A former Leavenworth teacher was sentenced Friday in Leavenworth County District Court to more than 2.5 years in prison for attempted electronic solicitation with someone whom the offender believes to be a child under the age of 14.

Kyle Klofstad, 32, Leavenworth, was sentenced to 32 months in prison with the Department of Corrections on the charge stemming from an incident on Nov. 21, 2020. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Kloftstad was a teacher with the Leavenworth High School JROTC program. Klofstad, using a Facebook profile under “Joey Samhaven,” had sexually explicit conversations and sent sexually explicit images of himself on Facebook Messenger to one of his freshman JROTC students, according to a release from Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

“Today, the victim’s guardian addressed the Court, and asked that Mr. Klofstad not be released from prison before the victim turned 18 years of age,” Thompson said. “The 32-month sentence means that this will be met.”

Thompson continued to discuss the case.

“Social media can be a very dangerous tool when misused,” he said. “Parents need to monitor their kids social media and explain to them why they are doing it. Also, we need to have honest conversations with children that is safe and necessary to report when things like this happen.

“One voice can save so many others from this trauma. One thing all people must know, when pursuing these criminal charges the victim is always required to testify, sometimes multiple times, in court in front of the defendant.”

Leavenworth resident pleads guilty to second-degree murder

Ramaun King Johnson, 34, Leavenworth, pled guilty Friday to one count of second-degree murder. On Dec. 25, 2017, Johnson took part in a drug transaction in which he was attempting to purchase cocaine according to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson. Johnson and another suspect entered the victim’s vehicle and during the transaction shot the victim who later died due to the gunshot wounds.

“Drugs are the reason for most of the crime we see,” Thompson said. “These addictions lead to theft, burglaries, violence, and like here, death.

“These addictions harm far more than just a person’s mind, they hurt families, friends, and communities as a whole.”

Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 18, 2022.

Leavenworth man sentenced in child exploitation case

Jessie Andrew Phillips, 39, Leavenworth, was sentenced Friday in Leavenworth County District Court to 25 years in prison after being convicted on one count of attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child.

The defendant was sentenced to a total of 300 months in prison.

On May 5, 2020, officers took a report from a 13-year-old girl that she was awakened by Phillips who was lying next to her on the floor with his hand inside her underwear, according to a release from the county attorney’s office.

The victim quickly moved and Phillips acted as though he was asleep. On May 16, 2019, Phillips was found to possess multiple images of a child under 18 years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

“This young lady showed amazing courage and strength by coming forward and telling what happened to her,” Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said. “Her actions lead to law enforcement discovering even more crimes. “We must always encourage those who are victimized to come forward and know it’s not their fault and it’s safe to tell what happened to them. Their words can prevent even more harm.”

Area man sentenced in aggravated kidnapping, robbery, battery case.

Lonnie Alonzo Holmes, 32, Leavenworth was sentenced Friday after being found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and an aggravated battery. Holmes was sentenced in the jury trial to a total of 290 months in prison. The state requested the aggravated sentence with all counts running consecutive based on the brutality of the crime, multiple people committing the crime with Holmes playing a major role, including attacking the victim while he was in a physically vulnerable state.

On Aug. 25, 2019, Holmes entered a home in Leavenworth while looking for a person in retaliation for damage to a vehicle, according to a release from Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

The victim was inside the home but had no involvement with the damaged vehicle. Holmes confined the victim at gunpoint demanding the whereabouts of the person he was looking for. When the victim was unable to tell Holmes the information, he and another suspect dragged the victim into a back bedroom where they tied him up using multiple electrical cords. Holmes beat the victim with a crowbar multiple times around the head, neck, and chest area. While tied up, Holmes began to cut off the finger of the victim and then took the victim’s cell phone and money. Holmes also cut off the hair of the victim. After torturing the victim for some time, Holmes and an another suspect left the home, leaving the victim fading in and out of consciousness while still tied up and bleeding from multiple wounds. Fortunately, the victim was later found and received medical attention.

“This was an incredibly heinous crime,” Thompson said. “Probably one of the worst crimes we have seen. Holmes had no remorse, no compassion, and made no comment at sentencing. We had no issue asking for aggravated sentences and running all counts consecutively.”

Local man sentenced in attempted rape case

Thomas Henkle, 43, Leavenworth, was sentenced to 94 months with the department of corrections for attempted rape from an incident on August 16, 2019. He’s also a lifetime registered sex offender.

Henkle pled to this case on Dec. 4. Henkle had previously pled to possession of marijuana in the case. Around 11 p.m. that August night, a woman had just left the Fluffy’s bar and was headed to the Leavenworth Interfaith Community of Hope where she was staying, according to a county attorney’s office release.

She testified she had missed the reporting time to stay at the shelter. According to her testimony at prelim it was by just a few minutes. As she went to find another place to live she saw a man and that’s the last she remembered. Sometime after that, another woman reported hearing a lot of noises and a woman yelling, “Stop!” and “Quit, you’re hurting me!” from an empty lot across from her house. The woman who heard this screaming yelled for them to stop, and then called the police. They police arrived to found the victim, a young woman, unconscious with her pants and underwear off and Thomas Henkle lying in the grass near her. Henkle was wearing a shirt and shorts. When officers questioned Henkle when they arrived, he first told them to leave, then later said they were having sex. After a few minutes, the officers were able to wake the victim. She had no idea how she had gotten there or what had happened. The officers took her to Cushing hospital and arrested the man.

Former Lansing resident sentenced to life in prison

Matthew Astorga, 44, former Lansing resident was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years for a Dec. 26, 2008, murder. In 2009, a jury convicted Astorga of the first-degree murder of Ruben Rodriguez. The crime occurred Dec. 26, 2008, in Leavenworth.

A Hard 50 sentence previously was imposed in the case. This meant Astorga was required to serve at least 50 years in prison before he would have been eligible for parole.

However, Astorga has to be resentenced because the state’s old Hard 50 law was struck down following a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Due to the remand, a jury needed to impaneled to determine whether a judge could sentence Astorga to the Hard 50 sentence. Since 2014, Astorga has gone through multiple attorneys, competency hearings and a COVID shutdown before a jury could be convened.

The State filed two issues for the jury to consider in determining if Astorga would face this Hard 50 Sentence.

The two issues were whether he had been convicted of a felony in which the defendant inflicted great bodily harm, disfigurement, dismemberment or death of another; or the defendant committed this murder of Ruben Rodriguez, which also caused a risk to another, that the defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person.

The other factor the jury determined was whether in the process of killing Ruben Rodriquez, he caused a great bodily harm to another. In the 2008 trial and today, the girlfriend of Rodriquez at the time testified that Astorga came to their house on the evening of Dec. 26, 2008, Rodriquez’s truck alarm went off. When they heard it, Rodriquez proceeded to go outside to shut it off, but was confronted by Astorga approaching the house. According to Rodriquez’s girlfriend at the time an argument took place in Spanish, and she heard Rodriquez say, “I don’t play like that,” and a shot was fired. Rodriquez’s girlfriend testified she yelled, “Matt, no I have my baby inside.” As she slid her baby under a futon where another friend that was at the house was also hiding. Another shot was fired, which went through Rodriquez, through the wall behind Rodriquez just above the 1-year old’s crib and then out the back of the house.

The jury deliberated for about 15 minutes before finding beyond reasonable doubt that Astorga could be sentenced to the Hard 50 for both counts.

Senior Judge Gunnar Sundby then proceeded to sentence Astorga to a Hard 50 sentence with the sentencing beginning from the time he was taken into custody in 2008. Astorga had previously plead to fleeing and attempting to elude Leavenworth police after the murder of Rodriquez. Astorga also plead guilty to being a criminal in possession of a firearm. Judge Sundby ran these two counts concurrent to the Hard 50 sentence.

“This sentencing has been a long time coming. It was important,” Thomson said. “Matthew Astorga has proven to be a dangerous man by killing two men.”