The Sherman County Sheriff‘s Office through the course of an ongoing investigation, executed a search warrant at 3393 Sunset Drive in Goodland Kansas on May 21st 2014 at approximately 8:45 AM.  The search warrant and ongoing investigation resulted in the arrest of Timothy Douglas.  Timothy Douglas was charged with three counts of Criminal Sodomy, Electronic Solicitation, six counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, Two counts of indecent liberties with a child, and three counts of promote obscenity of a minor.  A bond of $500,000 has been set by the Sherman County District Court.   The investigation is ongoing.  If you have any information please contact the Sherman County Sheriff's Office.  Please note that all accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Sherman County Sheriff would like to thank the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Wild Life and Parks, Goodland Police Department, and Kansas Highway Patrol for their assistance in the execution of the search warrant. 

On April 23, 2014 at approximately 9:53 p.m., the Sherman County Sheriff, UnderSheriff, and a Sherman County Deputy along with Kansas Highway patrol assisted in the stopping of suspect that was pursued out of Colby by Colby Police Officers.  Stop stick deployed in Thomas County was unsuccessful. Kansas highway patrol and Sherman County Deputy deployed Stop sticks at approximately milepost 34.  Stop stick were deployed by the Sherman County Sheriff at milepost 30.   The suspect vehicle stopped in the north I-70 ditch, milepost 28. After the vehicle stopped, a male suspect, armed with a weapon, was shot.  The female in the vehicle was arrested and transported to Colby.  The male suspect was transported by Northwest Kansas EMS to Goodland Regional Medical Center with unknown injuries.   

No Sherman County Sheriff’s Office personal discharged their weapon and no officers were injured during this incident.   

 The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has been notified and is conducting the investigation in this case. Please route all future questions reference this incident through the KBI at 785-296-8200.

Burton Pianalto

Sherman County Sheriff

SHERMAN COUNTY SHERIFF TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

April 26 at the Sheriff’s Office

Goodland Kansas– On April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sheriff Burton Pianalto, Goodland Elks and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your pills for disposal to Sherman County Sheriff’s Office at 813 Broadway, Goodland Kansas. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Sheriff Burton Pianalto and the Goodland Elks will be in the Sheriff’s Office parking lot to accept your free and anonymous drop off.  Sheriff Pianalto says “It is important to keep the drugs out of the hand of the Youth and individuals that may sell these drugs”.  You can contact the Sheriff’s Office if you have any questions at 785-890-4835

Last October, Americans turned in 324 tons (over 647,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at over 4,114 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners.  When those results are combined with what was collected in its seven previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 3.4 million pounds—more than 1,700 tons—of pills. 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

DEA is in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” (that is, a patient or their family member or pet owner) of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.  The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.    

On the 22nd of January 2014 EMS was summoned to the Sherman County Bastille for an inmate in medical distress. Upon arrival they transported the prisoner, Brenda Sewell 58 year old female from Kansas City Missouri, to Goodland Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.  At this time as is typical in cases like this the investigation was immediately turned over to an outside agency. Currently the Goodland Police Department is investigating and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has been notified. The prisoner was arrested on the 20th of January 2014 by the Kansas Highway Patrol.  No further comments will be made pending the results of autopsy and outside investigation.

Update January 24, 2014

The Sherman County Sheriff’s Office believes that proper procedure was followed in the confinement, treatment and care of Brenda Sewell.  There is an independent investigation taking place into the death of Ms. Sewell and we will fully cooperate in that investigation and let the investigation run its course.  At this time the Sheriff’s Office will have no further comment.