release

Mexican meth dealers Part II

By Greg Reeves
My post, Armed Mexican meth-dealers sentenced - basically a press release rewrite - drew some fire, so I think it's useful to show the chart that made me pick up on the case:
(Click chart for larger image)

Federal incarceration rate growth tops the list at 7.8% a year. I'm not saying that's wrong - you scratch most of these cases, you start to see why the judge decided that way. I just thought a local case in which three foreign nationals will be joining that federal prison population was - noteworthy.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Prisoners at mid-year 2004"

Stats: Why can't we get it right?

By Greg Reeves
Do you love to catch the media fouling up numbers? Or do you maybe just have an issue the press consistently screws up stats on?

Take a look at Stats, a media-monitoring outfit based at George Mason University that catches news story errors in numbers, data interpretation and the occasional wild misunderstanding of statistical info.

I linked to the "Crime" category of Stats since that's close to the heart of this blog. But there's lots more. You may not always agree with Stats' conclusions - but you'll have to fight them on the numbers.
(Above logo stolen from Stats Website)

Kansas City crime by date

By Greg Reeves
I introduced this data last week, to a big yawn. Relatively few people looked at it, I don't have a download count. So, if you are one, you are among the elite few! :)

These spreadsheets come from a weekly Kansas City police file of dispatched calls that resulted in a police report. There are usually around 100 calls in each file, sorted by address.

Key: CRN is Case Report Number; "addrtype" is Address Type, "A" for street address, "I" for intersection; "reportarea" is the patrol beat or radio number of the reporting officer; "ponumber" is the officer number.

Download kc_crimes_20051120.xls Sunday, Nov. 20
Download kc_crimes_20051119.xls Saturday, Nov. 19
Download kc_crimes_20051118.xls Friday, Nov. 18
Download kc_crimes_20051117.xls Thursday, Nov. 17
Download kc_crimes_20051116.xls Wednesday, Nov. 16
Download kc_crimes_20051115.xls Tuesday, Nov. 15
Download kc_crimes_20051114.xls Monday, Nov. 14
Download kc_crimes_20051113.xls Sunday, Nov. 13

Leawood daily police activity

This daily report from Leawood police covers activity from 12:40 a.m. yesterday to 11:59 a.m. today.

Download: Leawood 24-hour Activity

The please-go-away house party is listed under "Juvenile info", I think...

Arrest in bicyclist's killing

By Greg Reeves
This is Raphael L. Willis. He has been charged with a crime, not convicted. Should his mugshot (supplied by police) be suppressed?

From Kansas City police, 10:02 a.m.:

• Rapheal L. Willis, a 19yr old KCMO resident, has been charged in JACO with the murder of Robert Osborn.  Mr. Osborn was shot and killed on Nov. 20th, 2005, while riding his bicycle home from work near 47th St. and Blue Ridge Bd.  Willis has been charged with 1st Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action.

Star story - police call it random

Teen booze bash in Leawood: Where's Dad?

By Greg Reeves
A Leawood household played hide-and-seek all night with police who were called to the scene by a neighbor complaining about noise.
Problem: Booze party, 1 or more adults, but 30-40 teens home from college. Under-21-type teens:

• Police officers spent the night outside a Leawood home investigating an under-age drinking party where at least one adult could face charges for supplying alcohol to minors.
• Full Star story

Isn't it better for college-age teens, for example, to drink at home with at least an adult or two around, rather than under an overpass somewhere?
Answer: No. That's from the National Council on Alcoholism, whose spokesman was interviewed by my colleague, Star reporter Judy Thomas, who will be subbing for me in this blog next week:

• Carol Johnson, director of communications for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence’s Greater Kansas City chapter said underage drinking – even by those ages 18 and 19 – is “very much a concern.”
• “We have big issues with underage drinking, and some kids are starting as young as 8 and 9,” Johnson said. “A lot of kids get peer pressure, or when they’re home on holidays and vacations, they have nothing to do and it’s readily accessible and they start. And there’s going to be that certain percentage, they have the disease and they’re just going to go into alcoholism.”
• Johnson said parents who provide alcohol to teens should be held accountable.
• “Some parents think letting the kids drink at their homes is a safer thing to do,” she said. “But still, even though nothing physically may happen to the kids, they’re still encouraging drinking or making it easy and accessible for kids to do that.”

There are laws about this, of course

All The Star's crime stories today

This blog is meant to be your one-stop resource for crime-related stories from The Star. Here are today's links:
Police stake out under-age drinking party
Man who killed two won’t get long term
Cleaver touts funding measures VIDEO
Police await leads in Merriam fatality
Murders earn man life term
Bomb sparks arrest
Man who killed two won’t get long term
Drug, gang lifestyles faulted
Talent’s ‘cold case’ bill blocked
Sheriff requests money to pay for overtime
Springfield told to release police records
Police report leads in bicyclist’s death
Metropolitan Digest

Overland Park daily offenses

This is the daily offense report from Overland Park Police.

Download overland_park_offenses_112205.pdf