Defendants

in dogfighting case request delay

The defendants in a local dogfighting case requested a delay for their trial, which originally was scheduled to begin Monday.

Government counsel raised no objection to putting the trial off until February 2010.

Rick Hihath, 55, of St. Joseph and Cris Bottcher, 48, of Gilman City, Mo., face three felony counts in connection with an alleged dogfighting ring in Harrison County. The pair pleaded not guilty in federal court last month, and their trial originally was scheduled to begin Monday.

U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Hays didn’t rule on the continuance request Monday, said Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The men, along with five other defendants, allegedly acquired, bred and trained pit bulls for dogfights, according to the indictment. Two such fights occurred on Mr. Bottcher’s property at 33335 E. State Route CC near Gilman City in late February.

Both men are alleged to have constructed the fighting pit, and one refereed while the other handled a dog. Both men reportedly placed bets on the fight.

The indictment also alleges that Mr. Bottcher shot and killed two dogs with a .22 caliber rifle after a “roll” fight on April 25 at his farm homestead. A third fight allegedly occurred in May at Mr. Bottcher’s residence, where betters wagered about $5,100.

If convicted, the men face a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised probation on each of the three counts.

Fairview man

to face two

jury trials

HIAWATHA, Kan. — A Fairview, Kan., man accused of shooting a Hiawatha woman is set to appear for two jury trials in October.

Robert Atlas, 34, pleaded not guilty Monday to a total of nine charges across two separate cases in Brown County District Court.

In one case, Mr. Atlas is charged with attempted first degree murder and six other charges. He allegedly shot Emily Wichman on Dec. 30 at the Country View Apartments in Hiawatha.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 12 in that case and is expected to last four days.

In the other case, Mr. Atlas is charged with felony criminal threat and misdemeanor domestic battery. Those charges stem from an alleged domestic dispute that involved Ms. Wichman in November.

A jury trial in that case is slated to begin Oct. 6 and expected to take two days.

A Sept. 28 hearing is to consider any pre-trial motions filed in both cases.

Mr. Atlas remains in jail in lieu of a $1.5 million bond.

Compiled by News-Press reporter R.J. Cooper, who can be reached at

rjcooper@npgco.com, and the

Hiawatha World.