NEWTON, Kan. (AP) - A central Kansas prosecutor has dropped charges against a former Halstead city administrator who’d been accused of perjury.
Harvey County District Attorney David Yoder said Thursday in a news release without elaborating that there was insufficient evidence to continue pursuing the case involving J.R. Hatfield.
Hatfield and the former police chief of 2,100-resident Halstead, Steven Lewis, were arrested last year after a Kansas Bureau of Investigation probe of Halstead’s police department.
Court documents alleged that Hatfield falsely reported the reasons for Lewis’ retirement, leading to a felony perjury charge against him.
Court records show Lewis was convicted in February of two misdemeanor theft counts, and a felony count of misuse of public funds was dismissed at that time.
Hatfield resigned as city administrator last November.
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Information from: KWCH-TV, https://www.kwch.com/
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