Two special prosecutors announced plans to charge former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with criminal obstruction of justice in connection to his actions following a raid on the town’s newspaper last year in central Kansas. The prosecutors did not specify whether the charge would be a felony or misdemeanor, and the filing of the case was pending as they collaborated with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, at the request of the Kansas authorities.
The prosecutors’ report outlined events surrounding the August 11, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record and the publisher’s home, indicating that Cody and Marion police mishandled the investigation, leading to inaccurate allegations against the newspaper staff, Eric Meyer and Phyllis Zorn, for identity theft and computer crimes.
Allegations suggest Chief Cody impeded the judicial process by concealing two pages of a statement from a local business owner during an investigation in September 2023, following the raid. The incident triggered a broader conversation on press freedom, particularly in Marion, a small town located about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, with a population of approximately 1,900 residents. Cody resigned as police chief shortly after officers were required to return seized materials.
The raid resulted in the death of Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, who co-owned the newspaper, passing away from a heart attack the day after the raid. Meyer attributed her death to the stress induced by the incident. Charges of felony obstruction could lead to a maximum of nine months in prison for a first-time offender, or lesser sentences such as 18 months of probation, whereas misdemeanor charges may result in up to a year of imprisonment.
The special prosecutors, District Attorney Marc Bennett from Segwick County, and County Attorney Barry Wilkerson from Riley County, both in Kansas, asserted that neither Meyer nor Zorn committed any crimes in verifying the information obtained from an online state database regarding the business owner’s driving record. The prosecutors criticized the Marion police for a flawed investigation that led to incorrect conclusions.