Over the span of an hour, in a sparsely filled courtroom, Allen Countians were given a brief glimpse Thursday of one of the more unusual cases of a law enforcement officer accused of malfeasance.
Former Montgomery County Sheriff Robert Dierks stands accused of attempting to intervene in order to prevent the drunken-driving arrest of his then-girlfriend in January 2018.
A jury trial is slated to begin Monday in Independence, where Dierks faces one count of interfering with law enforcement, and one count of intimidation of a witness.
But first, Judge Daniel Creitz appointed to preside over the case because judges in Montgomery County have worked with Dierks on a number of other, unrelated cases had to decide whether Dierks violated terms of his bond by contacting witnesses involved in his case via text message.
And then, after Creitz ruled Dierks did violate the bond, a lengthy discussion followed on what sort of penalty should result from the hearing.
Thursdays hastily scheduled hearing was held in the Allen County District Court because no space was available in Independence, the Montgomery County seat.
THE BACK story goes to the evening of Jan. 27, 2018, when a Montgomery County sheriffs deputy stopped Valerie Smith a few miles north of Independence after she was reportedly spotted driving erratically.
In the probable cause affidavit, compiled by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and spelled out in subsequent media reports, Smith reportedly asked the deputy to contact Dierks, her boyfriend.
When the deputy did not, she then called Dierks herself, then handed the phone to the deputy.
Dierks reportedly asked the deputy to put Smith in handcuffs, then hold her at the scene, until he could arrive to take her home.
The deputy refused, according to the affidavit, because a witness was watching, and because he had spotted damage to her vehicle. Dierks, in response, asked the deputy to refrain from contacting a tow truck; that he would take care of it.
The deputy continued with the DUI investigation, and Smith was eventually placed under arrest.
The sheriff heard about the arrest over the radio, then called the deputy again and asked If there was any way he could change his mind. The deputy said no, the affidavit said.
The scene shifted to the jail, according to the affidavit, where Smith refused to submit to a breathalyzer test, or give a blood sample used to determine whether there was alcohol in her system when Dierks arrived.
Smith began pleading with him to do something and help her out of this, investigators wrote in the affidavit. She later became angry when the sheriff refused to intervene further.
Their relationship ended because of the arrest, according to the report.