Apreliminary hearing for former Ellsworth Police Chief Emil Halfhill did not take place as scheduled Sept. 24 in Ellsworth County District Court.

Instead, Halfhill applied for and was accepted into a one-year felony diversion program with the Ellsworth County Attorney’s office.

Halfhill faced one charge of knowingly and feloniously using public money in the amount of $1,000 to $25,000, between Oct. 19 and Oct. 30, 2023, that was not authorized by law.

“It’s not always a felony,” County Attorney Paul J. Kasper said, “but given the amount, since it exceeded $1,000, it was considered a felony violation of that statute.” Kasper said there are diversions available for most types of cases, but they are all a little different. These include traffic cases, misdemeanors, driving while under the influence and felony cases.

“The requirements for those and the availability of those are set forth in statute,” Kasper said.

Kasper noted a diversion is essentially an agreement between the defendant and the county attorney’s office that the defendant will abide by the terms of the diversion.

“There is no admission (of guilt) required for the diversion,” he said, “but if he violates the diversion, the information that is submitted to the judge will make it very likely that the judge would find him guilty.”

If the defendant successfully completes the diversion, the case would be dismissed.

“When I say dismissed, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is completely off their record,” Kasper said.

“With a felony, there is still what’s called a triple I — an interstate index — that would show that there was an arrest and then that index would show that the disposition of the case was a diversion.”

Kasper said a lot of times people use diversions because they want to keep the charge off their record.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no record of it,” he said.

Kasper said both his office and Halfhill, through his counsel, had to come to an agreement that the felony diversion was appropriate.

“There are statutory reasons why you can’t get a diversion,” he said. “Otherwise, it is left up to the discretion of the state’s office (the county attorney’s office) to review the case and see if it is appropriate.”

Kasper said this is different in all cases.

“I try to have general guidelines,” he said. “It is fact specific, but generally what I look at is the severity of the crime, what remedial action may have been taken and also the criminal history of the defendant who is applying for it.”

Kasper said diversions are for individuals with minimal or no criminal history. It is an opportunity to say ‘this may be a one-time thing and it’s a chance to minimize the impact on the individual.’

But to do that, Kasper said the individual has to complete the terms of the diversion, which depend upon the crime itself. Generally, they require the individual to pay the cost of the diversion, pay any restitution and not violate the laws of the state of Kansas or any other states or municipalities during the term of the diversion.

“If you can complete that diversion, the case would be dismissed to try to minimize the impact on the defendant’s record,” he said.

Kasper said the diversion process essentially stays the case (puts the case on hold) until the diversion is either successfully or unsuccessfully completed.

“The incentive for my office to enter into this type of agreement is as part of any diversion agreement, there are rights that the defendant has to waive,” he said. “Those include the right to a preliminary hearing, those include the right to have a contested trial.”

Kasper said essentially the diversion agreement says if the defendant does not successfully complete it, the matter will go on trial on what are called stipulation of facts. He said the facts are laid out so it would be very easy for a judge to find the defendant guilty of what they are accused of.

“At that time, the judge can assess fines, jail time, whatever the judge is allowed by statute to assess,” he said. “If the judge finds the defendant guilty, then that conviction would show up on either your driving record, depending upon the type of diversion, or your criminal record.”

Kasper said he doesn’t try to guess why people are doing diversions when they are offered.

“I offer them because I feel that it’s appropriate from that state’s side,” he said. “As for whatever reason why they choose to accept that, that’s their own reason.”

As for any future in law enforcement Halfhill may contemplate, Kasper declined to speculate. He did say, however, that with law enforcement, some jobs require special licensing and that would be up to the licensing board when reviewing his history to see if they feel it’s appropriate to license him.

As far as non-licensed jobs, Kasper said that would be up to whichever agency is hiring him.

“I am sure they would do a background check and they would have to see if they are comfortable hiring really any employee,” he said. “It depends upon what their history might be. They’d have to make that determination.”

The case against Halfhill was filed July 3. He made his first appearance July 16. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 13, but was continued to Sept. 24.