TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A suspended Kansas sheriff’s detective has been charged with three counts of felony perjury after an investigation into inconsistencies on investigative reports.
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office filed the charges Tuesday against Shawnee County sheriff’s Det. Erin Thompson, The Topeka Capital-Journal (https://bit.ly/1s8coQW ) reports. The 39-year-old is free on bond. Her lawyer, Tom Lemon, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. Thompson doesn’t have a listed phone number.
“This is a sad day for the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office as well as the community of Shawnee County,” Sheriff Herman Jones said during a news conference.
Jones said he was contacted about inconsistencies on Thompson’s investigative reports in September while attending an out-of-state training. A commander was instructed to isolate current cases assigned to Thompson “to ensure no other cases could or would be filed with the District Attorney’s Office,” Jones said. He said the Kansas Bureau of Investigation also was asked to investigate, and Thompson was placed on paid administrative leave.
The criminal complaint said the acts of perjury took place on or about Aug. 4, 2014; Oct. 10, 2014; and May 29, 2015. No further details were provided in the complaint about what happened.
But the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office told defense attorneys previously that she may have falsified information used in a charging affidavit. Citing a notice from the county district attorney’s office, the newspaper has reported that Thompson stated she had spoken to people even though she hadn’t actually talked to them, and that the information was used in a charging affidavit.
A phone message that The Associated Press left for the Shawnee County Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer wasn’t immediately returned. Jennifer Rapp, a spokeswoman for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office, said in an email that no additional information was immediately available.
When an officer’s credibility comes into question in an open case, suppression of evidence, charges, plea bargains and sentencing could be affected, said Washburn law professor Michael Kaye. He said that in criminal cases that have already been decided, a new trial would require a substantiated error that affected the outcome of the original case.
Jones said that Thompson will remain on paid administrative leave pending completion of a professional standards unit investigation or resolution of her criminal case. If convicted, she faces 5 to 17 months for each count.
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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, https://www.cjonline.com
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