Suspicious package found in Northland

From Christine Vendel: Kansas City police evacuated a Goodwill center, Big Lots store, a health center and a nearby parking lot in the Northland this afternoon after someone dropped off a suspicious package.

Bomb and arson investigators and a bomb-sniffing dog were at the scene near N.E. Vivion Road and N. Oak Trafficway.

Report: Stroud's restaurant robbed

The one in the Northland, KCTV reports. Happened a little after 3 p.m.

Home invaders broke into KC man's safe, police say

Jackson County prosecutors have filed charges against Michael K. Hampton, 18, of Kansas City in connection with a home invasion early Friday. Kansas City police say a group of men burst into a home in the 600 block of West 40th Street shortly after midnight and held a man at a gunpoint. They were reportedly in conflict with the man's son, who wasn't home. They cut into the son's safe -- which they tried, but failed to move -- and stole some guns.

Should U.S. give amnesty to more Central Americans?

The U.S. has seen more amnesty requests from Central American residents who say they'll be killed by gangs if they're forced to return their home countries, the New York Times reports. But it's very tough to get those requests approved. The Obama White House is taking another look at amnesty standards, to see if they need reworking.

The Times writes about Benito Zaldívar, a Salvadoran who tried to go to his parents, who were legal immigrants living in Carthage, Mo. Zaldívar was returned to El Salvador after his request was turned down. He was afraid that he'd be killed for refusing to join a gang. About two months after he went home, he was murdered.

Elderly man's stolen $3K wheelchair ramp sold for $7.20

In Wichita, an elderly man's wheelchair ramp -- valued at $3,000 -- was sold for $7.20 at a scrap metal yard, the Eagle reports. The authorities were too late to save the ramp, but they did arrest a suspect later when he came to sell metal at the same yard.

Sheriff Joe to visit KC?

Tony's Kansas City reports that Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, is set to appear at a event with Kris Kobach, who's running for Kansas secretary of state, at Mid-America Nazarene on July 13.

Crossing guard beats up teen who called him fat, police say

What do you get when you cross a crossing guard? A beatdown, Pennsylvania police say.

Inmate dies choking on empty deodorant

In Cleveland, an inmate at the county jail died after apparently choking on an empty deodorant container, the Plain-Dealer reports. The dead man, Albert Fabian Jr., was alone in his cell, so it doesn't seem that anyone shoved it down his throat. Help me out, gentle reader -- why precisely would someone engage in a practice like this?

Ky. woman jailed because of misspelling

A Kentucky mom tried to her jailed son get a lower bond by presenting a letter from a moving company that had "hired" him, police say. As it happens, she forged the letter and misspelled the company's name. Mom has been thrown in jail now, too.

Olathe PD finds man in homicide case

UPDATED, AGAIN: They've located Stewart. No other information is being released, though the dead man has been identified: Stephen L. Cook of California.

UPDATED: Carlos has been found in KCMO, and is in good shape. Police still want to talk to Stewart.

PREVIOUSLY: Olathe police want to question a man in connection with a homicide yesterday at an Econolodge, and there's special concern because they think he's traveling with a 3-year-old boy.

The man's name is Maurice O. Stewart, 22, and he's described as a person of interest, not a suspect. The boy is Carlos Angel Villegas III, and he's been added to a national database of missing and endangered kids, though it doesn't appear he was kidnapped. The case doesn't meet the standards for an Amber Alert.

The homicide involved a 57-year-old man found Tuesday morning at the motel in the 200 block of East Fleming.

Robber on bicycle escapes with $1

Story is from California. I feel a little bad for the robber: He obviously needs the money.

Apartment manager got sex for helping Section 8 tenants

From Tony Rizzo: A former Kansas City apartment manager was sentenced today to 16 months in prison for soliciting sex from tenants in exchange for helping them qualify for government housing assistance. A federal judge also ordered Meredith F. Sullivan to pay $34,444 in restitution.

Report: Prof, cop both screwed up during racial-profiling incident

Last July, there was a giant kerfuffle after Henry Louis Gates, a Harvard professor, was arrested for disorderly conduct and accused a Cambridge, Mass., police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, of racial profiling. (Which eventually led to a "beer summit" at the White House.) The police department commissioned a study of the incident, and the writers have reached a shocking conclusion: The professor and the cop were both acting like morons. They put it a little more artfully: The two sides "missed opportunities to de-escalate the encounter."

File photo via AP: "Will there ever be beer in our time?"

12 DUI arrests during Gladstone sobriety checkpoint

From MO Highway Patrol: Captain Robert L. Powell, commanding officer of Troop A, Lee's Summit, announces the results of a sobriety checkpoint conducted on Saturday, June 26, 2010. The checkpoint was a joint effort with the Gladstone, Missouri, Police Department. The checkpoint was located on northbound U.S. Highway 169 at Interstate 29. The location was determined by past arrests, incidents, and traffic crashes in the county.

A total of 1,194 cars were checked during this five-hour operation, and members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Gladstone Police Department made the following arrests:

12 -- DWI
5 -- Driving While Revoked/Suspended
6 -- Non-moving Violations
7 -- Warrant Arrests
2 -- Insurance Violations
2 -- Misdemeanor Drug Arrests
1 -- Hazardous Moving Violation
1-- Seat Belt Violation
133 -- Warnings

Open Thread ... Wednesday

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Not remotely crime-related

Sorry, elementary-school students in Massachusetts: You won't be able to get free condoms at school after all.

Suspect accused of sexually assaulting elderly Leawood woman

From Joe Lambe: Leawood police late Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old Grandview man who they said was sexually assaulting a 92-year-old woman.

The victim was able to reach a phone and punch in 911 shortly before midnight in the 10300 block of Overbrook Road, police said. A nearby patrol car responded and a man running out of the house punched an officer, said Lt. Kevin Cauley.

Unfortunately for the suspect, he said, “the officer he punched was a weight lifter and one of our ground fighting instructors.”

Witness: Man was killed over AIDS exposure

In Edwardsville, Ill., a man is on trial for a 2004 murder where he allegedly set another man on fire. Most of the previous testimony has suggested the defendant, Joey Ragusa, was upset over a drug deal, but a jailhouse informant says it was because a third man had put a $5,000 bounty on Jimmy Morrison's head for exposing him to the HIV virus. The general rule of thumb is to take jailhouse testimony with an entire box of salt, but this guy has already served his time and is getting nothing from the prosecution.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

Report: Cocaine mistaken for breath mint during Lohan arrest

Wonder why Lindsay Lohan was able to cut a plea deal so quickly during her 2007 DUI case? It appears the arresting officer mistook the cocaine in her alleged possession for a breath mint and threw it in the trash, KTLA reports.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

File photo via AP

Duke lacrosse accuser back in the news

Remember Crystal Gail Mangum? She's the woman who famously accused three Duke lacrosse players of sexual assault, something they didn't actually do. The situation became what Grandma likes to call an "imbroglio." Police now say that Mangum "set (an) apartment on fire and tried to kill her now ex-boyfriend while her three young children and two Durham police officers were in the home," the News & Observer reports.

Mangum held a press conference the other day to say that she's getting an unfair break in the legal system because everybody remembers her from the Duke lacrosse case. She says she was the victim of domestic violence and did not set the fire:

“I can’t explain to you why I keep going through issues with domestic violence,” she said, referring to past relationships. “Maybe it’s mistakes. Maybe I tell men too much about my past and they try to take that for granted. Maybe domestic violence is more prevalent than people think.”

Texas murder suspect arrested after standoff in Branson

In Branson, police spent almost nine hours in a standoff with a man suspected in a couple of hotel robberies there, as well as a murder in Texas. That man, Mark David Simmons, surrendered peacefully and is expected to be extradited to the Lone Star State, the AP reports.

Red-light cameras catch cops, too

In Cedar Rapids, police have issued disciplinary letters to six officers who were caught running red lights without their lights and sirens, as documented by the city's red-light cameras. Five officers were cleared, and fifteen other incidents are under review.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

The verdict on this year's Supreme Court

At the New York Times, Adam Liptak has a review of the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term and focuses on Chief Justice John Roberts' influence on the court:

Chief Justice Roberts, who joined the court five years ago, took control of it this year, pushing hard on issues of core concern to him, including campaign finance, gun rights and criminal procedure, even as he found common ground with his colleagues, including some liberals, on an array of other issues.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Rhonda!

File photo via AP

More about the Russian spy suspects

The AP has a profile of Anna Chapman, one of the people accused of serving as Russian spies in the United States. I'm not sure if she's guilty or not, but she bears a striking resemblance to the Black Widow. The Boston Globe has a profile here of other suspects. The common thread seems to be these folks tried really hard to network, whether that was online or in person. Chapman and Tracey Lee Ann Foley, one of the Cambridge-area suspects, both worked in real estate.

(AP Photo)

Indictments filed over Citadel Plaza asbestos removal

Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted two men connected to the Citadel Plaza redevelopment project on 63rd Street: William M. Threatt, Jr., 69, and Anthony Crompton, 40. Specifically, the U.S. Attorney for Western Missouri alleges, the men violated the Clean Air Act and failed to properly remove asbestos from the site.

Plans for the project called for a 35-acre shopping center, including a full-service grocery, restaurants, other retailers and residential living.

In 2006, The Kansas City Star found that scores of homes had been demolished and no asbestos permits had been obtained nor had the asbestos been properly contained.