On Saturday August 16, 2008 at approximately 11:40 a.m. officers of the Garden City Police Department were dispatched to Daylight Donut (201 East Kansas Avenue, Garden City, KS) for a reported aggravated robbery.

The preliminary investigation determined an unknown male entered the business and used a firearm to demand money from the three employees inside. After obtaining an undisclosed amount of money, the suspect ran from the store to a white passenger car parked nearby. No injuries were reported. The male was described as being approximately 6’ tall, with a slender build and medium complexion.

The Garden City Police Department is requesting anyone with information that might assist with this investigation, please contact the GCPD at (620) 276-1300, or if they wish to remain anonymous they may call Crime Stoppers at (620) 275-7807.

In addition to the above description, the suspect was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and faded blue jeans during the robbery.

Below are two links to videos showing the suspect’s vehicle and a link to a composite drawing of the suspect. The first link shows the suspect’s white vehicle entering the intersection of Sixth Street and Holmes Avenue at about the same time as a maroon car. The second link is for a longer video that shows additional non-suspect vehicles driving through the area. Anyone who recognizes the suspect, suspect vehicle, or they themselves were in the area at the time of the robbery is asked to call the Garden City Police Department at (620) 276-1300 or Crime Stoppers at (620) 275-7807.

The Garden City Police Department would like to warn the public about a new scam we have seen in our area. The scam involves receiving a letter from a company indicating they are a “Secret Shopper” employment firm. The company says they conduct research to assist corporations evaluate the quality of their customer service. The recipient of the letter is asked to represent the company as a Customer Service Evaluator of selected merchant outlets in their area.

The person receiving the letter is asked to call a Research Associate for detailed instructions on how to spend the money from the check that comes with the letter. The person receiving the letter is told specific places to shop and specific amounts of money to spend at each place. The person is also told to complete an attached evaluation form to document their experiences with each of the businesses. In this particular scam, the person receiving the check is asked to cash the check and wire some of the money to a particular person using local businesses. The rest of the money was to be spent at other local establishments.

In one case, the person was asked to cash a $4,850.00 check and was told to use two Garden City businesses to wire back $4,132.00 of the check. After paying the service charges, the person was left to spend $120.00 in two Garden City stores. The checks involved in this scam are not real and the scammer’s intent is to receive the wired money before it is discovered the check is a fake.

The name of the business in this particular scam is listed as Research Market Group Institution. The return address on the letter is for a PO Box in New York. The area code for the phone number the recipient is to call covers an area in Canada.

Please be aware of this scam and others that may be like it. If you receive unsolicited offers to make money and are asked to wire some of the money to other locations, please investigate the matter thoroughly before doing so. Any local bank should be able to tell you whether checks you receive are real or not.

From August 14, 2008 through Labor Day, the Garden City Police Department will have additional officers on the streets of Garden City to aggressively enforce Kansas’ drunk driving and other traffic laws. The operation, dubbed Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest is funded by a Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) grant.

According to KDOT, on an average day in Kansas six persons are killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes. Additionally, alcohol related crashes in Kansas cost its citizens nearly $500 million annually in lost productivity, medical costs, property damage, and other expenditures.

The Garden City Police Department is among more than 100 law enforcement agencies across the state participating in Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The aim is to drastically reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries that occur when alcohol is mixed with driving. According to KDOT, an occupant of a vehicle involved in a alcohol-related crash is eight-and-half (8 ½) times more likely to be killed, and twenty-five (25) times more likely to be injured, than if they are involved in a non-alcohol related crash.

If you are going to drink, please do not drive. Utilizing a sober driver can not only help save someone’s life, it can also keep you out of trouble with the law.

Beginning Wednesday August 13, 2008 children in Garden City will be heading back to school. The Garden City Police Department is dedicated to keeping the community safe and would like to remind motorists of the laws and penalties for speeding in school zones, passing stopped school buses, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and violating child passenger safety restraint laws.

Any motorist caught speeding could face fines ranging from $40.00 to $180.00 depending on how many miles per hour over the speed limit they are. Those fines will be doubled if a motorist is convicted of exceeding the maximum speed limit in a school zone. The fine for passing a stopped school bus in either direction with red lights flashing is $300.00. Failure to yield to a pedestrian entering or crossing a roadway while in a crosswalk has a fine of $40.00. There is an additional $50.00 assessed to the above violations for court costs.

In addition to the listed moving violations, motorists are reminded to obey laws pertaining to child passenger restraint systems. All children under the age of 4 must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat. Children age 4 to 8 years of age must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat/booster seat unless the child weighs more than 80 lbs. or is taller than 4’9’ (57 inches) tall. For a child eight years of age but under the age of 18 years or who weighs more than 80 pounds or is more than 4 feet 9 inches in height, must be protected by a safety belt. The laws governing child safety restraints is a primary law where a driver can be stopped solely for a violation involving children under the age of 18. Fines for violations of the child passenger safety restraint laws are $60.00 plus $50.00 in court costs.

In addition to educating motorists on traffic laws, the Garden City Police Department would like to provide tips to help parents keep their children safe. Children walking to school should always walk with someone else and avoid walking through isolated areas. Parents should educate their children about not talking to, or accepting gifts or rides from strangers. Additionally, parents should teach their children to be aware of strangers utilizing tricks such as asking them for help to find a lost pet or for directions.

We would also like for parents to take specific precautions when picking up or dropping children off at schools. If possible, parents should park on the same side of the street as the school so children do not have to cross the street. If parents must park across the street, they should meet them on the school side to assist them in crossing. Parents should not stop in the middle of the roadway or double park when dropping children off. Parents should not park in crosswalks or other no parking areas. Motorists should exercise special care when driving near schools by slowing down and paying special attention to their surroundings. Many children will be walking, running and riding bicycles to and from schools and may not always be aware of motorists in the area.

Throughout the school year officers of the Garden City Police Department will monitor vehicular traffic in school areas to aggressively enforce traffic laws relating to child safety.