Following his first appearance in Lyon County District Court Wednesday, former Emporia Underground Utilities Supervisor Kevin Wiggins will return next week.
Wiggins will next appear for a preliminary hearing next Wednesday at 9 am before Judge Doug Jones. Court proceedings follow Wiggins’ arrest in April after which he was charged with one count of theft of property or services, allegedly ranging from late July 2023 to this past February.
That count accuses Wiggins of taking less than $1,500 “in two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or course of conduct.” There is an alternate count of theft involving less than $1,500 of scrap metal for July 31, 2023.
Wiggins, 51, was initially arrested on April 26 after what Emporia Police Capt. Lisa Hayes called suspicious activity on city property earlier in the month, although he was released from jail shortly thereafter due to legal rules on 72-hour jail holds. Hayes also says the investigation led to other parts of Kansas and as far away as Iowa.
Wiggins, who had been the Underground Utilities supervisor since June 2020, was fired.
