KCMB Kansas City News

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Royals Spring Training Begins, Competition At Pitcher Heats Up

Royals spring training is officially underway! The team has made several key offseason moves in hopes for contending for the playoffs, and several position battles are taking place that could have a big impact on the upcoming season.

Currently, all eyes are on the pitching rotation, as a battle for the fifth starter’s spot has developed. It appears that Luke Hochevar is an early favorite to land the position, but he will have stiff competition from Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza. Hochevar has the most upside of the group, and manager Ned Yost is still high on the former top overall pick. However, Chen and Mendoza both had solid seasons in 2012, and while Hochevar occasionally flashes brilliance, he had an ERA north of five last year.

Kansas City has high hopes for its rotation, as the additions of James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana should provide a much-needed improvement. Royals starting pitchers went 47-69 last season with a 5.01 ERA – good for 26th in the majors. The three new additions will be paired with Jeremy Guthrie, who pitched incredibly well for Kansas City at the end of last season.

If Hochevar wins the fifth starter spot, Chen and Mendoza could be added to the bullpen, which already has several talented pitchers. Mendoza was recently named the MVP of the Caribbean Series while he pitched for Mexico, and Chen has been steady for the entirety of his career in Kansas City. If the Royals ever needed a spot-starter, or if a starter suffered an injury, Mendoza and Chen would both be worthy candidates.

Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino are both recovering from elbow injuries, but the pair could be back sometime around the All-Star break. Duffy and Paulino were starters before getting hurt, and both have pitched well in that role for the Royals.

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Domestic Terrorist Christopher Dorner Believed To Be Dead

Former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner, who had gone on a killing rampage over the past couple of weeks before being surrounded by police in a cabin, is believed to be dead. The cabin in California Dorner was surrounded in erupted into a violent fire, and charred human remains have been found. Forensic tests are underway to confirm these remains are Dorner.

The LAPD has said it his highly likely Dorner is deceased, as authorities heard a single gunshot before the cabin was engulfed in flames. SWAT teams on the scene had fired tear gas inside the cabin and had begun tearing down the building’s walls. It is unclear if the SWAT team or Dorner started the fire.

Dorner was charged with killing Riverside police officer Michael Crain and is the main suspect in the killings of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. Quan is the daughter of a former L.A. cop that Dorner blamed for his firing after he reported abuse by another officer. The ensuing manhunt for Dorner became a huge national story, as he was labeled a domestic terrorist and a $1 million reward was placed on his head.

According to Police, Dorner had been hiding in cabins in the California wilderness until he was discovered by two cleaning women. Dorner tied the women up with plastic zip ties, stole their car, crashed it, and then stole a truck. The driver of the truck said Dorner used a gun in the robbery, but allowed him to take his dog out of the truck and didn’t cause him any harm.

Officers quickly closed in on Dorner, and gunshots erupted between the two parties. Dorner killed one sheriff’s deputy and wounded another before fleeing through the woods and breaking into a cabin. After a SWAT team surrounded the cabin, a single gunshot was heard – which could potentially have been a suicide shot by Dorner – before the cabin erupted into a violent fire.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Roeland Park Man Pleads Guilty To Role In International Child Pornography Case

Michael D. Arnett, a 38-year-old former emergency medical technician who resides in Roeland Park, has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges. Arnett also had pictures of a one to two-year-old child lying inside an oven, and had discussed killing and eating children in online chats.

Arnett

Arnett has admitted that he took photos of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts between 2000 and 2008. He was charged in May with three child pornography counts, and has been linked to an international conspiracy to distribute illegal images of children. The United States Homeland Security was able to identify Arnett last year by noticing a water bottle in a photograph that contained the logo of a Johnson County pool. Later, investigators were able to find two teens that cited abuse from Arnett when they were younger.

This international investigation into a child pornography ring, also known as Operation Holitna, has produced 34 arrests outside of the United States and 16 in the USA. According to Homeland Security, around 160 child victims have been identified and rescued. Operation Holitna began in 2010, when pornographic images were discovered that did not originate in the USA. The images were later traced to a daycare center in the Netherlands, and the operator of the center was charged.

In August, a friend of Arnett’s, Robert Poe III of Kansas City, was arrested and charged with sexually abusing two boys and transporting a minor for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act.

According to Arnett’s plea agreement, he will not ask for a sentence less than 20 years, and prosecutors will not ask for a sentence of more than 30 years.

What is even more unsettling about Arnett’s case is that discussions involving him killing and eating children have been found online. A Florida man who chatted with Arnett about these actions has been charged, but has claimed that these were merely fantasies that he would never act upon.

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Monday, February 11, 2013

Kansas Looks To Snap Losing Streak Tonight Against Kansas State

The Kansas Jayhawks have lost three straight games for the first time in eight years, and things do not get any easier tonight. KU will host Kansas State, who currently has a one game lead over the Jayhawks in the Big 12 standings. The game will begin at 8:00 p.m.

K-State currently controls its own destiny in the Big 12, but it will likely take a rare win over Kansas to take the league crown. The Wildcats have lost 45 of 48 against Kansas, and have been routinely blown out in Allen Fieldhouse. The two teams met earlier this season, and KU prevailed 59-55 in Manhattan.

The key to beating KState will be outside shooting, as the Wildcats have hit 41 percent of their threes during its current win streak. KSU struggled from three against KU in the first meeting between the two schools, with Rodney McGruder and Angel Rodriguez shooting a combined 8 of 22. Despite Kansas’ struggles, KState will have to shoot better than the 35 percent clip it had the last time it faced the Jayhawks.

Most of Kansas’ problems start at point guard, where senior ElijahJohnson has struggled mightily during the Jayhawks losing streak. In the past three games, Johnson is shooting 9 of 37 from the floor, including 5 of 21 from three. Even worse, he has had several costly turnovers late in games when KU still had a chance to pull out a win. If Johnson can take care of the basketball and hit some shots, the Jayhawks’ struggling offense will begin to look a whole lot better.

Kansas has struggled recently, but the Jayhawks began to look better against Oklahoma on Saturday. KU is due for a good game, and it may come at home where Allen Fieldhouse will be rocking. This could be the point where the Jayhawks turn it around – or its streak of conference titles will be on life support.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Overland Park Police Will Conduct Saturation Patrols Tonight

The Overland Park Police Department will be conducting a saturation patrol tonight, looking for people who are driving impaired. This enforcement effort will take place in the Overland Park area from 10 p.m. through 2 a.m.

Overland Park Traffic Safety officers will be patrolling the city looking for drivers who appear to be impaired. Those suspicious drivers that are pulled over by the patrol will be required to perform a series of field sobriety tests. The police officers also plan on keeping an eye out for those under the influence of illegal drugs, or prescription drugs that should not be taken by anyone operating a vehicle.

A saturation patrol is a common police tactic in which a large number of police officers focus on a relatively small geographic area. Multiple agencies often combine and concentrate their resources on one area during these patrols to maximize efficiency. Many police forces have used this tactic following sports events or other occurrences when there is potential for a large number of impaired drivers to be on the road.

Saturation patrols have been an effective tool for reducing drunk-driving incidents in many other communities. Kansas City has had several traffic incidents caused by alcohol over the past several months, so it is no surprise that police have begun cracking down. Many Overland Park residents choose to visit downtown bars and restaurants on the weekends, making the suburb a likely target for police.

The Overland Park police department asks that anyone who sees a driver that appears to be impaired report them by calling dispatch at 913-895-6300.