A former Kansas police chief has been formally charged after an illegal raid on a newspaper office. In August of 2024 officers from the Marion Police Department raided the offices of the Marion County Record. Officers seized office equipment and personal property of employees.
The police chief at the time, Gideon Cody, claimed he was investigating attempted identity theft by newspaper employees. The employees had accessed publically available records of a local restaruant owner, but had declined to publish any of the information gained by those searches.
Earlier this month, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson released a 124-page report on the raid. While declining to recommend many other, more serious, charges; it was concluded they have probable cause to believe that Cody may have withheld evidence from investigators. Specifically two pages of a local business owner's written statement from September 2023.
Cody has been charged with one count of interference with the judicial process, inducing a witness to withhold/delay information in a felony case. Sentencing for violation of the judicial process ranges between seven and 23 months in prison or probation.
