Suspect charged in JoCo double homicide

Posted: July 10, 2014 - 1:52am
Updated: July 17, 2014 - 11:12pm

Updated Report:

Alex Wayne Brune, 27
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Lenexa Police say they have arrested a person of interest in last week's triple shooting which left two men dead and another critically injured.

Johnson County booking records show that Alex Wayne Brune, 27, of Lenexa was arrested around 8:30 Wednesday evening.

Brune faces two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and is being held on $2,000,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

The criminal complaint shows that Brune is also charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated burglary.

The complaint alleges that Brune was attempting to rob Brian Baskind and his step-father Clifford Preston.

During the failed robbery attempt, Brune allegedly killed both Baskind and Preston. Brune was also shot during the incident and he called 911 to report that he had been shot. The 911 call brought officers to the home, where Brune told officers that two men were dead inside. At that time, Brune claimed that he did not know who had shot him or the other men.

Original Report:

Lenexa Police are investigating after three men were found shot inside a home.

Master Police Officer Dan Friesen says at 10:08 p.m. Wednesday, Lenexa Police Communications received a 911 call from an individual who said he had been shot.

The man was not able to provide dispatchers with an address. Dispatchers kept the man on the phone and plotted his location, using cell phone pings, to the 8500 block of Hallet Street.

Aerial image of the area - Scene marked in red box
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Officers located the injured man in the front yard of the home and transported him to a Med-Act ambulance that was staged nearby.

Johnson County Med-Act transported the man in critical condition to an area trauma center. The man remains hospitalized Thursday afternoon.

MPO Friesen says, "during the initial response, officers learned there may be additional victims inside a residence. It was later determined two individuals inside the residence were deceased."

Police say Brian S. Baskind, 47, and Clifford E. Preston, 79, were found dead inside the home. The man who was wounded has not been officially identified.

"The relationship between the three individuals is unknown," according to MPO Friesen.

The Crime Scene Investigations Unit from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office Criminalistics Laboratory continues to process the scene.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to call Lenexa Police at 913-477-7300 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

Wednesday morning's triple shooting is the city of Lenexa's first homicide case in just over two years. March 14, 2012 report.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Troopers identify two men killed in K-10 crossover accident

Posted: March 20, 2014 - 1:27am
Updated: March 20, 2014 - 8:12pm

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The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating after two people were killed in a head-on accident on Kansas Highway 10 in De Soto.

The accident was reported shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday in the eastbound lanes of K-10, east of Kill Creek Road.

Johnson County Sheriff's Deputies arrived at the scene to report two vehicles with heavy damage.

Johnson County Med-Act reported two people dead at the scene.

Both eastbound lanes of the highway were closed, with traffic being diverted to Kill Creek Road. All lanes reopened to traffic at 6:15 a.m..

Troopers say, 45-year-old, Johnnie Royce Jackson of Kansas City, Missouri, was driving his 2007 Chevrolet Silverado westbound in the eastbound lanes of K-10 after crossing the grassy center median. The wrong way truck then crashed nearly head-on into an eastbound 2013 Toyota Avalon. The Toyota was being driven by, 20-year-old, Robert Anthony Zevenbergen of Kansas City, Kansas. 

An accident report says Jackson was not wearing a seat-belt and was ejected from the truck. Zevenbergen was properly restrained and had to be extricated from his car.

Trooper Howard Dickinson says the crash was not survivable because of the force of two vehicles traveling at 70 mph and crashing into each other.


The Kansas Highway Patrol continues to investigate if alcohol played a role in the accident's cause.

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Elderly couple killed in JoCo crash identified

Posted: September 26, 2013 - 11:47pm
Updated: September 27, 2013 - 10:12am

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Overland Park Police are investigating a two car accident that killed an elderly couple.

The crash was dispatched at 3:38 p.m., Thursday, at the intersection of 79th Street and Mastin Drive.

Officers arrived to find two vehicles crashed. There were two people in each vehicle.

Police say the driver of a gray Mitsubishi Eclipse was traveling southbound on Mastin Drive towards 79th Street. The driver admitted to officers that he did not stop for the stop sign and struck a white Cadillac Deville.

The driver of the Mitsubishi was a 19-year-old male who was not injured. Police believe this was a test drive. His front seat passenger was an 18-year-old male who was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

Police say the driver of the Cadillac was an 86-year-old male and the front seat passenger was an 80-year-old female. Both were transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, where they both later succumbed to their injuries.

Authorities have identified the couple as Norman J. Russell, 86, and his wife Norma F. Russell, 80.

The Overland Park Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit continues to investigate the accident. As of this report there is no word of any charges against the other driver.

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Two killed in Shawnee apartment building fire

Posted: February 17, 2012 - 5:47am

Updated: February 18, 2012 - 12:54am

Update: Shawnee Fire Chief John Mattox says that food in a pan on the stove sparked the fire which killed two people Friday morning. Mattox identified the victims as 23-year-old JaMaur Smith and 21-year-old Jay'd Griffin, both are said to have died from smoke inhalation. There was a smoke detector in the apartment but, the batteries had been removed, according to Mattox.

Chief Mattox also says that one of the victims was found in the living room, indicating they may have been trying to escape but were overcome by toxic smoke, which doesn't take long. The other victim was found on the bedroom floor. Both victims lost died from carbon monoxide toxicity, otherwise known as smoke inhalation.

"This fire is Shawnee's first citizen fatalities from a fire in more than 10 years," Mattox said.

According to Mattox, "the first thing to go to sleep on you is your olfactory system, you stop smelling things. One of the last things to wake up on you is your olfactory system. That's why it's so important to have early detection."

The building, built in the 1970's, passed its annual fire alarm test in May 2011. Firefighters confirm that the alarm was sounding when they arrived. Dispatchers also reported receiving reports from 911 callers that the alarms were working.


Original Story:

At 5:32 a.m. fire crews from Shawnee and Overland Park were dispatched on a reported apartment building fire at 11601 W 75th Terrace, Carlyle Apartments in Shawnee. Three apparatus and crews were sent from Shawnee Fire along with two apparatus and crews from Overland Park Fire.

Johnson County Emergency Communications Center Dispatchers say they received multiple 911 calls about smoke in the two story building and also received an automatic fire alarm.

Shawnee Police arrived on the scene and reported that the smoke was heaviest in the basement.

Shawnee Fire crews arrived, reporting light haze visible inside. Crews located a small fire in a basement level apartment which had filled with heavy smoke. As those crews were extinguishing the fire, two victims were located. With the assistance of crews from Overland Park Fire both victims were carried out of the building.

According to Shawnee Fire Chief John Mattox, "Firefighters and Johnson County Med-Act attempted CPR, but it was too late." Mattox also says it is likely that the victims succumbed to the smoke.

Firefighters reported the fire was extinguished at 6:08 a.m.. Crews also reported fire alarms were sounding throughout the building.

No other injuries were reported.

Fire Investigators as well as Police Detectives are investigating the cause of the fire as well as a damage estimate.

The Red Cross is also on scene with apartment management assisting the displaced residents.

This is the second apartment fire in Shawnee this week. The first was Tuesday evening, just over half a mile away from this morning's fire. 2-Alarm apartment building fire in Shawnee.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first. Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Double fatality apartment fire in Mission, Update

Fire investigators have finished their investigation into the early morning fire at The Falls apartments complex at 6565 Foxridge Drive in Mission. The fire was reported in the early morning hours, Sunday, July 24th.

During the fire, one firefighter was transported to an area hospital where he was treated and released for heat exhaustion. A resident of the building was also transported, treated and released for smoke inhalation. Two other residents were treated on the scene for minor injuries. The fire caused extensive damage to six apartments.

After the flames were extinguished, officials confirmed that two people lost their lives in the fire. 23-year-old Jessica Theordoroff and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Bryce Rader.

The cause of the fire has been listed as undetermined but accidental in nature, according to Consolidated  Fire District No. 2, Division Chief Gary Lamons.