Murder suspect Billy Craig scheduled for court Friday for contempt charge
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — While we wait to see what happens in the murder case against a Hutchinson man accused of being involved in the killing of a Hutchinson woman, he is scheduled for a hearing Friday for refusing to testify at a co-defendant’s trial. 
Billy Craig refused to testify in the trial of Charles Christopher Logsdon and was found in contempt. The trial for Logsdon was for the killing of Jennifer Heckel.
The case has been pending for some time and Judge Trish Rose wants to see what can be done to get some of these cases moving.
Craig is also charged for being involved in the murder of Jennifer Heckel on June 14, 2011. He’s alleged to have gone with Logsdon to Heckel’s home and killed her while her young son was in the next room.
The defense was granted a motion to suppress some of the statements made during taped interviews with law enforcement over the killing of Heckel, some prior to him even being charged with murder, saying they didn’t believe the statements were made voluntarily.
Judge Tim Chambers agreed to suppress statements made on July 19 in a transport vehicle, an interrogation on Aug. 12 and Aug. 24 all in 2011. In some of these statements, Craig apparently implicates himself as being involved in the killing of Heckel, which occurred on June 14, 2011, but later gets cold feet and says he made it all up.
That is still on appeal.
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Suspect in aggravated assault case set for sentencing Friday
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a continuance two weeks ago, a 27-year-old Hutchinson man who entered pleas to three assault charges is again scheduled for sentencing Friday.
Lucas Hall was originally charged with three counts of aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, but the state dropped some of the charges as part of a plea agreement.
Hall was convicted of hitting a vehicle multiple times with three people inside, including his ex-girlfriend, as they tried to get away from him. The incident occurred on Oct. 15 of last year and started as the victims traveled southbound on Maple from 5th. It ended near 4th & Main where Hall was arrested on the charges. The victims were apparently trying to reach the law enforcement center to get away from Hall. There was damage to the vehicle the three were in as a result of Hall allegedly striking it.
The sentencing is again scheduled in front of Judge Trish Rose.
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Suspects in series of local burglaries scheduled to be sentenced Friday
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One of two people convicted of numerous burglaries and other crimes is scheduled for sentencing Friday. In exchange for pleas by Timothy McQueen, the state agreed not to file several additional charges against him and co-defendant, 21-year-old Kelsey Hamby
Both had been charged by the state with four counts of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and making false writing. They allege that the two broke into storage units at three different locations around the city. Most of these alleged crimes occurred around June 12 or 13, while one was between May 19 and June 18. The state also charged them with conspiracy for break in of a storage unit in McPherson, then bringing the stolen property to Reno County. This occurred on June 9, according to the criminal complaint. They’re also alleged to have falsified a pawn ticket on that same date. Hamby was also charged with additional counts of criminal use of a financial card.
McQueen had been granted probation for earlier convictions of aggravated burglary from October of 2012, when he broke into a building on west 5th. In another case, he was convicted of possession of methamphetamine for a case that goes back to November of 2012.
Sentencing Friday is scheduled in front of Judge Joe McCarville.
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James Bloom civil case scheduled for hearing Thursday continued again
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The civil case for a former sheriff and law enforcement instructor convicted in a child sex case was scheduled for hearing again Thursday, in fact, the defendant, James Ryan Bloom, was brought from the prison where he is being housed back to Reno County. But the attorney for Bloom is apparently out sick, so Judge Trish Rose had to continue the matter again.
Bloom was convicted on several felonies and sentenced to 27 1/2 years in prison in a child sex case. He is seeking relief, claiming ineffective counsel during plea negotiations. His attorney at the time, Sarah Sweet McKinnon had earlier testified over the various plea offers made by the state between June and October of 2006. She told the court that in each instance, he turned down the offers, although she couldn’t recall why in each case. Also on the stand was his other attorney, Kiehl Rathbun.
Bloom doesn’t believe the two attorney’s gave him all the information of what was going on. The offers were apparently made using email during that year, some changing the charges if he would enter a plea. He says he never even saw any of the emails till last year when his current attorney showed them to him. He also claims that he wasn’t told of the possible sentence, however the state pointed out that the judge who read the formal complaint to him mentioned the possible penalties.
He was found guilty of one count of rape, six counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct. The victim in the case was a 12-year-old girl. The crimes occurred while he was an instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Yoder and happened over a period of time in 2006. He’s not eligible for parole until the year 2029.
In addition to being an instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, he also served as the sheriff in Trego County before that.
When the hearing will be rescheduled is unknown.