Sedgwick County

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department has a new deputy, with four legs and fur. The police service dog and his trainer, deputy Justin Crafton just finished ten weeks of training. The dog, Chapo is a 17-month old Belgium Malinois. He's trained to look for drugs, locate evidence, search for suspects and protect his handler.  Chapo is one of three dogs being used by the patrol division of the sheriff's department. The canine unit was established in 2002.

A driver dies after a crash Tuesday morning in southwest Sedgwick County. The man has been identified as 69-year-old Roger N. Wentworth of Wichita. The crash happened around 9:00 near 135th St. W. and 71st St. S. Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department investigators say the driver of an SUV was going north on 135th St. when, for some reason, he left the road, crossed the center line into on-coming traffic, went into a ditch and hit a tree. The man was taken to a Wichita hospital in critical condition.

He set a fire in a Sedgwick County jail van and tried to escape. On Friday, Eli Edwards is sentenced for the 2009 crime. A judge handed down Edwards a punishment of 20 and a half years (247 months) in prison. There were five other inmates in the van when the incident happened. They weren't found to be involved. Its still unknown how Edwards started the fire.

Emergency crews rush a woman and a child to the hospital Friday afternoon after a crash in far western Sedgwick County. The crash happened around 1:30 Friday afternoon near 21st St. & 391st St. West. Officials on the scene tell us that a grain truck didn't see an S.U.V. coming at the intersection and ran into it. The woman driving the S.U.V. was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.  A 10-year-old child was flown in critical condition.

A mobile home burns to the ground overnight. It happened just after midnight Wednesday morning at an abandoned home near Hillside and 83rd Street South in Sedgwick County. Officials say the house was fully engulfed in flames and eventually caved in on itself. Firefighters had a tough time getting water to the home because trees were everywhere. Crews will have to wait until daylight to finish an investigation.

A new FCC plan means you could soon text 911 in an emergency. It's part of a plan to update emergency response systems all across the Country. Sedgwick County says it would like the technology as soon as it's available. While it's still a few years away, officials say the ability to text and send video or pictures to dispatchers will make it easier for people get help in an emergency. "This is as big. We are all excited, it's big news for the 911 world," said the Director of Sedgwick County Emergency Communications Randy Bargdill.

A woman is taken into custody after leading Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputies on a chase overnight. It started shortly before 3:00 Tuesday morning near 63rd Street S. & Buckner in Derby. According to our news partners with KFDI , deputies were trying to stop a Chevy Blazer which had a stolen license plate. The woman didn't stop, and authorities chased her into Wichita for nearly a half-hour. She finally stopped in a cul-de-sac at Walnut and Maxwell in Wichita after Wichita police deployed stop-sticks to flatten her tires.

A three-year-old is taken to a Wichita hospital with serious injuries after a multi-vehicle accident. Four cars in all were involved. It happend early Saturday evening at 143rd East and Kellogg. Four others were also hurt in the wreck. According to authorities their injuries do not appear to be life threatening.

Officials from Sedgwick County announced Friday the capture of a top ten wanted fugitive profiled on America's Most Wanted. Vernon (Spike) Coleman was wanted in Sedgwick County for aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated criminal sodomy and sexual exploitation of a child. Coleman has been profiled on Americas Most Wanted several times over the past 17 years. Officials say Coleman has eluded authorities since March 1995 when the initial warrants were issued for his arrest.

Fireworks could be to blame for a wheat field fire in northern Sedgwick County Monday afternoon. The fire started in the 13000 block of East 69th St. North. Fire crews say they found evidence of fireworks close to the field. An arson investigator is looking into whether fireworks were the cause. "We have witnesses who said they saw people lighting fireworks in this area but none that saw the fire start," explains Division Chief Eddie Fajardo. The landowner says he's lucky he has already harvested his wheat, but relies on the stubble to retain moisture and keep the field from eroding.