A preliminary hearing is next in a Lyon County conspiracy case being prosecuted directly by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
The prelim Oct. 21 in the case against Georgia resident Demetrius Odom follows the cancellation of a review hearing originally set for Wednesday.
Odom is charged with seven counts, four involving identity theft, two for criminal use of a card and one for conspiracy, after allegedly stealing from an unlisted number of liquor stores across Kansas, including four in Emporia: Carlos Liquor, Emporia Liquor & Wine, Liquor Locker and The Liquor Store.
Attorney General Kris Kobach says the Odom case is notable because it marks the first organized retail crime prosecution by his office since a change in state law passed last year. Action by the Kansas Legislature lets prosecutors seek felony charges in retail crimes, including organized crime cases, instead of pursuing minor theft cases.
Co-defendant Dwayne Rhoden was arrested in Kentucky on unrelated felony charges in July. Kobach says Rhoden is refusing to waive extradition, so authorities are seeking a governor’s warrant to move court proceedings to Kansas.
