Additional Suspect Charge in Human Trafficking Case

An additional man has been charged for trying to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex after deputies arrested him in a sting operation on Thursday, Jan. 30.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.

Josue Rivera, 27, of Kansas City, Kan. has been charged with one count of felony attempted child enticement.

Jose Trinidad-Diaz, 33, of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and Dominic Shelby, 34, of Kansas City, Kan. were charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex. It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message

Josue Rivera, 27, of Kansas City, Kan. has been charged with one count of felony attempted child enticement.

Rivera was messaging with under-cover detectives during the original operation last week and continued communication until Jan. 30, when he made arrangements to meet whom he believed to be the 14-year-old. Instead, deputies took him into custody at the meet-up location. He is being held on a $25,000 bond.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Kearney Man Faces Charges after Pellet Gun Shooting

Kearney police officers responded to a shots fired call in the James Pointe neighborhood last weekend. One man was arrested and criminal charges were filed.

The victim told police that when he arrived home, the suspect exited his residence and began shooting at him, shattering the window of his vehicle. The suspect then retreated inside his own residence.

Kearney police officers requested assistance from Excelsior Springs Police and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office due to the nature of the call. Officers later determined that the weapon used by the suspect was a rifle-style pellet gun.

Police made several announcements over their vehicle PA system to get the suspect to come out of his house. When he did finally exit the home, officers safely took him into custody. Criminal charges were filed in this case.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

KHS Stars at FCCLA Regional Competition

Kearney High School FCCLA students demonstrated their expertise during the organization’s Region 14 STAR Events yesterday.

FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. The organization has been promoting family and consumer science education around the nation for approximately 80 years, according to the FCCLA website.

The STAR Events are FCCLA’s student competition to qualify for the state conference. Several Bulldogs had outstanding results and will be moving on to the next level, including:

• Janie Mendel qualified for state with her Professional Presentation project titled “Dyslexia in Education: Educating Educators”

• Josie Quick qualified for state with her “Teach or Train” project

• Sami Marlott and Luke Zurliene qualified for state with their Repurpose & Redesign project titled “Cans for Kearney”

• Adi Graham & Maddie Whitten did not qualify their project for state, however, they were up against three other fantastic projects and still received a high silver rating

KHS also sent a few additional students to serve in other organizational roles during the event:

• Lexie Barton served in her role as Region 14 State Officer for the last time at the regional level

• Ava Mayse served as the voting delegate for KHS, helping to elect the next regional council

• Olivia Kinstler served as a Youth Room Consultant, where she had an active role in the competitive events

KHS teacher Kassidy Robertson is the school’s FCCLA sponsor. “We’re very proud of all our members and our growing FCCLA chapter,” Mrs. Roberston said. “These students are becoming outstanding leaders for our entire community.”

KPGZ News – Ray Weikal contributed to this story.

Counter-Human Trafficking Operation Leads to Arrests, Victim Assistance

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.

Jose Trinidad-Diaz, 33, of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico

Two men have been charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex. It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message. Those men are Jose Trinidad-Diaz, 33, of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and Dominic Shelby, 34, of Kansas City, Kan.

Dominic Shelby, 34, of Kansas City, Kan.

At the same time as the predator operation, investigators conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel. They had posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex, knowing that many sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Twenty-seven sex workers responded to the hotel, and 13 agreed to accept services to leave a life of sex trafficking and/or sex work. Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with them to begin giving them resources for their journeys.

The operation was a joint effort by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations – Kansas City, and the Ray County Counter Human Trafficking Task Force. The Ray County Task Force is a team of subject matter experts in the counter-trafficking space who contribute their time and knowledge at no cost to host law enforcement agencies. They are credentialed law enforcement officers and analysts from several sheriff’s offices and have deep connections to a network of aftercare and survivor support service organizations.

During this operation, Task Force volunteers hailed from the Butler, Bourbon and Greenwood County sheriff’s offices in Kansas, the Washoe County, Nev., Sheriff’s Office and the Goodyear, Ariz., Police Department. They work discreetly with in-jurisdiction agencies with the support of the Ray County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office and many other credentialing agencies. Financially, they are supported by private donations from generous donors who believe in the mission of supporting law enforcement.

January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Last week’s operation aimed to reduce the occurrence of human trafficking that takes place in Clay County and the Kansas City metropolitan area.

KPGZ News – Sarah Boyd contributed to this story.

Environmental Health Program Recognized by FDA

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently recognized Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) for its commitment to food safety and continuous improvement within its environmental health program. For the past 10 years, the program worked to successfully pass the verification audit and meet all FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards.

The nine standards require an environmental health program to operate at the highest level. This includes developing a comprehensive training program for regulatory staff, the ability to prepare and respond to emergencies, consistency with national inspection criteria, regular self-assessment, industry and community relations, and more. Overall, participants are always focused on one goal: reducing factors that lead to foodborne illness.

“We want to be the most effective and responsive environmental health program we can be,” said Director of Public Health Darrell Meinke. “The work we’ve done to accomplish these standards will have a positive impact on the health of the people in our community for many years to come. I am extremely proud of our staff, past and present, for their efforts to achieve this recognition.”

Clay County Public Health becomes one of nine programs across the United States to complete all nine standards and receive a Certificate of Achievement from the FDA. There are 3,300 environmental health programs in the nation and 980 are currently enrolled in the FDA Retail Food Program Standards, actively working towards this goal.

“The performance measures specified for each of the nine standards are not minimum criteria, but instead represent a high benchmark to which a regulatory retail food program should aspire,” said Kimberly Destromp, acting office director of FDA’s Office of Retail Food Protection. “Active participation in this program clearly demonstrates a remarkable level of commitment to achieving program excellence.”

Clay County Public Health Center’s environmental health program is currently made up of nine employees and headed by Section Chief Robert Gilliland. They oversee 745 food establishments in Clay County, completing regular and complaint-based inspections, training food handlers and managers, and assisting facilities with any information they need to ensure the public is protected from foodborne illness. The program also provides oversight for pools/spas, hotels, septic systems, and vector (mosquito) concerns.

KPGZ News – Kelsey Neth contributed to this story.