Kansas town’s police chief, assistant in trouble for entering home without warrant: KBI
The police chief and assistant police chief of an eastern Kansas town have been summoned to court for crimes connected to what’s purportedly an illegal search, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday.
Herington police Chief John V. Matula, 36, was ordered to appear in Dickinson County District Court for alleged criminal damage to property and criminal trespass charges, the KBI said in a news release. His assistant chief, 43-year-old Curtis M. Tyra, was summoned on a count of alleged criminal trespass.
The KBI says the alleged crimes, which are all misdemeanors, are thought to have occurred on May 18 when Matula and Tyra reportedly forced their way into a home without a search warrant. The summonses come after a KBI investigation.
No other details were released Wednesday. The KBI says the investigation is ongoing and directed questions to an Overland Park attorney appointed to serve as special prosecutor in the case. That attorney, James Brun, declined to provide additional details or comment on the case in a Wednesday night email to The Eagle.
It wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday whether the chief or assistant chief were represented by attorneys. Neither could be reached at the Herington Police Department’s phone number early Wednesday evening. Matula also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Herington is located about 85 miles north of Wichita, in Dickinson and Morris counties. The town has around 2,200 residents, according to a U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 population estimate.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 7:06 PM.
