Judge agrees to dismiss remaining counts against Michael O’Donnell

A federal judge has officially dismissed the remaining wire fraud and money laundering charges pending against Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell.

A written order signed by U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren and filed with the court Thursday morning grants prosecutors’ request to drop five charges that had jurors deadlocked on Monday. O’Donnell, in a brief phone interview Wednesday after prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the counts, said he was “glad that common sense finally prevailed. I’m just sorry that it came at such an expense to taxpayers and myself.”

The 34-year-old Republican commissioner was indicted last year on 26 counts alleging he misspent $10,500 in campaign contributions during his 2012 state senate run and his 2016 bid for the Sedgwick County seat. After hearing five days of testimony and deliberating for about four hours Monday, jurors delivered “not guilty” verdicts on 21 charges but couldn’t come to a consensus on the other five.

The counts have been dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning they could potentially be refiled at a later date.

This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 12:28 PM.