Latest news with #Leavenworth
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge hears motions from CoreCivic in Leavenworth lawsuit
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A Kansas judge last month the reopening of a Leavenworth prison for ICE detainees, but the company that wants it open is pushing back. The courtroom was packed Monday morning as a Leavenworth County judge heard from lawyers with the city of Leavenworth and CoreCivic about the current hold that is stopping the facility from moving forward. Inmate's death at Wyandotte County jail under investigation: KBI CoreCivic, a major private prison operator in the U.S., wants to house immigrants facing possible deportation in the old Leavenworth detention center. It would be a 1,033-bed facility and would make the company $4.2 million in revenue each month, the company said in a court filing. CoreCivic must first obtain a special use permit before reopening the facility, but opponents hope that doesn't happen. 'I think it's ridiculous that they're even like thinking about it. It should've just been a quick, easy decision. I think the injustice of all of this is just far beyond what it should be already,' said Gabriel Mancillas, one opponent who spoke outside the courthouse Monday. CoreCivic initially applied for a special use permit from the city in February but then withdrew that application the next month. In court, the company argued it doesn't need the permit and that the process would take too long. 'This is a routine board of zoning appeals issue and the city's provided no response in this court to why that wouldn't be the case here, especially when the development regulations indicate that it is,' said Taylor Concannon Hausmann, an attorney representing CoreCivic in the lawsuit. According to reporting from the Associated Press, Leavenworth isn't the first city where this has happened. In Newark, New Jersey, there has also been controversy surrounding the reopening of a private prison as an ICE detention facility. The judge made no decisions Monday on the motions filed by CoreCivic, so the wait continues to see if the temporary injunction will be lifted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protestors stand against CoreCivic ICE facility in Leavenworth
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A group opposing the possible opening of an ICE detention facility in Leavenworth, Kansas gathered Saturday morning, July 19. The CoreCivic Opposition Group of Leavenworth (CCOG – LV) led the 'Pots and Pans March' at 9:30 a.m., protesting the proposed opening of a private, for-profit ICE facility. The march was organized by Leavenworth residents, as well as some from around the area. CoreCivic would make $4.2M a month running ICE detention center in Leavenworth One of the organizers, Mike Trapp, described how he's seen the group grow over time. 'There were four of us at our first meeting,' he explained. 'Then we had a roundtable discussion where we brainstormed ways we could impact and got more people involved, and out of that event, this march arose.' Others who attended the protest explained their reasons for protesting, sharing that immigrants are 'neighbors, not criminals.' 'I grew up in a very immigrant-dominant community and have so many immigrant family members and friends,' said Lynzie Clark, a demonstrator who came in to protest from out of town. 'I've watched my whole life the immigrant struggle and the impossible obstacles they put against the most loving and hard-working communities. None of these people deserve to be jailed for their birthplace. They are just like all of us. They're people.' Around three dozen people were seen protesting CoreCivic and its attempt to turn a former private prison into an ICE detention center. The protest comes after a Kansas City District Court judge temporarily blocked CoreCivic's plan. The judge sided with the City of Leavenworth that CoreCivic must first get the city's permission through zoning laws. 'I think it's great that they have actually responded well to trying to postpone and hold off and allowing them to roll in and take over with the CoreCivic facility,' said Nate Davis, who was seen at the protest. 'I hope that we can be the first of many for a rising movement for local communities to stand up to the authoritarian take down and the rule of law,' Trapp echoed. Judge hears motions from CoreCivic in Leavenworth lawsuit However, CoreCivic says they don't need that permission. 'We maintain the position that our facility, which we've operated for almost 30 years, does not require a Special Use Permit to care for detainees in partnership with ICE,' a release from Saturday reads. 'CoreCivic respects the judicial process and looks forward to the next steps in presenting our position to the court.' According to CoreCivic's website, a partnership with ICE would generate 300 new jobs, $2 million annual payouts to the city and no detainees would be released in Leavenworth. 'The overall economic impact on the community and local jobs seekers would be significant,' a spokesperson for CoreCivic shared Saturday. 'MRRC serving as a partner to ICE would create about 300 new, good-paying jobs with a starting salary of $28.25/hour. We've had a positive response from jobs seekers interested in these positions. As of July 1, we've had over 2,000 unique applicants who submitted over 3,000 applications for the open positions at MRRC. About 115 employees have been hired.' However, Trapp is standing strong. 'Leavenworth knows CoreCivic well and Leavenworth says no,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
17-07-2025
- CBS News
Police video shows Travis Decker, fugitive dad accused of killing 3 daughters, days before girls vanished
Newly released police dashcam video obtained by CBS News shows Travis Decker, the fugitive father who allegedly murdered his three young daughters, days before the girls disappeared. The video from the Wenatchee Police Department shows Decker interacting with a police officer and another person on May 27. CBS affiliate KREM reported that Decker had slammed into another car at a red light. The other person in the video was the driver of the second vehicle, KREM reported. During the nearly 20-minute video, Decker can be seen in a light-colored shirt and dark shorts with his arms crossed. He leans against his vehicle, a white truck, several times. He and the other driver appear to speak to the officer, and to each other. The police video does not include audio of the conversations. Towards the end of the footage, Decker and the other driver shake hands and return to their vehicles. Decker, 32, has been wanted since June 2, when a sheriff's deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — at a campground outside of Leavenworth, Washington. Decker was meant to have returned the girls to their mother's home in Wenatchee following a scheduled visit three days earlier. In September 2024, Decker's ex-wife, Whitney Decker, filed to modify their custody agreement. In a petition, she wrote that Decker's mental health issues had worsened and that he had become increasingly unstable. She also said he was often living out of his truck. Decker, an Army infantryman from March 2013 to July 2021, has extensive training in navigation, survival and other survival skills, authorities said. He once spent more than two months living off the grid in backwoods country, and deployed to Afghanistan for four months in 2014. Police spent weeks searching the rugged wilderness for him, but in late June said they believe he may have died or left the area. "There is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area," the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post on June 23. "Seemingly strong early leads gave way to less convincing proofs over the last two weeks of searching. Still, we can't and won't quit this search; Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia Decker deserve justice. And Decker remains a danger to the public as long as he's at large." Authorities have shared multiple photos of what Decker may look like now, as well as images showing him in the days before his disappearance. In early July, police launched a search of Idaho's Sawtooth Forest after a family reported seeing a man who looked like Decker. Police found the man and determined it was a case of mistaken identity. That man, identified only as Nick, told CBS affiliate KIRO that he had been camping in the forest with a friend to celebrate the Fourth of July but was walking alone when he was spotted by the family. His friend sent him an article about the incident, he said, and he didn't even recognize himself. "Your instinct isn't to think 'That was me,' so my first thought was 'Oh my god, we spent the night next to a murderer!'" Nick told KIRO. "In my opinion, I don't really look like the guy. Granted, they saw me from a distance. But, just be careful, because this has been a little bit tumultuous for me and people around me."
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tracking scattered severe t-storms Friday afternoon and evening
Scattered thunderstorms are popping across parts of Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas early Friday afternoon. Storms are forecast to increase in coverage, and pose a risk for damaging winds, hail, and localized pockets of heavy rainfall. A low-end risk for a tornado or two also exists, mainly across southern Iowa. Although a brief spin up cannot be ruled out across far Northern Missouri. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for much of Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas through 10 p.m. Friday. Northeast Kansas counties: Atchison, Doniphan, Leavenworth, Wyandotte. Northwest Missouri Counties: Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton, Dekalb, Holt, Platte. West Central Missouri Counties: Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Ray. A Tornado Watch remains in effect for Worth and Gentry counties in Northwest Missouri through 8 p.m. Friday.
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- News.com.au
Police plead with tourists to help find father accused of killing three daughters
Known as the American Alps, the Cascades near Leavenworth in Washington state have always been a popular tourist destination in the US — especially during the summer period with activities like hiking and camping. Authorities, however, hope the influx of holiday-makers to the region will help catch an alleged child killer, who has not been seen since his three daughters were found suffocated to death at a campground more than a month ago. On June 2, five-year-old Olivia, eight-year-old Evelyn and nine-year-old Paityn were found lifeless at an abandoned campsite, prompting police to launch an intense manhunt for their father, Travis Decker. The search ever since has been challenging and without locating the 32-year-old, with difficult terrain and conditions continuously working against authorities. The fact the alleged killer is also an Army veteran skilled in wilderness survival and who had a three-day headstart on police has also hindered the manhunt. But as tourists begin to fill the region, police have hopes that a sighting will occur and the manhunt for the alleged killer will come to an end. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told CNN that the next few weeks will be crucial, and with more people moving about the area — chances of a sighting should increase. 'It may work in our favour now that we have that many people out there just saturating that part of the county with camping, hiking and other recreating,' he said. 'We're not going to glorify his abilities. We don't think that he's some kind of special forces guru … but he could get lucky at times, and eventually luck runs out. 'This search is unmatched. We've never had anything like this in Chelan County.' But while authorities hope Decker is still in and around the American Alps, a recent sighting of a man who resembles Decker could throw any hope of finding him in surrounding national parks out the window. The sighting happened in Idaho, at Sawtooth National Forest, by a family who said they saw a man fitting Decker's description. The family described the person as a white male wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, a cream-coloured T-shirt, black shorts, a long ponytail, an overgrown beard and moustache, a black JanSport backpack and either Converse or Vans low-top shoes. Morrison said that while having extra tourist boots on the ground exploring tourist trails, creeks and bike riding around the mountains — he appreciates that while they hope to find him alive, there's a big chance he might turn up dead. As reported by CNN, Decker was charged with murdering his three daughters by suffocating them with plastic bags not long after he picked them up from their mother for what was supposed to be a three-hour joint custody visit on May 30. The man's truck was found abandoned in the area of Rock Island Campground on June 2, and the bodies of his daughters less than 100 metres down an embankment, along with zip ties and plastic bags found strewn throughout the area. Morrison said the manhunt — which has cost millions in resources — assumes Decker is on foot, given his truck was left behind. Morrison said that he also left equipment behind, meaning he is likely unprepared unless he had stashed supplies out in the woods. 'That's a strange item to leave behind, and hopefully that leaves him less prepared to survive long term,' Morrison told CNN. 'We'd rather have him give himself up. I guarantee that we're going to treat him with respect and dignity, but he is going to be pursued as a suspect, and we'll continue to do our job.'
