The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 17

rest available copy wwwkansascitycom i METROPOLITAN THE KANSAS CITY STAR Friday April 9 2004 Man's disappearance after party baffles family Finf glance Alonzo Brooks 23 of Gardner has not been seen since Saturday night when he attended a party at a farm just east of La Cygne Kan Anyone with information can call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477) concerned on Sunday when her son call or return lire family notified authorities On Monday a search began and was continuing Thursday without producing any breakthroughs Several law enforcement agencies have entered the case including the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Linn County Sheriff Marvin Stites said Thursday that his office was investigating the disappearance as a crime have no proof that foul play" he said not ruling it out" Dozens of people maybe as many as 200 attended the party Stites said Large numbers of interviews are being conducted The sheriff disclose in detail what infonnation they have pro- Family members have been to La Cygne and early this week found boots and a cap belonging to their relative The family also askedMove Up for assistance in spreading information about the missing man Brooks who worked for a building maintenance company did not drive a car He was not married A reward of $2000 has been offered $1000 from Move Up and $1000 from the family Anyone with information can call the UPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477) Billy Brooks said the family know what to do next hope Brooks said want to believe out there To reach John A Dvorak call (816) 234-7743 or send e-mail to jdvorakkcstarcom whites played a role in the disappearance Brooks is black Many of the party attendees were white But Stites said the investigation is wide-ranging look at every he said Officials of Move Up a Kansas City area anti-crime organization said they believe the disappearance should be investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as a possible hate crime Melissa Thompson a crisis worker with the group said she had received information that Brooks received racially oriented threats at the party and argued with someone there Officials at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation declined to comment Thursday except to say they were assisting the county sheriff By JOHN A DVORAK The Kansas City Siar Just outside the house in Gardner a decorative wooden sign reads "Happy but for the people inside not a happy time at all Family members of Alonzo Brooks 23 who lives there with his mother Maria Ramirez gathered Thursday to contemplate the unexplained disappearance last weekend of a young man one of them called "Everything seems like a said Billy Brooks an Olathe resident and brother of the missing man adds up right now" This much is known: last Saturday Alonzo Brooks rode with a friend to a party at a farm just east of La Cygne Kan His mother grew Man held in death of brother A Kansas City Kan man was charged Thursday afternoon with shooting his brother to death in the morning Prosecutors charged Kevin Carter 21 in Wyandotte County District Court with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Bernard Carter Authorities said police were called to a house about 9:50 am in the 1700 block of 74th Street concerning a shooting that had just occurred When officers arrived they found the victim who had suffered a fatal gunshot wound Police Capt Michael Kobe said the brothers got into an argument inside the house and the disagreement turned into a fight and one brother shot the other Kobe said the suspect was arrested at the house Kevin Carter was being held in Wyandotte County jail on $100000 bond Police said the incident was under investigation and they were not releasing any more information The age was not available Neighbors said the two brothers lived in the house with their mother Robert A CronkletonJThe Stan duced But a fight did occur at the party he said Whether Brooks was involved is not clear he said Stites said he has no indication that conflict between blacks and METROPOLITAN DIGEST (LAV COUNTY KC man charged in slaying By CHRISTINE VENDEL The Kansas City Star Sims allegedly used a rifle to shoot a rottweiler on Monday after the dog ripped opened a garbage bag and scattered trash in the 1700 block of Waverly Avenue The dog was paralyzed and a veterinarian decided to euthanize it Sims was convicted of a felony in 1998 in Oklahoma which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm A Cronkleton BELTON Fire investigation Officials said Thursday that they were unable to determine the cause of a fire that ravaged a home in the Clay County community of Oak-wood earlier this week The single-alarm fire at a residence in the 900 block of Woodland Drive reportedly started in the attic on the second floor The fire quickly spread through the house said Greg Carrell an investigator for the Missouri fire office Fire officials estimated the damage at $500 (XX) to the structure and contents Carrell said investigators were trying to determine whether an electrical problem caused the fire A neighbor helped a 91-year-old couple who lived there escape without injury Glenn Rice POLICE: Academy cost rises Continued from B-l Computer charges A Belton man was indicted Thursday on federal computer hacking charges after a salary dispute between him and his former employer Christopher Jones 28 was charged with transmitting a computer command that intentionally damaged a computer causing at least $5000 in damage The computer belonged to his former employer a photography company After Jones and the firm could not come to terms on his compensation in August his employment was terminated Jones had been in charge of the Web site Mark Morris is to keep the cost at about $27 million Officials plan to discuss with architects next week LEAWOOD Francisco Otero-Hemandez was shot to death last year after he asked a man to move a pickup truck that was blocking his Kansas City driveway On Thursday Jackson County prosecutors accused Ramon Arambula 22 of Kansas City of committing that murder A second man was wounded in the July 30 attack Arambula faces charges of second-degree murder first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action He was in jail Thursday night with bond set at $250000 cash only Police arrested Arambula on Tuesday after a witness picked his photo from a lineup Court records gave this account: Otero-Hemandez 31 wa at his home in the 100 block of Chelsea Avenue when he asked a man to move his pickup truck The man argued with Otero-Hemandez pimed a handgun and shot him A friend began dragging Otero-Iler-nandez to a car The gunman fired again hitting the friend in the leg The gunman fired two more times into the car The friend drove off to take Otero-Hemandez to a hospital After the driver ran a red light at Truman Road and Prospect Avenue police pulled him over Police saw the men were injured and called paramedics who took the men to a hospital To reach Christine Vendel police reporter call (816) 234 4438 or send e-mail to cvendelkcstarcom LOTTERIES Assault suspect The investigation of an assault on a woman walking in Tomahawk Creek Park continued Thursday and police released a composite picture of the suspect The woman was attacked about 5 pm Wednesday as she walked along a wooded trail near Tomahawk Creek Parkway The assailant was a man in his 20s riding a mountain bike The woman escaped and called police She was examined at a hospital but police said she suffered no injuries Cooper winning numbers: Missouri Pick 3: 0-8-2 Straight-play winners won $598 box-play wihners won $100 A 50-cent bet paid halt Missouri Pick 4: 0-4-3-2 Missouri Show Me 5: 15-20-34-36-42 No winner of $50000 jackpot Four numbers paid $750 Kansas Pick 3: 4-9-5 Straight-play winners won $500 box-play winners won $80 A 50-cent bet paid half Kansas 2by2: Red 7-25 white 2-18 Wednesday's Powerball: 2-7-16-35-37 Powerball 10 no winner of the $478 million jackpot Two tickets matched five numbers for prizes of $100000 The jackpot in drawing will be an estimated $57 million Please check with lottery officials in your state for confirmation of these numbers ways to trim costs Also on Thursday commissioners heard a report from Kansas City Auditor Mark Funkhouser regarding satisfaction with police services The report was the fourth annual survey of citizens Funkhouser said he saw no major trends concerning the Police Department but he noted the city ranked low compared with other area cities when residents were asked about quality of police Kansas City scored the worst of 20 metropolitan-area cities with 57 percent of respondents giving a 4 or 5 ranking 5 being the highest score possible Other cities scored up to 93 percent in that category Kansas City was not last in any other category but the score was near the bottom in those additional categories Funkhouser said Kansas City fared better when compared with larger cities in the Midwest The percentage of residents from larger cities who gave high ratings of satisfaction with public averaged 70 percent Kansas City scored 69 percent ETC Institute of Olathe conducted the survey of 1210 households in November and December 2003 Results were compared with neighboring cities such as Blue Springs and Independence and larger cities such as Denver and St Louis Funkhouser said the department could improve its ratings by solving more crimes He noted Kansas clearance rates for both violent and property crimes are below average According to report: Kansas City detectives cleared 304 percent of violent crimes in 2003 That compares with 483 percent for other cities in 2002 according to a study by the International CityCounty Management Association KANSAS CITY KAN KEITH MYERSThe Kansas City Star The art of relaxation Relaxing and soaking up some sun at the Kansas City Art Institute on Thursday Stef Beer made a cell phone call to her mother who is traveling in Canada Beer of Burlington Vt is a design student at the school Weapons charges A 45-year-old Kansas City Kan man was charged in federal court Thursday in the shooting of a dog Gregory Sims was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm Sims appeared in US District Court in Kansas City Kan AUDIT: More needs to be done to protect children Continued from B-l Northland man faces abuse charge A Kansas City North man accused of breaking a 6-month-old legs was charged Thursday with child abuse Clay County prosecutors also charged Russell Fletcher 36 with one count of first -degree assault after his girlfriend's child was admitted to a hospital Tuesday after suffering seizures According to court records police went to the hospital and were told the boy had fractures to both legs and bleeding on the brain Doctors think the boy's bones were broken five to 10 days before the seizures but they sure how old the bleeding was Doctors told investigators the leg injuries could have been caused by someone holding the boy by the ankles and moving him in a whipping motion girlfriend told police that he watched over the boy while she was working ShultzThe Star Kansas City detectives cleared 101 percent of property crimes compared with 178 percent in cities studied by the assodatioa Raising the clearance rates would "make a huge difference" Funkhouser said "People notice the caseworkers did not interview the children apart from the alleged perpetrator or other influential parties The audit also stated that caseworkers did not adequately follow up on cases where services were needed Auditors found caseworkers did not make the appropriate number of contacts in 19 of 41 cases reviewed One caseworker only checked on the medical treatment of a 5-year-old with a degenerative condition by contacting the mother not the physician The child died from lack of medical attention according to the audit Additional funding could do a lot to help the situation said Chris Whitley associate director of Department of Social Services There is a $93 million increase for the child welfare system in the proposed state budget which passed the House on Wednesday Whitley said the money could help reduce caseloads by hiring additional staff and private contrac racy in making intake screening risk assessment service and placement decisions Improve the quality control review of the hot line to make sure decisions on unable-to-investigate records are appropriate Ensure reports are retrieved and acted on by field workers by establishing a quality-control system that requires the hot line to reconcile reports sent to local offices to reports printed and taken off the system for action The state department has implemented three recommendations Require hot line call takers to check division records for prior abuse reports on the child or family and document that check Ensure unable-to-investigate worksheets document completely the phone reports of abuse received by the hot line Enter unable-to-investigate records into an automated production system and retain To reach Debra Skodack call (816) 234-4738 or send email to dskodadckcstarcom tors for some case management services as well as providing training and education for staff The state needs to get the money to use nationally accredited private agencies for follow-up on family-centered service cases said Carmen Schulze executive director of the Missouri Coalition of Agencies we wouldn't see the heading of service in the next report" she said Mary McEniry the child welfare ombudsman said inadequate resources lead to inconsistencies in training resources and supervision In addition to the money that would be provided in the budget McEniry said legislation proposed by House Speaker Catherine Hana-way would revamp the child abuse and neglect system According to the audit the state partly implemented three recommendations: Structure decision making to increase the consistency and accu Making sure a child-abuse and neglect investigation or a family assessment Ls completed within a required time frame was the only recommendation the state had not fully or partly implemented the audit said Face-to-face visits are supposed to be done witfiin 24 hours of when a call is considered investigation" and within 72 hours of a call deemed a "family According to the audit in 16 percent of the cases tested caseworkers did not see the children within the required time In the case of the teenager the custodial aunt reportedly kicked him out of her house and threatened to harm him if he hurt her or any family member The caseworker attempted to contact them but the boy and family were not available The caseworker went on vacation and did not attempt to contact again for 13 days Auditors also found that in 19 percent of the investigations reviewed tnt Property crimes affect many more lives than violent crimes and should be a priority Funkhouser said Board President Karl Zobrist agreed is room for improvement he said "We shotffd do what we need to get that figure To reach Christine Vendel call (816) 234-4438 or send e-mail to cvenddkcstarcom kansascitycom For the latest in local news point your browser to wwwkansascitycom.