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Paola man sentenced to 27 months for hate crime against Black boy
A Paola man was sentenced Wednesday to just more than two years in federal prison for threatening a Black boy with a knife and telling him he was in a “white town.”
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MORe crime & courts

Lawrence man, former foster father given life sentence for sexual abuse of biological daughters
A Lawrence man and former foster father who was found guilty of lewd fondling and sexual intercourse with his biological daughters was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

Lawrence Delta-8 distributors commit to compliance after DA clarifies guidelines; proprietors offer tips to find reputable sources
Douglas County’s top prosecutor says her office has not yet issued any notices for violating laws regulating the sale of certain forms of THC products, and Lawrence business owners would like to keep it that way.
But some proprietors fear that “One or two of these people are going to ruin it for everyone else.”

Scam alert: No one should ask you for gift cards because you missed jury duty
Some area residents have recently been scammed out of $1,000 worth of gift cards by callers pretending to be current or retired Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Douglas County District Court plans to launch self-help center
Douglas County District Court is planning to launch a self-help center that will be a go-to point for basic logistical questions, help people involved in eviction cases and more.

Douglas County is incarcerating Black people at 6.5 times the rate of white people
Black people are booked into the Douglas County jail at almost four times the rate of white people, and the incarceration rate of Black people in Douglas County is 6.5 times the rate of white people.

Alleged driver arrested in crash that killed Eudora girl
The man who was allegedly driving a van that struck a motorcycle in a fatal crash last month has been arrested in Martinsville, Indiana, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

ACLU sues Kansas over excessive wait times at understaffed Larned State Hospital
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the National Police Accountability Project are suing Kansas over delays in mental health evaluations at the chronically understaffed Larned State Hospital.

Case against former Lawrence police officer charged with rape set for mediation
Prosecutors agreed Tuesday morning to allow the case against a former Lawrence police officer charged with raping a woman in his patrol vehicle to move to criminal mediation.

Family of murder victim asks public never to ignore domestic violence warning signs
Regan Gibbs’ mother and four sisters traveled to Lawrence on Friday to share memories of her and ask the public never to ignore signs of domestic violence.

Two men killed in shooting outside Hy-Vee were from Lawrence, police say; altercation stemmed from road rage
Zachary Michael Sutton, 22, and Monty Ray Amick, 53, both of Lawrence, were the two men killed in a road rage-fueled shooting Tuesday night outside Hy-Vee, according to Lawrence police.