• Aug 13, 2018
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by John Asebes

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Wichita man is asking questions after he claims police disabled his security cameras inside his home after police say they were searching for a shooting suspect.

Can police disable your security cameras when they enter your house?

“Then they just want to toss my stuff around so that I cannot see anything else going on in my house,” says Rogers. “Mad, you know, disappointed and angry that they would even do that.”

What his security camera footage appears to show is someone with a law enforcement agency knocking his security unit to the ground. He says during the video law enforcement did not have a warrant to be in his home. Something neither the sheriff’s office or police department is able to confirm right now.

Rogers claims in another video his camera system was disabled. Law enforcement was looking for Eli Mendoza, who Rogers says has been staying at his home. It is unknown right now if a warrant had been served. Wichita police will only say it was a multi-agency response, and they were lawfully at the home. But even if law enforcement was there legally was what Rogers is claiming happened legal?

“What authorized them to turn off the camera and why in the world would they need to be turned off in an era of transparency?” asks Defense Attorney Dan Monnat.

Monnat says just because officers can lawfully be in your home the homeowner still has a right to privacy.

“In the modern era it is difficult to imagine a warrant or an exception to the warrant requirement that would permit the disarming or unplugging of a private homeowner’s security camera,” says Monnat.

We are still asking both the sheriff’s office and police department questions to find out which agency was responsible for turning the camera off.

See full video at KSN.com

  • Jul 29, 2018
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by Sara Berlinger

WICHITA, Kan. – There’s a video circulating online of a Wichita couple going live on Facebook as they claim they’ve found their stolen vehicles at a residence in the city.

In the video, they’re seen holding someone at gunpoint, while police are called. Things escalate, and at one point the couple, both armed with handguns, confronts a man about their missing trucks.

Wichita police say that man was not arrested, but they did arrest a woman on four counts of suspicion of criminal deprivation of property. The video online has been viewed thousands of times.

Nina Smith says she reported two of her trucks stolen over the weekend.

“We came home from vacation Friday night, and the Yukon is missing from my driveway so I call and make a police report on it,” said Smith. “We left to pick up our dogs from my mom’s house, we come back and my Dodge pickup is now gone, so now I’m down two vehicles.”

The next day, Smith says a friend told her about an online post where stolen vehicles may have been found. She and her husband decided to check out the location and said they found their vehicles. That’s when things started to escalate.

The pair confronted a man at a North Wichita home, both pointing their guns.

“We were on the phone with 911 whole time — the whole 17 minutes,” said Smith.

She says when police arrived, the intensity continued.

“All three got on hands and knees with handcuffs, and they had to put us in back of vehicle and detain us until they got whole story, they didn’t know if we were lying or not they did what they had to do,” said Smith.

Wichita police confirm that Saturday morning, 911 received multiple calls of a disturbance at a north Wichita residence. Police say four stolen vehicles were recovered at the home, and a 38-year-old woman was arrested for four counts of criminal deprivation of property. Police say they’re still investigating.

“They said we did citizen’s arrest, we feared for our safety, and we retrieved stolen vehicles,” said Nina.

Nina and her husband say they were eventually let go, and they stand by their actions.

“Couple elements I would have changed, but I would have definitely held him at gunpoint again,” said Nina.

Defense Attorney Dan Monnat says it can be dangerous when individual citizens take the law into their own hands, but it can be legal depending on the circumstances.

“We have laws in the state of Kansas that allow people to use such force as a reasonable person would use to recover their property, and we have laws in the state of Kansas that allow people to make citizens arrests,” said Dan Monnat, Defense Attorney. “There may be some discussion about whether or not in modern day Wichita we want gun-toting vigilantes making arrests like in the wild, wild west, but the law is what the law is.”

Police say every situation is unique, the best bet is to call 911 to report a theft or any crime.

“It’s important to notify authorities if you do see your stolen vehicle so that we can respond, and investigate the situation appropriately,” said officer Charley Davidson, Wichita Police Department.

Police say if you know anything about this investigation to contact them or call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

See full interview at KSN.com

  • Jun 08, 2018
  • KAKE TV
  • -
  • by Lily Wu

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) –

For months, the disappearance of Lucas Hernandez has been on the minds of many in this community, including criminal defense attorney Dan Monnat.

“Speculation in these cases is always to be avoided. Science and medicine will tell us the manner in which Lucas Hernandez died, whether that’s by criminal means or by natural causes or accident,” said Monnat.

In this case, Monnat said to stick with the facts:

February 17 at 6:14 p.m., Emily Glass called police and reported her boyfriend’s five-year-old son missing from their home in the 600 block of South Edgemoor, in southeast Wichita. She told police that she last saw Lucas that afternoon when she took a nap at their home.

February 21, Emily Glass was arrested. She was eventually charged with one count of child endangerment regarding her one-year-old daughter.

May 16, Emily Glass was found not guilty in the child endangerment case and was released from jail.

May 24, Emily Glass led a private investigator Lucas’ body under a bridge in Harvey County. She was arrested and booked for felony obstruction of justice.

May 30, Emily Glass was released from jail. The district attorney announced that no charges would be filed “while investigators continue to follow up on newly developed leads and await the results of forensic examinations.” The statement also stated, “The autopsy report in particular, will not be final until the result of the toxicology exam is complete.”

June 8 at 1:38 a.m., Emily Glass is found dead inside the South Edgemoor house. Officers found a rifle near her feet, and three suicide notes in the house.

“Some may regard the suicide of Emily Glass as permitting some kind of inference of guilt. But again, thorough law enforcement investigation, medicine and science will tell us what really happened; speculation never will,” said Monnat.

See full story at KAKE.com

  • May 30, 2018
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by John Asebes

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Released without prejudice.

The stepmother of Lucas Hernandez walked out of the Sedgwick County Jail again. This, after District Attorney Marc Bennett announced he wouldn’t be filing charges against Emily Glass yet.

Many in the community left with questions.

“I don’t find why they released her. It is like a joke,” says Candace Gallegos-Serna, who stood in protest of the release.

Sunglasses on, head down, and surrounded by family, Glass walked out of the jail.

“No charges are being filed today as we continue to follow up on newly developed leads,” explains District Attorney Marc Bennett.

“In Sedgwick County, we have diligent law enforcement officers and a wise and cautious district attorney,” adds Defense Attorney Dan Monnat.

By law, if you don’t charge someone within 72 hours of arresting them, they have to be released.

Monnat says he believes that Bennett is waiting for the autopsy and toxicology report before jumping to conclusions.

“They have to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child died of criminal means rather than natural causes,” says Monnat.

“How are you going to know exactly where the body is?” asks Gallegos-Serna.

A question asked by man after police arrested Glass a few hours after finding Lucas’s body, saying it was Glass who led a private investigator to exactly where the body was.

Monnat says that isn’t proof of anything.

“I think it is dangerous to leap to conclusions about the allegation that a person supposedly led a private investigator to the child’s body, and, therefore, the person is guilty,” says Monnat. “That sounds like speculation.”

See full story at KSN.com

  • May 24, 2018
  • The Wichita Eagle
  • -
  • by Amy Renee Leiker

A former Wichita third-grade teacher caught dealing cocaine out of her kitchen won’t go to prison for now — but she will have to serve a 60-day jail sanction as a condition of her probation.

Heather K. Jones, 49, pleaded guilty on March 16 to one count of distributing cocaine and one count of using a phone for drug sales or purchases. Other drug distribution charges she originally faced were dismissed as part of her plea agreement with prosecutors.

Sedgwick County District Court Judge Bruce Brown on Thursday granted Jones’ request for probation after hearing a lengthy argument for it from her defense attorney, and testimony from several women who painted her as a gifted educator and generous friend.

But, he said in court, he was doing so “with some hesitancy.” Prosecutors asked that she be sent to prison.

“You’re a teacher. You know the issues drugs have in schools,” Brown told Jones before announcing her sentence.

“This is a very serious crime. … The effects of the crime of distribution of cocaine has on this community and on the individual lives of people — it’s horrendous. It’s a scourge on this community,” he said, adding that drug use and sales is the driving force behind much of Wichita’s crime.

Document: Wichita teacher sold cocaine to undercover deputy 7 times

Jones was teaching at Enders Open Magnet Elementary School in south Wichita when she was arrested in the drug case on July 11, 2017. By then she had worked for Wichita Public Schools for just shy of 10 years.

Law enforcement say she sold more than 100 grams of cocaine for just over $3,700 to an undercover Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office detective who met her seven times at her home between June 7 and July 11.

During one of the sales, Jones told the detective that she liked to pack cocaine for her customers into pink jewelry boxes that sometimes included a necklace, according to a law enforcement affidavit that provided justification for the criminal charges filed against her.

Once she gave the detective a Kit Kat candy bar bag filled with packets of the drug, the affidavit said.

According to court documents, Jones started buying cocaine for her own use in 2012 – while she was a Wichita public schools employee. Later she started providing it to a male friend, the documents say.

That friend eventually introduced her to the undercover detective, her defense attorney, Trevor Riddle, said in court.

A psychologist hired by Jones also testified Thursday that childhood abuse and trauma involving men that carried into her adulthood played a key role in her decision to buy and sell cocaine.

In Jones’ mind, she was providing the drugs to men so they would like her, the psychologist, Lance Parker, testified.

“Heather truly believed the only way to keep these men in her life was to do what they asked — which was to obtain cocaine,” Riddle said.

Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Mandee Schauf argued that money was the reason Jones sold drugs.

“This is about $3,000. … It’s not about pleasing these men,” Schauf said.

When it was her turn to speak, Jones apologized and blamed herself for her crimes. “I honestly believe in myself that I can be better,” she said.

In addition to serving probation and the sanction, the judge told Jones she had to pay $3,730 to the Sheriff’s Office’s narcotics restitution fund – which is the amount of money she accepted from the undercover detective during the drug deals.

He also ordered her to attend substance abuse treatment meetings three times a week for at least 90 days.

Jones is no longer a teacher with Wichita public schools and lost her teaching certification. If she violates the terms of her probation, she could be sent to prison for 25 months.

See full story at Kansas.com

  • May 22, 2018
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by John Asebes

WICHITA – What can police do, and not do, when they visit your home?

It’s a conversation many are having after Wichita police intentionally turned and blocked a camera on Sunday night.

“Due to safety concerns, one of the officers turned the camera away from where officers were standing on the porch,” explains Office Charley Davidson.

Defense Attorney Dan Monnat says, “It is an invasion of your privacy.”

In a report filed following the incident. One of the responding officers says they turned the camera to gain tactical advantage. Adding “and hoped that the occupants inside the residence would not see that it was the police there and open the door….”

“In our policy we can do what we need to stay safe,” says Officer Davidson. This was a violent known offender.”

Of course, safety is a top priority for police. But Monnat says what this officer did violated the homeowner’s rights.

“Police officers can’t go on your porch and do to your private property what would inspire most of us to, well, call the police.”

Without a warrant Monnat thinks this was a clear violation of the 4th amendment. The right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures.

He says the amendment serves two purposes, to protect your rights, and the officers’.

“Officer safety is always a concern. It is a concern that the 4th amendment takes care of. It requires them to do what is reasonable. Obtain a warrant; if they are going to do more than an invitee, or social visitor is entitled to do…come on the porch.”

Police say they are going to do an internal investigation of the incident, which includes the officers body cam footage from that night.

See full interview at KSN.com

  • May 18, 2018
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by Craig Andres

WINFIELD, Kan. (KSNW) – A victim of an alleged racial profiling incident in Winfield is considering legal action.

KSN has reached out to Rudy Samuel who recorded the incident on his cell phone. Rudy gave KSN permission to share his video. Over the weekend, he was stopped for a turn signal violation in Winfield. An officer questioned some vegetation that was found in the window sill of his car. Samuel told the officer it was from a tree. The officer told Samuel to step out of the car, and he was detained during the incident. The cell phone video cut out, but audio continued.

Attorney Dan Monnat says a lot of questions remain.

“Did the law enforcement officer really have a solid basis for immediately concluding that the vegetative matter on the window sill of the car was really contraband?” asks Monnat.

Freedom 1 Organization is the official spokesman for Samuel. The group said it is planning a protest soon in Winfield.

“Rudy is pretty shook up over this,” says Peter Wright with Freedom 1. “We are hoping to get this information out so this won’t happen to anyone else. Nowhere in this country.”

KSN has reached out to Winfield police for further comment.

“And I’m certainly aware of the video that’s online that involved our department,” said Winfield Police Chief Brett Stone. “And we train, we learn, we do conduct these traffic stops routinely.  And certainly each traffic stop has facets to it depending on the nature of the call, the nature of the stop, the nature of what the infraction is. So, we do our best to adapt and adjust to those and conduct them safely and certainly within legal guidelines.”

See full story at KSN.com

  • May 15, 2018

Sarah Ellen Johnson – a former Kansas Capital Appellate Defender with more than 17 years of experience in the appeals courts of Kansas – has joined Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered to lead the firm’s appellate practice and legal research and writing section.

“Sarah has taken two cases to the United States Supreme Court and filed over 80 briefs in the Kansas appeals courts, including five briefs in death penalty cases,” said Dan Monnat, president of the firm. “She is an accomplished writer with a gift for honing persuasive legal arguments, and we are thrilled to have her leading our appellate practice.”

Johnson received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, with honors. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton College.

Founded in 1985 by litigator Dan Monnat and legal scholar Stan Spurrier, Monnat & Spurrier has built an international reputation for criminal defense, white-collar criminal defense, computer crimes defense and appellate defense. The firm now has seven attorneys.

  • May 04, 2018

WICHITA, Kan. – Chambers USA 2018 – which annually conducts surveys of lawyers and their clients – has ranked Dan Monnat, of Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, in the top tier of Kansas litigators practicing in the White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations sector. Based on its survey, Chambers USA describes Monnat as “…a highly respected practitioner who is routinely referred to by peers as a ‘top-notch’ attorney in the field of white-collar criminal defense. He offers huge experience of trial and appellate proceedings and is thought of by interviewees as ‘one of the go-to people in Kansas.'”

“It is truly gratifying to receive this review by Chambers USA,” Monnat said. “Our firm approaches every case with relentless thought, action, courage and care. Clearly, our clients and legal peers have appreciated our commitment and work ethic.”

Monnat has practiced criminal law, white-collar criminal law and appellate law in Wichita for more than 40 years. A graduate of California State University, Monnat received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. He also is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College.

A frequent national lecturer and editorial contributor on criminal defense topics, Monnat is the author of “Sentencing, Probation, and Collateral Consequences,” a chapter of the Kansas Bar Association’s Kansas Criminal Law Handbook, 5th edition. He was the Governor’s appointee to the Kansas Sentencing Commission from 2007 – 2011.

Monnat has earned distinction as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, the Litigation Counsel of America and the Kansas Bar Foundation. He currently sits on the Kansas Association of Trial Lawyers’ Board of Editors.

Monnat is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association and served as a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Board of Directors from 1996 – 2004. He is a frequent lecturer at NACDL conferences and at other legal seminars around the country.

  • Feb 28, 2018

WICHITA, Kan. – Who’s Who Legal 2018 has named Dan Monnat, of Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, one of the world’s leading practitioners in the Investigations sector. Who’s Who Legal collaborates annually with Global Investigations Review to identify the world’s leading lawyers, forensic accountants and digital forensics experts who assist companies and individuals under investigation by regulators and/or law enforcement.

“I’m truly honored to be recognized again among this group of lawyers renowned for their investigative and bet-the-company defense work,” said Monnat. “Whether monitoring dawn raids by regulators and enforcement officers, advising company personnel of their rights, overseeing investigations, or ensuring that regulatory and law enforcement authorities are held accountable throughout the investigation, our firm is dedicated to protecting clients’ Constitutional rights.”

Monnat has practiced in Wichita for more than 40 years, handling criminal and white-collar criminal cases that have attracted worldwide attention. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America.

A graduate of California State University, Monnat received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law and is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College. 

A frequent national lecturer and editorial contributor on criminal defense topics, Monnat is the author of “Sentencing, Probation, and Collateral Consequences,” a chapter of the Kansas Bar Association’s Kansas Criminal Law Handbook, 5th edition.  From 2007 – 2011, Monnat served on the Kansas Sentencing Commission as a Governor’s appointee. He currently sits on the Kansas Association of Trial Lawyers’ Board of Editors. 

Monnat served as a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Board of Directors from 1996 – 2004, and is a two-term past president of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.