For the second time in exactly a month a Wyandotte County law enforcement officer was struck down early Tuesday by a suspect who likely should’ve been in custody at the time.

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Officer Hunter Simoncic, 26, died after a vehicle being pursued “drove toward” him as he was laying down “stop sticks,” killing him, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The driver, identified as Dennis Mitchell III, 31, of Kansas City, had been driving a stolen truck, which he abandoned during the pursuit for a second one before hitting Officer Simoncic, the KBI said in a statement. Mitchell was taken into custody after wrecking the second stolen truck.

But the Heartlander has learned that back on July 1, Mitchell was sitting in an Iowa jail on a domestic battery charge there – and awaiting transport back to Wyandotte County for having missed a court date on felony drug charges in a 2024 case.

Inexplicably, the Heartlander has learned Wyandotte County authorities told Iowa authorities they didn’t want to come get him back in July – even though Mitchell had agreed to waive extradition proceedings and come back with officers voluntarily.

It’s the second time in a month that Wyandotte County has lost a law enforcement officer to a crime that shouldn’t have been possible.

On July 26, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming was shot dead by a suspect who very well should have been in custody in Anderson County, Kansas, for physical abuse of a child, and another charge alleging he failed to report a change in his status under the Kansas Offender Registration Act, which covers repeat violent offenders.

The suspect in Deputy Ming’s killing, 38-year-old Shawn Harris, was facing possible prison time of 136 months in the abuse case and another 46 months in the offender registration case.

But for some reason – perhaps as part of a plea deal in the child abuse case – court records indicate then-County Attorney Elizabeth Oliver simply dismissed the registration act case Dec. 17, the same day Harris pled to lesser charges in the abuse case and was granted probation.

Harris was thus released in both cases – ultimately free to allegedly shoot the deputy on July 26 – even though he already had a “Category A” criminal history, the worst possible under Kansas law.

In Officer Simoncic’s killing Tuesday, local bondsman Brian Underwood says the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office has a standing policy of extraditing felony offenders in contiguous states, but in Mitchell’s case — in which there was a bench warrant for failure to appear in the felony drug case – the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, at the behest of the DA, sent a fax to Fremont County, Iowa, authorities last month saying it didn’t want to come pick up Mitchell.

So he was released there, leading up to Tuesday’s tragedy in KCK.

“Our District Attorney’s office has declined extradition at this time,” WyCo’s July 30 fax, obtained by The Heartlander, informed the Iowa jail. “Warrant will remain active for Missouri and Kansas ONLY.”

In short, it appears Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree’s office was happy to allow Mitchell to remain free in Iowa, but would’ve gone after him in Missouri or Kansas.

Mitchell’s Iowa booking sheet, also obtained by The Heartlander, indicates he was arrested June 30 in Percival, south of Omaha, for domestic assault with bodily injury. The booking sheet includes a notation reading “No bond!!!!”

Underwood says Wyandotte County’s decision not to go get Mitchell – less than a three hour drive – wasn’t about saving taxpayer money. For one thing, it would’ve cost just a few hundred dollars for a there-and-back trip.

For another thing, Underwood says the bail company that had bonded Mitchell out of the Wyandotte County Jail would’ve been billed for the costs of his return.

So, if the decision not to pursue Mitchell in Iowa wasn’t about the stewardship of public funds, Underwood wonders, “what, then, are we left with?”

The KBI released this statement on the incident:

KBI agents are investigating a vehicle pursuit that occurred Tuesday morning in Kansas City, Kansas, resulting in an officer being struck and killed.

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) requested KBI assistance at around 1:55 a.m. KBI special agents responded to the scene. Kansas Highway Patrol’s Critical Highway Accident Response Team is also assisting with documenting the vehicle incidents.

At approximately 12:30 a.m., officers from the KCKPD were dispatched near the 7700 block of Everett Ave, regarding shots being fired.

At approximately 12:40 a.m., officers located an unconscious man in the driver’s seat of a truck. As officers approached the driver, he woke up and fled the scene.

The driver, later identified as Dennis Mitchell III, 31, of Kansas City, was pursued by law enforcement. He abandoned the truck, entered another vehicle, and continued fleeing from officers.

During the pursuit, two KCKPD officers exited their vehicle to stage stop sticks in the 7200 block of State Ave. Mitchell drove toward an officer, striking him before continuing to flee the area. The officer, identified as Hunter Simoncic, 26, was struck and transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

At approximately 12:55 a.m., Mitchell wrecked the truck near the 6400 block of Kaw Dr. He was taken into custody and was transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center for examination. Mitchell was treated, released and transported to the Wyandotte County Jail. It was later learned both trucks had been reported stolen.

Mitchell was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, theft, criminal possession of a firearm, and aggravated failure to appear. Formal charges are pending.

When this investigation concludes case findings will be presented to the Wyandotte County District Attorney for determination of charges. The investigation is ongoing.