The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 3

The Salina Journal Saturday, December 10,1988 Victims in liquor store heist threatened by robbers By DAVID CLOUSTON Staff Writer Dale Schwermann and his wife, Lori, of Beloit, were shopping in the Kristek Liquor Store on Thursday when two robbers, one of them armed with a rifle, burst into the store, ordered everyone to lie on the floor and took about $400 from the cash register. "They said, 'This is no joke, god- dammit. Hit the floor," Schwermann said Friday as he recounted the moment of terror. Schwermann and his wife were looking at a decanter shaped like a Chevy when the robbery began. He said he apparently was too slow to rfespond to the robbers' demand and was struck in the back of the head with the butt of the rifle.

"It was hard enough that I felt it. I was going to try and take him, but I could never (see) the other one," he said. "I decided I'd better (lie down) before anyone got hurt." The robbers spent about two minutes in the store, located in the Mid State Mall at 2450 S. Ninth, before they fled in an car driven by an accomplice. Police had three suspects a 36- year-old man and two juvenile boys in custody a short time later.

On Friday, police identified the adult suspect as Charles F. Ruane, 219 N. 12th. He is accused of two counts aggravated robbery, two counts aggravated assault and one count aggravated battery. The juveniles, aged 16 and 17, whose names were not released, are being referred to juvenile court.

The 16 year old is accused of one count aggravated robbery; the 17 year old is accused of one count aggravated robbery and one count theft. Store owner George Kristek was talking on the phone to his wife when the robbery began about 6 p.m. He "You can't see much when your eyeballs are facing the carpet. I truly thought I might get shot instantly." store owner George Kristek took one look and told her, "Hang up, I'm being robbed." He said Friday he did not see the robbers' faces clearly because signs near the door blocked his view before he laid down behind the counter. "You can't see much when your eyeballs are facing the carpet," he 'I truly thought I might get shot instantly." The robbers took about $400 from the cash register and Schwermann's billfold, which contained about $60.

The suspects were stopped by Salina Police officer Charles Cornell about 7:30 p.m., in the 1400 block of West Cloud Street. A rifle was confiscated. With the arrest of Ruane, Assistant Police Chief Glen Kochanowski said police have cleared an Oct. 16,1987, robbery at Sullivan's Liquor Store, 837 N. Santa Fe.

Ruane confessed to that robbery in return for immunity from prosecution, Kochanowski said. In that robbery, a man with a rifle took about $25. The youths taken into custody Thursday were described by police as friends of Ruane's. Investigators originally thought that five people might have been involved in the Kristek robbery. Witnesses, however, mistakenly thought they saw three people not just one youth waiting in the getaway car for the pair inside the store, police said.

Witnesses played a key role in leading police to suspects. Physician Anthony Francis, 2344 Northwood, had just left the nearby Wal-Mart store in the Mid State Mall when he thought he saw a man with a gun through the door of the store. He saw the robbers run from the store to a car. "I thought he saw me so I at least wanted to find out what the license tag was," he said. Francis and another person outside the store were able to give police a description and license plate number of the car, a beige 1980 Pontiac Phoenix.

"I guess I was just kind of enraged that this was going on in Salina," Francis said. "If we were living in New York or something you expect this to happen, but not in Salina." Michael Everhart, 319 E. Laura, said he went into the liquor store just as one of the robbers was taking the money. "Another guy came around the side with a rifle and told me to lie down," Everhart said. Everhart said he responded by squatting, which angered the robber.

"That's not down, I want you down on the floor flat you (expletive deleted)," Everhart quoted the robber as saying. The excitement put an end to the evening's business, but on Friday morning Kristek was open as usual and getting plenty of questions from curious customers. "I haven't been robbed in 15 years and hopefully won't be again," he said. "They scared the daylights out of me." Court upholds 1 conviction of 26 in grain theft case TOPEKA (AP) The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that James Larry Bell Sr. should remain convicted of a single charge of felony theft, dismissing 25 other felony theft charges.

Bell, 48, Minneapolis, operated Midway Grain Brokerage Salina, which was forced to close through involuntary bankruptcy proceedings in October 1984. Bell was convicted in Saline County District Court on 26 counts of theft by deception in connection with transactions made by his company in August and September of 1984. Bell was accused of taking grain from several elevators and a farmer and not paying for it. He was sentenced to serve between five and 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $328,864 to victims. The Kansas Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction in 25 of the 26 counts, most of them because of in- sjiSficient evidence.

The court ruled the prosecution failed to show Bell gained control of the grain by making fplse statements or representations of or present existing facts." I The Supreme Court upheld that hg in its unsigned opinion and ned the case to district court so thgt the restitition payments can be ilculated. trial ordered In another case, the court ordered a new trial for a Butler County man convicted of first-degree murder. A Butler County jury convicted John E. Beebe of participating in the Jan. 2,1987, murder, kidnapping and robbery of Lawrence Capps of El Dorado.

In its unanimous decision, the state's highest court said Butler County District Judge John E. Sanders erred in his instructions to the jury. Justices said Sanders erred when he told the jury that if it found that a gun was used in Capps' killing, then the jury could conclude the crime was premeditated and, therefore, first-degree murder. The court also said the judge erred by allowing statements from Butler County Attorney Mike Ward's closing argument to stay in the record. Conviction upheld In another murder case, the court upheld a former Wichita resident's second-degree murder conviction in connection with the suffocation death of his 3-year-old daughter.

In July 1986, Charles W. Morris admitted to suffocating the child. In his arguments to the high court, Morris contended that Sedgwick County District Judge Montie Deer erred in giving instructions to the jury a contention the court unanimously rejected. Staff writer Carol Ldchti contributed to this report. an OK after 12-foot french collapses on him By DAVID CLOUSTON Staff Writer A 36-year-old contractor helping rfemove two underground gasoline storage tanks on South Broadway buried for a short time Friday 'hen a trench collapsed on him.

tarry Schoof, 618 Carl, was not ijijwred. The accident happened a'tsut 2 p.m. as workers were trying tbcwrap a cable around one of the gallon tanks to pull it loose, said Satina Fire Chief Tom Girard. tanks, at 612 S. Broadway, are dwned by Ott Oil 1315 Beverly.

Witnesses said Schoof turned and the collapse coming and covered with his arms. He was ilipost completely buried near the bqttom of the 12-foot deep trench for te'tjween five or 10 minutes, but nSanaged to breathe from an air dqeket in front of his face. co-worker jumped in and dug ith his' hands to try and clear dirt from around Schoof's face as rescuers arrived. "When the first police officer got there the only thing showing was the tip of the guy's head," Girard said. Emergency medical service personnel and other workers using shovels and buckets removed Schoof from the trench about 40 minutes later.

He was taken to Salina Family Physicians, 617 E. Elm, and treated for minor scrapes and cuts to his forehead. Bob Ott of Ott Oil Co. said the tanks were emptied Thursday and were being removed in response to an order by the federal Environmental Protection Agency that mandates tougher standards for underground tanks to guard against fuel leaks. Among other provisions, that order calls for older tanks to be removed if they cannot meet stringent monitoring tests by 1989.

family members die iii trip home from funeral i NORTON Four family members rhing from a funeral in Texas £fe. killed early Friday when the datthey were riding in crashed into a creek bank and burst into flames. A fifth family member in the car -as in serious condition Friday ever ing at the Good Samaritan Hospital iiKearney.Neb. The accident occurred about 5 a.m. a half mile west of Norton on U.S.

36, aceoMng to the Kansas Highway I 'atrOl. Who was driving the car is ro?" Known. Authorities assume the rjyer fell asleep at the wheel. Dead at the scene were Alicia I urns, 59; her daughter Rita Ortega, 3P; Ortega's daughter, Rita, and irteaa's nephew, Michael Miranda, 3, wjio also was Burns' grandson. A second daugnier of Ortega's, Jennifer, 12, was taken to the Norton County Hospital and later was flown to the Kearney hospital.

All five were from Omaha, Patrol dispatcher William Arehart said. Authorities believe the car left the road at a curve, flew across a creekbed and struck the opposite bank, throwing everyone from the car except the 9-year-old before it burst into flames, Arehart said. Alicia Burns and the 9-year-old were badly burned in the accident, Arehart said. The family was returning to Omaha from Dumas, Texas, where they had attended a funeral, he said. Suzanne Strieff founded Nebraska's Believe the Children group.

Photot by Horrli Kathleen Sorenson is the foster parent of several abused children. Satanic child abuse may be here ByALANSTOLFUS Staff Writer By the time she was 8 years old, Mary had seen several children killed in satanic worship services. Her father, she said, was the leader of a group of occult followers that was constantly on the move. She has watched people burned to death, drowned and shot, and she was forced to drink blood and eat human flesh, she said. "What I did was right to me," she said.

"I was born into it." Mary, 18, was in Salina Friday to speak at a seminar about ritual child abuse prevention. About 50 school counselors, psychologists and others attended the meeting at the Days Inn, 100 N. Fifth. It was sponsored by the Salina Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Those who attended the conference were seeking information on how to handle a type of child abuse that is becoming more common, said Glenda Krug, coalition director.

"It is happening here in Salina, Kansas," she said. "It's prevalent in rural areas as in urban areas." In Salina, children learn about the occult through heavy metal music and magazines sold in stores. Some high school students are afraid to talk about the issue, she said. "There is a problem," Krug said. The occult and satanic worship appeals to youths because "it says anything you want to do is OK," said Kathleen Sorenson, a member of the Nebraska chapter of Believe the Children, a ritual child abuse prevention organization.

Sorenson and Suzanne Strieff, founder of the Nebraska organization, were featured speakers at the seminar. "It seems to be the trend of the late '80s," Sorenson said. "When most (youths) get involved, they don't realize what they're getting into." Sorenson is the foster parent of several ritually abused children in Omaha. She knew the children had been sexually abused, but she did not know to what extent, she said. As she learned more about the subject, she began to speak out against it.

From her own foster children and other abused children, she said, she learned that many of the people killed in sacrifices are children. Followers of the occult also consider it an honor to sacrifice their own children, she said. She believes the children when they talk about their pasts, she said, because of the anguish and details they reveal. 'They know too she said. Mary (not her real name) is one of Sorenson's foster children.

Her biological parents have escaped punishment for their actions, Sorenson said. Because Mary's family moved so much, she was behind in school. She was not allowed to make friends with other children unless it was to lure them to the family, Mary said. Mary has lived with Sorenson for several years and feels assured that her biological parents cannot find her. "I used to be scared," she said.

"I'm not scared any more, even if they find me, because I've talked to so many people (about ritual abuse). It's like I was born again. I have different parents." Strieff said ritual abuse occurs at all levels of society. She founded the Nebraska chapter because a support group was needed for parents of ritually abused children. Although it was not difficult to organize the group, it was difficult to gain respect from law enforcement officials and others who did not believe such abuse existed, she said.

Now, almost five years later, ritual abuse Is becoming more readily discussed, she said. "Things are moving but very slowly, "she said. Strieff's daughter was ritually abused at a Chicago day care center for several months when she was about 3 years old, she said. The girl suffered from brainwashing and death threats, was urinated and defecated on and forced to drink blood, she said. After four years of therapy, her daughter is "doing well," she said.

Motorcyclists ready for Christmas Toy Run The 1988 Christmas Toy Run, an annual event in which motorcycle riders bearing Christmas toys parade through Salina, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday. The parade will begin at the south end of the Mid-State Mall and end at the Salvation Army, 1137 N. Santa Fe. The toy run, sponsored by the Golden Eagles motorcycle club, will feature riders from several area motorcycle clubs, including Abate, Theus, Gold Wing Touring Association and the Harley Owners Group.

Anyone is welcome to join the parade, and participants need only show up at the mall parking lot by 1:30 with a toy in hand. Santa Claus will join the parade. The motorcyclists, led by a police escort, will travel on Ninth Street to Claflin Street, east on Claflin to Santa Fe Avenue, and north on Santa Fe to the Salvation Army where they will drop off their toys. Kay Bishop, activities chairman for the Golden Eagles club, said various businesses around town are donating toys and food items, which will be distributed by the Salvation Army. "Last year we had around 135 participants," Bishop said.

"We're hoping for much more this year, and from all indications we will have more." The Golden Eagles Motorcycle Club is a family oriented touring club. This is the third year they have sponsored the toy run. "They've had this in other cities for quite a number of years," said Bishop. "Salina had never had one, and the president at the time suggested it to our club. KU economists see state economic growth By Harris News Service LAWRENCE In the year ahead, University of Kansas economists predict, the state's economy will maintain 1987 and 1988 levels in growth of employment and personal income.

The same KU economists disagree with members of the National Association of Business Economists who recently said a recession is likely within two years. The KU economists say the U.S. economy, fueled by growth in investment and export demand, will continue to grow in 1989, though at a slower rate than in 1988. "We are not forecasting a national recession," said Norman G. Clifford, a research associate for KU's Institute for Public Policy and Business Research.

"We see slowdowns in tne rate of increase in consumer and investment spending, but not severe enough to cause a recession next year." While KU economists do not forecast a recession, they predict the nation's economy will cool next year, with a 2.8 percent growth rate. Clifford, also an assistant professor of economics, directs research with the economic model that generates the forecasts. He said he and his associates found no surprises in the Kansas forecast for next year. Their 1989 economic forecast for Kansas and the nation will appear this month in the Kansas Business Review, published by the IPPBR. The projections are based on information collected for the national and state economies and comparisons in employment and personal income growth.

In terms of personal income, the Kansas economy is predicted to grow 6 percent in 1989..