What businesses can legally do if customers refuse to wear a mask

Under local mandates, businesses must require masks for employees and customers who can’t maintain social distancing…but what can business owners legally do with customers who refuse to wear a face-covering? Dan Monnat tells KAKE TV, “When the person refuses to wear a mask, they’re refusing to obey the law. The business owner is within his or her rights to order them to leave. If they refuse to leave and thereby interfere with the business, they may have committed the crime of criminal trespass or interference with the lawful conduct of business….”

Police: Burglary call ends with two teens shot

Police said a Wichita man shot two people outside his home around 2 am Monday. He apparently heard the two talking about targeting his home. When they pulled into his driveway, he yelled at them before firing. Attorney Dan Monnat tells KAKE TV, “A person is presumed to have justification for using deadly force whenever it’s used to prevent or terminate an aggressor’s unlawful entry into a home. Now, if they’re in the driveway, is that what the law considers a dwelling? Every case depends upon its specific facts….”

Proposed law would increase the penalty for assaulting sports referees in Kansas

WICHITA – A new proposed bill would put sports officials under similar protections that police officers and judges have against assault and battery in Kansas. Teon Wilson has been reffing for years, and Wednesday was the Holy War between Kapaun and Bishop Carroll. He said sometimes the games can be a lose-lose. “No matter what…

Sheriff’s K-9 gets loose, bites teenager

WICHITA – A Wichita teenager is recovering after being bitten in the face by a Sedgwick County Sheriff K-9. The dog, which had no ID saying it was a sheriff’s K-9, got out of his enclosure and was taken in by a family. Dan Monnat tells KSNW TV the owner of the dog should be the one paying a consequence, or at least a medical bill….

Police: Fetus found along a sandbar in Arkansas River

WICHITA – Wichita police said a fetus was discovered in a box on Sunday in south Wichita. Defense attorney Dan Monnat tells KSN News the current investigation is in line with the law because, “so far there is no evidence to rule out miscarriage, accident or natural causes….”

Wichita police arrest mother after 2-year-old girl found safe

Wichita police say they have found a 2-year-old girl safe and arrested her mother
for felony interference with law enforcement (false information concerning death or disappearance of a child). Attorney Dan Monnat says interfering with law enforcement officers can be serious, because “hundreds of person hours and thousands of taxpayer dollars can be spent during a wild goose chase. People who make false statements… risk wrecking the system.”

March Madness bracket betting

The NCAA tournament started Thursday around the country and people are placing bets on their brackets to win money. However, Dan Monnat tells KAKE TV, most people don’t know gambling like this is illegal in Kansas. Regardless of if it’s on a website in a state where it’s legal, or between friends, Monnat says, “If they do it in Kansas, it’s illegal, and if somebody participates in it from Kansas, it’s illegal….”

Wichita salons say mystery shopper making owners, customers uncomfortable

Multiple salons in Wichita have filed police reports about a man they say has been behaving inappropriately. Police are looking into the matter, but defense attorney Dan Monnat tells KSN News, “What one person imagines is underneath another person’s clothing is, by legal definition, not a public exposure. Therefore, this accused behavior cannot be prosecuted as a violation of the lewd and lascivious behavior law….”

No statute, no hate crime

Questions still remain about charges filed against a man accused of kicking a toddler and yelling racial slurs in a grocery store. It may seem like a hate crime, but criminal defense lawyer Dan Monnat with Monnat & Spurrier Chartered said it’s not that cut and dried….

Employee of neighboring business reacts to deadly south Wichita shooting

Wichita police say a 16-year-old robbery suspect died after being shot by an armed citizen during a robbery at a convenience store. Under Kansas law, a person is justified in standing their ground and using deadly force if the person reasonably believes such force is needed to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or someone else. KSN Legal Expert Dan Monnat says, “If a person is justified in using force in that fashion, the person, under Kansas law, is immune from prosecution….”