Great Bend Post
A local attorney has voiced her concerns about the credibility of a potential state witness. In a Motion to Suppress filed with Barton County District Court on Nov. 9, Audra Asher outlined an active Kansas Bureau of Investigation case against Katie Hales, a former intensive supervision officer (ISO) with Central Kansas Community Corrections (CKCC). Barton County officials confirmed former CKCC Director Amy Boxberger and ISO Tyler Lehmkuhl were no longer employed with the agency less than two weeks later on Nov. 20.
The document, part of an open record filed in a criminal case, alleges Hales conducted an improper search and seizure on one of Asher's clients. The document requests the court "find that Mrs. Hales has so tainted her credibility through repeated perjury and the ongoing criminal investigation into the forgery of the signatures of a district court judge and her direct supervisor and wire fraud."
The filing further states that on March 27, 2023, Barton County District Court held an evidentiary hearing on alleged probation violations by another defendant. Upon hearing Hales testify in that case, Lehmkuhl advised County Attorney Levi Morris of a misstatement of fact. Lehmkuhl was advised to report it to his supervisor, which he did.
The KBI has confirmed there is an active investigation on a former CKCC employee that was started at the request of Boxberger. The filing expresses concern that Morris was aware of the the alleged perjury at the time it occurred but did nothing about it. It further states, "People continue to remain incarcerated, both in county jail and prison, on (Hales') word and signatures, with the high probability that neither are valid."