Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A disgruntled black man broke into WIBW-TV and fought with employees before he was taken down

The black man called into the front lobby receptionist to be allowed access into the station. WIBW receptionist, Lynda Janes, asked the black man to wait while she got News Director Jon Janes to talk with him. The black man told Janes via a front lobby phone that he was upset by the way the VA was handling his case. Janes explained to the black man that he needs to discuss the issue with the VA and that WIBW couldn't help him at this time. The black man left the building. Janes says about 10 minutes later he came back, agitated and demanded access again. Lynda Janes and Rob Pepper called police when he started removing a sofa in the entryway, unplugged a lamp there and smashed the glass front doors with it. He then chased Lynda Janes and Rob Peppers down the hallway toward the newsroom. Several employees exited the building. "He told me to hit him," said Dylan Schoonover, who saw the black man coming down a hallway near the newsroom edit bays. Schoonover slid out a side door unharmed and convened with other staff outside. Master Control Operator Joe Garrett saw the black man walk down a hallway after Lynda ran by alerting everyone to the situation. "As I turned and came back into master control to call the 911 operator, I saw an African-American male, roughly 5'8", walk by master control with a black and green backpack slung over his shoulder." A few moments later, Garrett watched on the security camera - still on the phone with 911 - as several employees tackled the black man near an east exit of the building. Someone noticed the suspect had pulled a knife. He stabbed Sales Manager Roger Brokke in the leg and also cut sales associate Greg Palmer in the leg. Brokke was also bitten on the ear by the black man. About eight employees held the suspect down until police arrived. The black man was heard yelling, "I'm going to f**kin' kill you all!" Topeka Police arrested the suspect, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He has been identified as Ray Miles. TPD says that he will be booked into the Department of Corrections after he is treated at the hospital. Brokke and Palmer were taken by ambulance to be treated for minor injuries. Brokke said that he was told he would need to get a tetanus shot. Jon Janes says that he has spoken with Miles once before, on March 22, 2012 when he came to the station to see about having a story done on the VA mistreating him. Janes also sent him away at that time and Miles became angry and left.

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