Convicted murderer makes court appearance in Reno County
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Brought into the courtroom in prison attire and chains, a convicted murderer from Pratt was in Reno County District Court Thursday where he was read the formal charges for alleged crimes at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility.
24-year-old Charles Denmark-Wagner is charged with solicitation to commit aggravated intimidation of a witness. The state alleges he attempted to get another person to intimidate a witness in a criminal case. He’s also charged with solicitation to commit criminal threat, which means he tried to get that other person to make the threat. According to the criminal complaint, both crimes occurred on Feb. 24. If convicted of the first charge, he could see as much as another year and five months added to his sentence. The second charge could see a year and one month in prison added to his current sentence.
Denmark-Wagner is serving a life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years after he entered a plea in a murder case. Denmark-Wagner and 36-year-old Dan Riendeau were convicted in the stabbing death of 48-year-old Alesia M. Doris-Graham. She was found inside her bedroom and had been stabbed with a knife as many as 100 times in the head, neck, back and arm. The murder occurred back on Nov. 22, 2008.
Riendeau also entered pleas in the case against him and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.
In court Thursday morning, he was assigned the Regional Public Defenders Office to represent him and his case will move to a waiver-status docket on Nov. 4.
As it stands now, he’s not eligible for parole until 2028.
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Pretrial hearing in kidnapping case scheduled for Friday
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson man charged with kidnapping, aggravated battery and theft is scheduled to be in court Friday for a brief pretrial hearing. 
Todd Lloyd is accused of holding his girlfriend at knife point in front of several police officers after he tried to elude community corrections personnel who wanted him taken into custody.
Police Sgt. Eric Buller testified during the preliminary hearing that he was ready to shoot the defendant in the head during the standoff, but couldn’t get a clean shot. At one time, police ordered the victim to drop down so they could shoot Lloyd, at which time he dropped the knife. He was then tased by police and taken into custody.
The victim had testified that she was shielding her boyfriend from police and that she was never being held against her will.
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Wichita man scheduled for sentencing in drug distribution case
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One of the defendants in a drug case who entered “guilty” pleas to an amended complaint filed by the state is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
22-year-old Dwayne Lewis of Wichita and 24-year-old Rayland Brown were arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine and marijuana, both with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to package.
But Lewis entered pleas to possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of two different types of prescription drugs and driving while a habitual violator.
Judge Tim Chambers had earlier ordered that Lewis be sent to prison for the sale of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and no tax stamp. How this new sentence will mix with that is up to the judge.
The co-defendant agreed to the plea offer and was convicted of possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana, both with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to package for sale. He was also convicted in another case for the sale of cocaine going back to Feb. 27, 2013. He was given 32 months in prison in each case. The two sentences were ordered to run concurrent to each other, but consecutive to a third. That included convictions for sale of drugs, being in possession of a precursor for the manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of opiates and no drug tax stamp.
This latest case centers on a Hutchinson Police Officer making a traffic stop in the 500 block of East 1st. That allegedly led to the discovery of crack cocaine and marijuana, both allegedly in a distribution amount and occurring in May of 2013.