Latest news with #KDOC
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Inmate deemed dangerous escapes from Kansas work release facility
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Kansas Department of Corrections said an inmate at the Johnson County Work Release Facility has escaped. According to the KDOC, Anthony Mansfield was placed on escape status on Wednesday night around 10 p.m. after not returning to the Johnson County Department of Corrections Adult Residential Center or reporting to his job yesterday. Mansfield is considered dangerous. He is 5-feet, 8-inches tall, and weighs 185 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with black designs, a long black sleeve undershirt, brown boots, a brown baseball hat and stonewashed jeans. Mansfield was convicted in Johnson County for eight months of incarceration for criminal damage to property convictions. Anyone with information on Mansfield can call 913-715-6539, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at 800-572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Kansas inmate serving two life sentences for murder dies at hospital
A 45-year-old Kansas inmate serving two life sentences died Saturday after being found unresponsive in his cell. The Kansas Department of Corrections identified the inmate as Jason W. Cott. He was being housed at the Larned State Correctional Facility, a Sunday KDOC news release said. Cott was found unresponsive inside his cell Saturday night. Prison staff performed life-saving measures until Cott was taken to a hospital where he died, according to the KDOC. The cause behind Cott's death is unknown and is being investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. An autopsy will be performed. Cott was serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole for two convictions of first-degree murder in Johnson County, Kansas. Since entering prison in October 2010, Cott had over three dozen disciplinary actions against him for battery, theft, contraband and disobeying orders among others.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
What happens to bodies of inmates who've died in Kansas?
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Working for you, 27 News reached out to the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) to find out what happens to inmates who die and no one claims them. KDOC Public Information Officer David Thompson said if an inmate dies and they aren't claimed, they will be cremated within four days of their death. In Kansas, KSA 65-17-34 and KSA 65-904 provide outlines for how deceased inmates are handled by the KDOC. Under KSA 65-904, the KDOC is responsible for cremating unclaimed inmate bodies at the department's expense. KSA 65-17-34 provides guidance on the order of priority for who makes the final decision on the inmate's remains. If the inmate has designated an agent with power of attorney for health care decisions, that person takes priority. If not, the spouse, adult children, surviving parents, or next of kin will be responsible. The law gives special protections to funeral directors and provides special considerations for military service members. Baseball-sized hail, tornadoes possible in NE Kansas In Kansas, remains are either sent to the warden's office at Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) or the Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF), where the state crematories are located. Once a warden receives the cremains, the warden will give it to the chaplain for a proper burial ceremony. 'It's estimated that there are several hundred burial plots at LCF and about sixty at HCF,' Thompson said. Thompson said the burial grounds are maintained by residents and supervised by the chaplains at each facility. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Finance Council votes to settle lawsuit filed by prison informant for $4,000
Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican and Democratic members of the Kansas Legislature agreed to pay $4,000 to a Kansan who worked as a confidential informant in a prison corruption inquiry, but allegedly wasn't well-protected when his confidentiality was broken by corrections officers. The State Finance Council also agreed to sell surplus property in Hutchinson near the fairgrounds. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — A prison inmate who worked as a confidential informant during a 2015 corruption investigation at Lansing Correctional Facility settled a federal lawsuit with the state of Kansas after a staff member revealed his secret cooperation. Justin Jade Collins was outed the first time during an LCF employee's civil service appeal despite the Kansas Department of Corrections' assurances his anonymity would be maintained. Collins alleged in his suit that he provided information leading to administrative action against 'several staff and inmates' at Lansing who interacted with organized criminal groups who posed a security threat to the prison. Collins filed the lawsuit in 2017 due to threats against his well-being by inmates that included the Gangster Disciples, Bloods, Crips and others. He sued KDOC officials in U.S. District Court for alleged violation of the Eighth Amendment right to humane conditions of confinement. The issue temporarily became moot when Collins was transferred to a Missouri facility and released from incarceration in 2020. Upon returning to prison in 2022, court documents indicated he was given the choice of being held at state facilities in Ellsworth or Larned. Within days of arriving at Larned, he allegedly was targeted by gangs. In 2023, a Larned corrections officer allegedly yelled down a hallway to other inmates that Collins 'was a confidential informant/snitch.' KDOC's records indicated Collins was transferred in May 2023 to an out-of-state placement — which is what he originally sought in federal court in 2017. The State Finance Council, which includes Gov. Laura Kelly, Senate President Ty Masterson, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and other legislative leaders, met in an executive session to discuss a settlement of the lawsuit recommended by Attorney General Kris Kobach. The council members voted, without comment during the public portion of the meeting, to pay $4,000 to Collins to end the case. Collins, 39, has served prison time for forgery, assault, theft, aggravated battery and drug trafficking. KDOC records show he was held in state prison as early as 2007. Meanwhile, members of the council also agreed to sell two residential properties in Hutchinson located near the Kansas State Fairgrounds. The homes had been purchased under a plan to create a parking lot for use by fair customers. The cost of real estate made a parking lot expansion unworkable. Paul Fernkopf, of the Kansas Department of Administration, said the houses appraised at about $85,000 each were deemed surplus property and sold for a total of $137,000. 'The auctioneer, Department of Administration and the State Fair agreed that we received the best value we could,' Fernkopf said.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
KBI investigating after Kansas inmate dies in hospital
HUTCHINSON (KSNT) – A Kansas man serving time at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility died at a hospital earlier this week. David Thompson with the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) announced in a press release on March 7 that Devon M. Stutesman, 24, was found unresponsive in his call on Saturday, March 1. KDOC staff attempted to keep him alive while emergency medical services arrived who transported him to a local hospital. Stutesman died the afternoon of Monday, March 3. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating this case per state law. Stutesman was serving a 122-month prison sentence for convictions of possession and distribution of heroin and attempt to traffic firearms into a correction facility in Lyon County. Jury deliberates verdict in Dana Chandler murder trial For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
