Sedgwick

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department will have its eye on the road looking for drunk drivers tonight. Deputies will be conducting a DUI saturation patrol tonight from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM. Sheriff's deputies have worked 96 DUI-related cases since the beginning of the new year. That's almost 100 DUI cases in a month and a half.    

  A barn near Colwich caught fire overnight. Crews were called to the scene around ten o'clock Friday night. They found a barn engulfed in flames that could be seen for miles. Inside the barn, bales of hay were also on fire.  Crews went defensive right away - meaning they focused on keeping the fire contained and not spreading. No one was hurt in the fire and the cause is under investigation. The barn, along with a tractor and other things inside were destroyed.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's officers find some animals living in what they call deplorable conditions. Deputies found several horses emaciated, and one already dead. 12 horses, two miniature horses, three donkeys and one llama were picked up by animal control. The animals didn't have any food or water. The sheriff's office is not releasing the location where the animals were found.  An investigation is underway. One suspect has been indentified.

Name: Betty Arnold Party: Democrat Current Office: Wichita School Board Term: 2007 to present  Education: Yerger High School, Hope AR BA, Wichita State University Spouse: n/a Children: n/a Birthplace: Hope, AR Hometown: Wichita Religion: n/a Professional Experience ...

A girl who wandered away from her home in the area of 13400 E. Harry this afternoon has been found safe. Authorities had said they were concerned for the 11-year-old girl's safety. Police said the girl lived near a wooded area and water. They were worried because of her age and the fact that it will be getting dark soon.

The storm that moved through Sedgwick County left behind quite a bit of damage.  The good news, the Sedgwick County Sheriff says there have been no reports of injuries. Click here for Storm Shots Now that the storm has lifted, residents are assessing their damage.  Many residents are boarding up their windows after large hail stones broke through the glass.  Downed tree limbs and debris also made a mess. There are lines at home improvement stores with people picking up materials to clean up their damage.

A Minnesota construction company will pay more than $43,000 in fines for more than 140 violations to the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The company, Delta Construction of Woodbury, Minnesota, touted itself as a construction company specializing in roofing, siding, windows and gutters. The District Attorney says Delta entered into 242 contracts through door-to-door sales with consumers in Segdwick County between July of 2009 and May of 2011. The DA says the violations included not registering the business with the Kansas Secretary of State to do business in Kansas, not obtaining a transient merchant license while doing business in Sedgwick County, failing to furnish a consumer with a fully completed receipt/copy of contract and not including a mandated three-day “notice of cancellation” with each contract.

Sedgwick County deputies issue more than 100 tickets during a four-hour seat belt enforcement patrol last night. Deputies conducted the patrol Tuesday between 6:00 and 10:00 pm. In that time, 83 adults were cited for seat belt violations, one of them for improper child restraint, one person was arrested for DUI and three were arrested on warrants. In addition to the seat belt violations, an additional 27 citations were issued for other traffic infractions. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says the patrol consisted of one sergeant, five deputies and four reserve deputies.

Sedgwick County Commissioners take action to ban sky lanterns, or aerial luminaries, in unincorporated parts of the county. Sky lanterns are most often made with oiled rice paper and a bamboo frame. They are released into the air after a candle inside is lit. The hot air gets trapped inside, and they float away like a hot air balloon. Firefighters say they can come down on roofs or dry fields and trees and start fires. The Sedgwick County Fire Department says its fire code does not allow "open flames" to be unattended, and the lanterns are a violation.

The man accused of shooting a Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy appeared in court Thursday.  Authorities say Jason Perez shot the deputy after a chase.  The deputy survived.  During the court hearing, a conflict of interest came up with the public defenders office because it is also representing the other suspect in the case.  Clara Crosser is also accused of shooting the deputy. Perez should have a new attorney by the end of the week.  He's expected back in court next week.

Sedgwick County Commissioners approve a resolution showing support for the second amendment right to keep and bear arms. Commissioner Richard Ranzau proposed the resolution in response to the on-going national debate over gun control. He says he is concerned that new gun regulations could lead to federal infringement on other rights. Ranzau says the resolution will send a message to the federal government. Commissioners Dave Unruh and Tim Norton voted against the resolution. Unruh noted that commissioners have already pledged to defend the constitution and said any additional resolution is unnecessary.

The latest count of homeless people in Wichita shows a slight drop between 2012 and 2013. The 2013 Sedgwick County "Point-In-Time" County found there are an estimated 538 people who meet the HUD definition of being homeless. (see below for HUD definition) That's down from 550 people in 2012. Of those people, 467 are considered "sheltered", the rest are considered "unsheltered". The survey, which organizers say represents a snapshot of homelessness on any given night in Sedgwick County.

One person has been rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after an accident in western Sedgwick County. Authorities were called to the scene at 119th and MacArthur around 3:15 p.m. Friday. Police said a van failed to stop at a stop sign on 119th and was struck by a pickup truck on MacArthur. Both vehicles went into a ditch. Two men in the van suffered minor injuries. The pickup truck driver was taken to a Wichita hospital in serious condition. Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputies closed traffic on MacArthur at K-42 while crews cleared the scene.

A Sedgwick County employee is accused of stealing items from a dead body.  FactFinder 12 has learned authorities are close to presenting the case to the District Attorney for charges. We know the employee works at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center.  That facility does autopsies and other forensic work.      Sources have told Eyewitness News the employee was removing property from bodies, including gold teeth and selling them for cash at local pawn shops.