The Osage City Police Department investigated a suspicious device Tuesday near Dogwood Glen Apartments, in Osage City, resulting in assistance in evaluating the device by the Topeka Airport Authority bomb technicians.

The department reported in a social media post yesterday that around 6 p.m. Jan. 12, 2021, officers were alerted to a suspicious device lying on the ground near the apartments in the east part of the city.

Upon further investigation, a resident of the apartments reported he had been away from his apartment for several weeks – upon returning home, he found the device that appeared similar to a homemade firework lying in his bathroom. The resident took the device outside and placed it in a vacant area away from the apartment complex, and then called the police.

Osage City officers secured the area and requested assistance from the Topeka Airport Authority bomb techs to analyze and safely recover the device. Bomb techs x-rayed the device and determined it was not designed to cause casualties.

The department reported that it is believed it a limited circumstance, and at no time was the public at risk. The device appeared to be the result of someone attempting to create a large firework, which is still illegal, police noted.

The police department continues to investigate; anyone with any information regarding the incident is asked to call the department at 785-528-3131.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office has reported the arrest of an Osage City woman after a traffic stop near Pomona Lake. A sheriff’s office press release reported that at 10:15 a.m. Jan. 13, 2021, an Osage County Sheriff’s Office investigator conducted a car stop on state Highway 268 at mile post 5. During the course of the stop, the investigator located several different illegal narcotics.

The driver of the vehicle, Lori A. Simmons, 45, of Osage City, was taken into custody on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of ecstasy, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and booked into the Osage County Jail.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office has reported the arrest of a Carbondale man suspected of being involved in local burglaries, after a vehicle pursuit Wednesday that entered Shawnee County but ended in an Osage County field. The suspect, Jeremiah L. Howey, 43, of Carbondale, was eventually taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail on several charges.

A sheriff’s office press release said at approximately 4:53 p.m. Jan. 13, 2021, deputies and investigators were in the area of 125th and Auburn Road looking for a vehicle that had possibly been involved in recent burglaries and thefts in the area. Overnight, a fuel theft, a garage burglary, and vehicle burglary had occurred in the area.

An investigator located a matching vehicle and attempted to stop it. The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued. Several Osage County units, Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers, and an aircraft responded to the area to assist.

During the pursuit, the suspect avoided tire deflating devices and drove toward law enforcement. The pursuit entered portions of southwest Shawnee County before coming back into Osage County. The suspect eventually entered a field in the 3700 block of West 125th Street and abandoned his vehicle. A drone was deployed and a K-9 unit responded, and Howey was eventually located and taken into custody.

Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells reported that no other suspects were being sought in this case, and there is no reason for concern in the area.