Officers on the lookout for Felony Pursuit suspect in Bourbon County

BOURBON COUNTY, Kan. – The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office asks the public to look out for a wanted suspect who they say may be armed and dangerous.

Officers say Jai Terrance Scott Jr. is wanted in connection with a Felony Pursuit in Bourbon County.

According to the media release, officers recovered the vehicle the suspect was riding in and contacted other suspects involved in the case. However, 6’ 6, 280lbs Scott Jr. escaped the area.

Police say they discovered narcotics and firearms in the suspect’s vehicles.

If located, the BCSO says not to approach the suspect.

Deputies encourage anyone with information regarding the crime to contact the Sherrif’s Office.

Click here to read more.

Parsons Police investigating after two dogs shot

PARSONS, Kan. (KOAM) – The Parsons Police Department is investigating two dogs shot in the town on Thursday.

According to a PPD release, officers responded at 11:37 a.m. to the 1500 block of Grand.

Witnesses told police that a man between 20 and 40-years-old shot a pitbull with three legs in one of those legs.

A veterinarian had to later euthanize the dog.

Garfield School administrators put the school on a partial lockdown due to how close the incident was to the school.

“The school told parents that exterior doors remained locked and manned by school personnel,” PPD said. “No persons were allowed in or out for a 45-minute period.”

An officer and K-9 assisted in trying to track the suspect. A track was established that lead to an abandoned house but no suspect was found.

A second attack on a dog happened just before 7 p.m. in the 2600 block of Stevens, about 1.6 miles from the first attack.

Another pitbull was shot once.

PPD stated that its owner took the animal to a local veterinarian. The dog is expected to survive.

No witnesses have been located for this incident.

Parsons Police asks anyone in both areas to check any home surveillance footage to see if there’s usable video that may have images of the suspect.

PPD said the suspect is wanted for felony cruelty to animals in the first-degree and discharging a firearm in the city limits.

Officers are investigating any similarities between these incidents and the attacks on dogs that happened at the end of 2021 in the Winway area of town. A $34,000 reward, plus a $5,000 reward from PETA, is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of these felony cruelty to animal cases.

Parsons Police Deputy Chief Dennis Dodd said, “I am passionate about bringing these people to justice. The unlawful killing of animals in this city needs to stop. The two dogs yesterday were both pit bulls, and it can only be speculated that the shooter or shooters were targeting a specific breed. Until we have all of the facts we will not know for sure.”

Cherokee Co. crime numbers released

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Kans. — A southeast Kansas sheriff is crunching the numbers, after the release of crime stats statewide. Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves says violent crime is down slightly — both in his county and across Kansas. There’s also a decrease in rape, burglary, and theft cases. But other categories saw a rise last year.

“Also we had a 44% increase in aggravated assaults and batteries. So the crimes we are seeing are what we’re seeing nationwide. The incidents are more intense, more violent, and certainly more risk to the law enforcement officers that are responding to that type of calls,” said Cherokee Co Sheriff David Groves.

Groves adds he’s happy to see the drop in crime — and credits local deputies and police officers, as well as the communities they serve.

Shooting in Crawford County mobile home park, search for suspect underway

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kan. – Authorities search for a suspect after a Pittsburg man was shot Thursday evening.

The shooting happened at 121 Glenn Way at Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in Crawford County.

Shortly after 7:00 pm, deputies responded to a report of a man being shot.

They got there and found a male in the road with gunshot injuries. The Sheriff’s Office says they identified him as Anthony C. Hoag, 34 of Pittsburg, Kansas.

According to Sheriff Danny Smith, Crawford County EMS took Hoag to Ascension Via Christi. Authorities did not include information on his condition.

The Sheriff’s Office describes the suspect as “a black male wearing shorts, no shirt, driving a silver Chevy Malibu possibly bearing Kansas tag 177 PAT. Vehicle was last seen shortly after the shooting southbound from Quincy Street on US-69 Hwy.”

They are not releasing anything further at this time.

If you have information about this incident, authorities ask that you contact the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 620-724-8274.

Fort Scott woman accused of theft from Law Firm

BOURBON COUNTY, Kan. – A special prosecutor files multiple charges against a Fort Scott woman for allegedly stealing from the law firm she works for.

According to the Mason & Clark Law Office website, Alexis Metcalf works there as a receptionist for Gayla Mason. Court documents show 18 charges against Metcalf.

  • 1 counts of Theft of property or services; Value $25,000 to $100,000
  • 16 counts of Forgery; Making or altering a written instrument; 1st conviction (checks)
  • 1 count of Theft of property or services; Value $1,500 to $25,000

Special Prosecutor Nathan Coleman of Columbus, Kansas filed the formal charges in August. Metcalf is scheduled to make her first appearance on October 12, 2022. According to the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigations investigated the case.

The alleged crimes happened between 2017 and 2021 in Bourbon County.

Court documents state Metcalf stole more than $25,000 but less than $100,000 in property or services. Then, at a separate time, she allegedly stole more property or services valued at more than $1,500 but less than $25,000.

Metcalf is also accused of forging checks so it appeared to have been made or endorsed by another person at the law firm.

You can read more about each individual count and possible penalty ranges in the PDF below, or click here.

Fort Scott woman accused of theft from Law Firm

Doctor admits to fraud involving more than 2,000 patients

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A doctor admitted in federal court on Wednesday that he certified products and tests for thousands of Medicare and Medicaid patients in Missouri whom he never met.

Oluwatobi Alabi Yerokun, 36, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements related to health care matters.

Yerokun certified unnecessary medical products and genetic tests for more than 2,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients in Missouri, U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in a news release.

Working as a telemedicine provider, Yerokun signed forms and certified that durable medical equipment or genetic tests were medically necessary. Yerokun had no doctor-patient relationship with any of the beneficiaries.

Those orders were used to submit claims to Medicare and Medicaid, which paid submitted by the durable medical equipment companies and testing laboratories, prosecutors said

He ordered durable medical equipment and genetic tests for 2,184 Medicare beneficiaries between March 2019 and April 2021 and was paid a total of $44,860.

The scheme caused Medicare to pay companies almost $3.1 million and Medicaid to pay companies almost $525,000.

Yerokun faces up to five years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Mistrial in attempted murder case in Indian Country

OTTAWA COUNTY, Okla. – An attempted murder trial ends Tuesday after the Federal Court grants a mistrial in Ottawa County.

Prosecutors filed the following charges against Mark Daugherty in connection to an April shooting.

  • Assault with Intent to Commit Murder in Indian Country (2 counts)
  • Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence

The federal jury trial started on Monday, September 19, 2022. However, it ended the next day after the defendant’s request for a mistrial was granted.

Court officials scheduled a second jury trial for November of this year.

According to Court notes, 7 people testified during the trial. The last person to testify was Dr. David Baker. Court documents show his testimony was limited.

“9/20/2022: Parties on the record outside the presence of the jury to address witness testimony. Government resumes case and chief. Defense exhibit 7 offered with objection from government; the Court rules Defense exhibit 7 admitted. Defense exhibit 9 admitted without objection. Government exhibit 4 offered with objection from defendant; the Court ruled Government exhibits 4 admitted. Defendant objects to government’s witness (Dr. Baker); the Court limits witness testimony. Defendant moves for mistrial. Mistrial granted by the Court. The Court states seventy (70) day speedy trial date re-starts 9/20/2022. Jury is discharged.”

Following Baker’s testimony, the mistrial was requested and granted.

Attorneys during the trial also presented exhibits such as a 911 call recording, photographs of items and the area and medical records.

April 2022 Shooting in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

>>Quapaw deputies respond to weekend shooting

Charges against Daugherty stem from a shooting in April. Quapaw deputies arrested him after he allegedly shot another man in the chest.

Deputies got to the scene and found 49-year-old Jerry Witham. Someone shot him once in the chest. EMS took Witham to Freeman Hospital in Joplin. He survived his injury.

Following investigations, officers arrested Mark Daugherty, 48, of the Shawnee Tribe.

After speaking to multiple witnesses, deputies arrested Daughtery for Attempted Murder and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Quapaw Marshals, BIA, Miami PD and Commerce PD responded to the crime.

Government warns Americans about lucrative Amazon Scam

The Federal Trade Commission announced its recent focus on helping Americans who lost millions of dollars through Amazon Scams.

From July 2020 through June 2021, about one in three people who reported a business impersonator to the FTC said the scammer claimed to be calling from Amazon.

In that one-year period, reports about Amazon impersonators increased more than fivefold. About 96,000 people reported being targeted, and nearly 6,000 said they lost money.

Reported losses topped more than $27 million with the reported median individual loss totaling about $1,000.

Data suggests that Amazon impersonation scams may be disproportionately harming older adults. Over the past year, people aged 60 and up were over four times more likely to report losing money to an Amazon impersonator.

Officials say the median reported loss was $1,500, compared to $814 for those under age 60.

Many of these scams involve the victim paying out the scammer with pre-paid gift cards or cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

The FTC says no major corporation like Apple, Amazon, or Microsoft will ever ask for payment in these forms.

Click here to learn more about how to prevent elders against scams.

Woman charged after bullet goes through apartment wall

GALENA, Kan. – Prosecutors filed charges today against a woman who allegedly fired a gun, hitting her neighbor through the apartment wall.

The shooting happened in Galena’s Foxfire addition. According to the Police Department, 40-year-old Morgan Farren fired a gun in her duplex apartment. Authorities say the bullet went through the wall and hit a resident in the adjoining apartment in the head.

The victim suffered minor injuries.

Officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia in Farren’s apartment. Police arrested her and a male resident in the home.

–>> Read more: Bullet goes through apartment wall, hits adjoining neighbor

Today, prosecutors filed the following charges against Farren.

  • Distribute heroin/certain stimulants; < 1 gram
  • Distribute marijuana; < 25 grams
  • Possession of opiate, opium, narcotic or certain stimulant
  • Possession of para w/intent to manufacture/plant/cultivate controlled substance
  • Criminal discharge of firearm; Occupied vehicle w bodily harm
  • Possession of marijuana
  • Use/possess w/intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body
  • Criminal use of weapons; Poss of firearm by person addicted/use contr sub

Police also submitted a request for charges against the male suspect. According to online court documents, prosecutors have not filed charges against him at this time. (Bond set at $10,000)

  • Criminal use of a Weapon, Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession with intent to distribute and Possession of Paraphernalia

Federal trial begins for Quapaw man accused in shooting

TULSA, Okla. – The federal trial for a Quapaw man accused of shooting an Ottawa County man began Monday in Tulsa.

Mark Stuart Daugherty, 49, was indicted in May in U.S. Federal Court with assault to commit murder in Indian Country, assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indian Country and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

He is accused of shooting Jerry Witham on April 30 at the 400 block of South Chestnut Street in Quapaw.

According to a trial brief filed by federal prosecutors, Witham, who is transient, was at a friend’s mobile home with his girlfriend, Mary Woods, and Daugherty.  The group had been using methamphetamine sporadically through the evening and early morning hours.

While at the house, Witham and Woods began arguing in the driveway of the friend’s mobile home, prompting Daugherty to come out of his residence and yelled at Witham to leave and pulled out a black pistol, court records show. 

Witham said to Daugherty, “Go ahead…, what are you going to do? Shoot me?”

Daugherty allegedly shot Witham in the chest, entering Witham’s right pectoral muscle, according to the trial brief. Witham was treated and released from a Joplin hospital, but the round could not be removed from his chest and remains lodged in his chest.

Two eyewitnesses identified Daugherty as the shooter, according to court records.

Daugherty denied shooting Witham but did say to investigators he owned a shotgun and BB gun but denied owning a handgun.

Daugherty’s juvenile child told Marshals Daugherty owned a Taurus 9mm handgun.  The gun was never located but investigators found an empty 9-mm caliber pistol ammunition box, a pistol holster, and eight bags of methamphetamine in Daugherty’s vehicle, court records state.