Lawman Office keeps Alma abuzz

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 3, 2004 by Tim Carpenter Capital-Journal

MIKE SHEPHERD/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

While some complain of the work of the Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office, Undersheriff Jack Metz says he and the sheriff took over an office lacking the proper technology.

By Tim Carpenter

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

ALMA --- Controversy is serving a long sentence in the Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Department.

Four walls of purported criminal misconduct, workplace cronyism, career derailment and political backstabbing --- staples of TV soap operas --- handcuff this county's chief law enforcement agency.

But unlike a Hollywood drama, real lives have been cast into disarray by plot twists at the sheriff's office.

Former deputy Doug Howser, who won the Republican Party primary for sheriff and has no opposition in the November election, said the problem with law and order in this sparsely populated county west of Topeka is as simple as Alma's Main Street is straight.

He said the county has been poorly served for more than 3 1/2 years by Sheriff Bill Kilian.

"They've got some guys who are 21 years old or in their early 20s out there running around with guns with very little or no training and no mentoring," said Howser, who has worked for 18 years in law enforcement in Riley and Wabaunsee counties.

Longtime conflict

Alma is the seat of Wabaunsee County, an expanse of Flint Hills that is home to 6,800 people. Interstate 70 is a major artery in the county, giving life to Paxico, McFarland and Maple Hill. To the south are Harveyville, Eskridge, Keene and Alta Vista.

Just a few blocks from the county's jail in Alma is a beloved tourist attraction. Alma Cheese is again producing fine cheddar, Monterey Jack, colby, mozzarella and other creations.

Another county staple --- strife in the sheriff's department --- isn't as palatable.

Linda Jernigan, of Maple Hill, said the 49-year-old Howser would have difficulty restoring public confidence in the department. She said many county residents weren't satisfied despite a budget that has ballooned from $470,000 in 2001 when Kilian took office to $600,000 this year.

"There's a lot of sex, lies and videotape that I think has gone on up there," Jernigan said. "These are my tax dollars. I want accountability."

Ervan Stuewe, chairman of the Wabaunsee County Commission, said raising the department's level of performance would require Howser to pack more than a powerful handgun. The new sheriff must carry a stronger work ethic to the job than has been displayed by his predecessor, Stuewe said.

"The commissioners look forward to working with him and we hope that we can provide a positive image and a safe environment for the citizens," he said.

Up in smoke

Wheels started wobbling in the sheriff's office while Richard Old wore the pointed star. Jail inmate Alex F. Thompson lit up Old's joint by admitting he helped steal marijuana --- a lot of marijuana - -- from the sheriff's evidence room. Prisoners smoked eight pounds of hot pot in their cells in 1997 and 1998.

Thompson bragged to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation that weapons could have been stolen.

"There ain't no doubt in my mind (the other inmate) and I could have stuffed a 9 mm pistol in our pants and walked back to our cells," he said.

Inmates allegedly used the department's booking camera to take pornographic photos of female prisoners.

Thompson paid for taking advantage of lax security. A judge sentenced him to 34 months in prison. Voters sentenced Old to the unemployment line in 2000.

"We're going to make mistakes," Old said. "Nobody here signed their job application 'Jesus Christ.' "

Kilian, who had worked in the Topeka Police Department and Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, was the people's choice to replace Old.

However, public disapproval of Kilian's performance emerged. It reached the flash point in August when Kilian finished third in the Republican Party's three-way primary election. That campaign included late-night distribution of distressing financial reports on second- place finisher Richard Blevins and unsavory rumors of romantic relationships among Kilian's staff.

Smoke-clearing results: Howser, 755 votes; Blevins, 488; and Kilian, 428.

Kilian said his last-place showing illustrated how hard county voters were on sheriffs.

"You do get people who have no use for law enforcement," he said.

Hear me now?

Kilian and his hand-picked assistant, undersheriff Jack Metz, said they inherited a department lacking fundamental law enforcement technology.

"This place was basically back in the last century," said Metz, who also worked as a sheriff's deputy in Shawnee County and plans to step down when the next sheriff takes office. "The radio system when we came in --- they quit making that style of radio system back in 1977. You could barely talk across the street to dispatchers."

Antiquated communications radio gear and case-management computers were replaced by top-of-the-line hardware. It was paid for with tax dollars, grants and cash generated by catching drug-runners on I-70, Kilian said.