District Attorney

Geography Surveyed: Sedgwick County Data Collected: 07/16/2012 - 07/18/2012 Release Date: 07/19/2012 09:10 ET Sponsor: KWCH-TV Wichita In a Republican primary election for Sedgwick County Kansas District Attorney today, 07/18/12, 3 weeks until votes are counted, Deputy DA Marc Bennett leads former Deputy DA Kevin O'Connor 51% to 33%, according to this latest exclusive KWCH-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released 2 weeks ago, Bennett is up 14 points; O'Connor is down 3. O'Connor draws strength from younger voters, those who did not attend college, those who rarely attend religious services, and lower-income voters.

The Kansas Supreme Court cites Sedgwick County Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett for prosecutorial misconduct in a ruling handed down Friday.  Bennett recently won the Republican primary and will serve as the next Sedgwick County District Attorney. The misconduct ruling stems from the case against Robert Ontiberos.  Ontiberos was convicted of sexual battery and attempted rape.   As prosecutor, Bennett fought to have Ontiberos put in a mental hospital as a sexually violent predator.  The court says Bennett made a mistake by talking about evidence before presenting it to the jury.  Ontiberos appealed and the appeals court overturned the verdict.  The nearly 40-page Supreme Court ruling explains the case, appeal and why Bennett is being cited.  The court says it was "improper for counsel (Bennett)

Ivan Kelley will never forget the night his business burned to the ground. “From 3:30 to 4:30 I sat there and watch my store burn down, It was horrible,” says Kelley. Things got worse for Kelley. The fire was ruled arson and Kelley became a suspect, especially in the public's eye, after serious tax issues were revealed.      “There were tax issues and people thought he burned his building down because of tax issues,” says Kelley. Five years later, investigators officially cleared Kelley as a suspect.

by Cliff Judy Wichita Police say they believe the man that hit Eyewitness News Reporter Alana Rocha's car early Saturday morning was drunk.  Now, the question is should that driver have been behind a wheel at all? Rocha remains in the hospital in critical condition. Police records show the 39-year-old man was arrested last July after a hit-and-run accident on West Pawnee.  The records show police suspected the man was under the influence of alcohol, but he refused a breathalyzer test.

Name:  Nola Foulston Office Sought:  Sedgwick County District Attorney Political Party:  Democrat Website:  nola4da@cox.net Education:  Bachelor of Arts from Fort Hays State University (1972); Graduate school at KU; Juris Doctorate from Washburn (1976) Civic Activities:  Served on many boards and for many organizations during 31 years in the practice of law in our community; Charter Member of the Wesley E. Brown American Inn of Court, an organization dedicated to the ethical and professional practice of law in the community.

Police identify the 20-year-old man found stabbed early Saturday morning. Investigators say Boston Sicard ran down the street near Central and Ridge around four o'clock. He eventually collapsed in the parking lot of a gas station. Paramedics took Sicard to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis where he died about a half-hour later. Investigators followed a blood trail to an apartment at 734 N. Country Acres. They say there had been a fight between Sicard and a woman living in the apartment.

A teenager is behind bars accused of stealing a pregnant shopper's purse in a Dillon's parking lot. Police were called to the scene at the Harry and Edgemoor Dillons Friday afternoon. The woman told police a young man approached her, asking for a dollar. The woman said the teenager took her purse, knocked her to the ground, when she refused. The suspect ran away from the scene, but investigators managed to follow his footprints in the snow. He was found hiding in an apartment complex in the 5200 block of East Harry.

Sedgwick County Fire District 1 officials have announced the promotion of Captain Tavis Leake to the position of Sedgwick County fire marshal.   Captain Leake has been with the fire district since 1991 and served as an officer in the Fire Prevention Division for the last five years.  He has achieved the Chief Fire Officer certification and is currently involved in a four-year Executive Fire Officer program at the National Fire Academy.  He will assume his new duties on March 12. Duties of fire marshal include: Supervision of fire prevention and inspection activities Internal affairs investigations Inspection of commercial, industrial and other buildings for fire hazards and examination of blue prints and fire protection systems for code compliance Response to fire alarms; investigation of fire of suspicious origin and explosives; collection and preservation of all evidence; preparation of affidavits; collaboration with the district attorney's office in the prosecution of criminal cases

by Kim Wilhelm (WICHITA, Kan.) With only a few days until the November election, the family of a Wichita murder victim is upset by a local political ad.  Candidate Mark Schoenhofer is running against Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston for the office. The ad accuses Foulston of not prosecuting enough cases. Specifically, it says Elgin Robinson was suspected of crimes before he murdered Chelsea Brooks. The ad concludes by saying "Ask yourself who will be the next Chelsea Brooks.

A report filed by the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office finds no charges will be filed after two Wichita Police officers shot and killed a knife-wielding woman last summer. Officers were called to a domestic disturbance near Murdock and Ash July 10, 2012. A man told officers that his wife, Karen Jackson, was at his home in the 700 block of N. Spruce, but he had a protection from abuse order against her. The officers went to the home and found Jackson at the door carrying a can of beer, a propane lighter and a bottle of liquor.