Visiting Judge Philip Sieve has found Clint D. Epperly not guilty on all counts after a day-long trial in Lyon County District Court on three counts of theft and a felony count of official misconduct.
Epperly had been accused of taking several items during a drug interdiction he made as a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper. He also was accused of deleting evidence from a global positioning system he took from a semi-tractor trailer seized in the drug stop and later gave to a Lyon County Sheriff's deputy.
"We're satisfied with the verdict," defense attorney Thomas Lemon said after the trial. "It was well thought-out."
Epperly seized approximately 550 pounds of marijuana in the incident.
To read complete story see the print edition or the online print edition.
For a full story on the trial, see Thursday's print or online Gazette.
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
Thank God you are done with this, So sorry that it will probably follow you where you go, good luck RLTW
January 13, 2010 at 7 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alsrac (anonymous) says...
Not surprised at all. Wondering what would happen if the accused was a regular civilian.
January 13, 2010 at 7:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jsmiller (anonymous) says...
There are law enforcement officers who abuse their authority and it certainly wasn't Epperly...
January 13, 2010 at 8:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
geoffreym (anonymous) says...
Congratulations Clint. The two best things that could have happened to me this week are your not being found Guilty and Deb sending me an email. Now get on with your life and don't take take this personal. You were a good Officer and person before and you will continue to be the same henceforth. The sentiments of almost everyone who ever commented on this were in your corner all along Clint. You should be very proud of that.
January 13, 2010 at 10:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nascar (anonymous) says...
I am so happy for you! Funny, all the "haters" have no comments!! I am sure you will never get an apology from all the of the awful comments that have been left throughout this trial, but you knew, as well as all of us, that you were innocent all along! You should be proud of what you have done, look forward to your future, and go on knowing we all believed in you!!
January 14, 2010 at 9:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newsjunkie (anonymous) says...
Justice has been served. Now for the rest of the story? Congrats Clint. Glad this is over for you and your family.
January 14, 2010 at 2:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
snowflake (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
January 14, 2010 at 11:57 a.m. ( permalink )
courtreporter (anonymous) says...
It looks really bad that the defense didnt even call a witness and still won. Also, the AG gave a illegal immigrant drug smuggler immunity to testify against a State Trooper and his office couldnt even prove there case enough that the defendant didnt need to call a witness to win. Sounds like somebody has some explaining to do.
January 14, 2010 at 6:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bouncer (anonymous) says...
what a sad day that this guy got off. This is one guilty guy and to bad people don't see the real clint epperly. What a disgrace to those officers that put a uniform on everyday and go out there with pride for the job they do. You can bet there are alot of people NOT celebrating this.
January 14, 2010 at 7:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
geoffreym (anonymous) says...
Hey Bouncer...Your right, there are a lot of unhappy people out there at this outcome and most of them will be seeing the inside of a jail somewhere soon because Clint was FOUND NOT GUILTY. H should have been reprimanded not put on trial. Justice was done. You apparently don't know Clint. There is no finer , well intended young man. You however, well lets just say that judgement is still out on you.
January 14, 2010 at 10:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
geoffreym
I thought you lived in Arizona or some such place.....Curious as to how you seem to know "Clint" so well from such a far away place?
When you were railing on another thread you never mentioned to us that you must actually be some kind of a local.....In fact you said something very close to the opposite of that.
January 15, 2010 at 3:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Before you jump to more erroneous conclusions geoffreym, let me assure you that I have no prejudice as it concerns this case. I had no personal knowledge of this trooper.....and had no info about this case other than what I had read. The court found him not guilty and I accept that and hope he can now salvage the remainder of his life.
My question is only with the nature of the confusion caused with statements made by you that seemed to leave some questions unanswered. I'm sure you can understand this because of your history of making assumptions based on little or no real information. Oh, and have a nice day!
January 15, 2010 at 6:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
biscuit,
The answers to your question to "geoffreym" can be found in his earlier posts. He stated he was Epperly's stepfather.
However his one post was a little funny that he "stumbled" on to this site.
January 15, 2010 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Thank you for the clarification Steve.....I wondered if something like that might be the case. But then that brings us back to "stumbled"......an interesting choice of words.
Might it be that our friend geoffreym was being a bit disingenuous with us. But surely that couldn't be the case....not with a man with such a clear eye for accuracy and detail.
January 15, 2010 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Romans 13:
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
January 15, 2010 at 9:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
geoffreym (anonymous) says...
Poor choice of words I guess (stumbled). There is this wonderful search engine out there called Google, some of you may have even heard of it, that caused me to "stumble" to your very fine little Hometown newspaper. It's called research.
For most of my early years I grew up in small towns just like Emporia but have lived in the big city of Phoenix AZ all of my adult years. I miss the small town atmosphere or at least I thought I did. On that other thread that some have mentioned things got a little ugly. Now see, that statement is disingenuous. Things got real ugly because of a particular individual(yy4u) who seemed to posses some real hatred. But as I leave your wonderful small town let me leave you with a wonderful quote that Clint's mom use to say.."it's been real and it's been fun, it's just not been real fun" enjoy ladies and gentlemen.
January 15, 2010 at 10:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cepperly (anonymous) says...
Jeff, I want you to know that your comments were greatly appreciated and very unexpected. These people will believe whatever they want to believe under the security blanket of anonymity and there is nothing we can do to change that. The case was tried and fortunately I was aquitted while remaining silent or producing witnesses and justice was served in part. Unfortunately, that precluded the rest of the story from being told and who knows, maybe it will or maybe it wont at a later date. That is yet to be determined, nonetheless, I was wrongfully charged, had my day in court and aquitted based on the States own case. There was so much more that came out of this trial that probably should have been printed but wasnt. If you have a issue with that, the trial was opened to the public, you missed a great show. With all of that being said, I wanted to let you know Jeff, your message was recieved and greatly appreciated and I appologize for nameless individuals attacking you and your statements. This small town is very unforgiving, even if you are wrongfuly charged and aquitted.
January 15, 2010 at 12:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cepperly (anonymous) says...
I need to clarify one thing. I was telling the local public that the trial was opened to the public. It sounded like I directed that at you Jeff and I didnt. Again, thanks for your kind words.
January 15, 2010 at 1:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ROYALSFAN (anonymous) says...
Hey Clint congratulations. I'm sure being a public servant is pretty tough. SOME (not all people), have no appreciation of law enforcement until they need them. When they do need them, if things dont go the way they thought it should, or as seen on T.V. they want to put the blame on the officer or his/her department. 99.999% of our nations officers go out everyday risking their lives for the citizens of their community, to make the said community a safer place to be. I also believe 99.999% of our nations officers do so to the best of their ability and are fair and impartial to the public they serve. Whether they are helping a cat down out of a tree or trying to apprehend a dangerous criminal there will be people happy about the way they did it, and there will be people unhappy about the way they did it. As long as those officers are being fair and impartial and abiding by the law then we should accept the way those particular situations are handled by those trained to handle them. Clint was found Not Guilty of breaking any laws. Lets all move forward and try to make our great nation a better place to live. Thanks for protecting and serving our little section of the nation. Just think about the people's lives that you did make better by your service and think about what you might have prevented by catching all those bad guys who were found guilty of breaking the law. Good luck with your future endeavors. I'm not asking anybody to agree with my comment I am just posting my thoughts on this subject.
January 15, 2010 at 3:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
cepperly
Can't speak for any one but myself.....but I just wanted you to know that my problems with geoffreym had nothing to do with you or your case. I think I made that clear in my post. I am glad justice was served and happy for you that you prevailed.
January 15, 2010 at 5:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bouncer (anonymous) says...
epperly doesn't deserve to wear a badge and you need to open your eyes about that. He will break the law again and next time he may not be as lucky.
January 15, 2010 at 9:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hometownkid (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
January 15, 2010 at 7:22 a.m. ( permalink )
jasper007 (anonymous) says...
Well, not all of us were able/available to watch this "great show". I will admit that I have taken ALL my information from the local media. And according to what I read I cannot believe the STATE lost this case. Seems very fishy to me. It looks like now OUR local sheriff's department has been branded the "bad guy" which is a down right disgrace. Let's see. A "visiting" judge, no jury trial, the "star" witness given immunity, yada, yada, yada. One thing good about the outcome was the drugs that were confiscated. Now, will Lyon County benefit from the drug seizure or will the State? Hmmm.
January 16, 2010 at 12:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hornet08 (anonymous) says...
Not guilty and innocent are two very different things.
January 17, 2010 at 12:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
That is so very true hornet08......can you say O.J. Simpson boys and girls?
That is a distinction we often overlook when patting ourselves on the back about our justice system. But the judge doesn't ask if you find the defendant innocent...he ask if you find the defendant not guilty. There can be a world of difference there.
Sandman
I did at one time want to be a criminal lawyer......then I realized I would be spending the vast majority of my time defending the guilty...not protecting the innocent. I couldn't quite ever get my mind around the fact that technically they are both the same thing.
January 17, 2010 at 4:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
baof2003 (anonymous) says...
I would just like to say I personally know Clint Epperly and I am saying this out of love and support for my friend. Clint you are a very good father, husband, officer, and man. I know that I don't know all the trials and tribulations that you have had to indure through this, but you know that I know a good part of them. I want you to know that I have always stood behind you and you innocents on this and any thing any one had to say about you or the case. I have heard a number of State Troopers all around Kansas personally say to me how good of a guy and officer Clint Epperly was, is, and hope to continue to be. I'm sorry that the people that are against you have not had a chance to get to know you. You know that I have had a colorful past that didn't really made sence on why I got charged but it has always followed me. So I know first hand the judgement that people make with out getting to know the real person. Instead people only look at the labels that have been put on us for what ever reason. For every one that would like to pass judgement with out getting to know the person behind the label remember "those with out sin cast the first stone". No one is perfect and no one is out of reach.
Clint I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm here for you whenever and where ever. All you have to do is stop by or pick up a phone, or ipod :)! Best of wishes to you and your lovely family from me and mine. Tim B.
January 18, 2010 at 7:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bouncer (anonymous) says...
Hey baof2003, is that ipod one he stole and they just didn't find it? For every Trooper that you say speaks highly of epperly I'll show you 3 that turn their back on him as a brother who they trusted was honest,and had integrity and honor he has none of that. hornet08 is correct innocent and not guilty are very different. He knows he is a thief. He has shamed anyone that wears a badge. Let's hope he moves on somewhere else so we don't have to think about him anymore.
He is not the person you think he is. I too know him.
January 19, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
koalemos (anonymous) says...
Bring false criminal accusations on a man and when lady justice says not guilty, tar and feather him and run him out of town. bouncer, you are a joke! The taxpayers were forced to pay for a trial because of a personality conflict at work. He must not have fit into your little group of butt buddies at work or maybe you wanted the ipod and didn't get it. Obviously there is a stain on the thin blue line but I believe it is there because of a culture of corruption embedded in group of individuals who believe they are not just there to enforce the law but sitting above the law looking down on all us common folk. Who knows bouncer, maybe you will get the next ipod that comes around buddy.
January 19, 2010 at 9:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
It's been said there is a fine line between cop and criminal......basically the same personality type channeled by their individual lives in different directions.
It 's not then unusual for those directions to become blurred.
January 20, 2010 at 6:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cruiser (anonymous) says...
Clint,
I speak to you from far away. I remember once upon a time when things were going bad for me you were one of the few who stood by me. I thanked you then and I thank you now. To all those who have negative comments about you I can say that it is exactly because people like you and I stood up and protected their rights to do just that, that they have the right to voice their opinions. Yes it would be nice if they would take the time to seek out all the facts related to this case before passing judgement. To the individual who is the conspiracy theorist. A trial to the bench is every Defendants right. As far as a judge from another district. This too is not uncommon. In fact this is a practice designed to maintain the integrity of the courts. You must remember that Clint was instrumental in bringing many criminals before the very court that he himself would be tried in. I applaud Judge Wheeler's decision to bring in a judge from another jurisdiction to hear this case. Justice has been served, Clint has to move on to the next phase of his life, and Lyon county must move on as well. My final thoughts for you Clint are get back into law enforcement. In fact run for Sheriff! You may be surprised at how many people would support you! God Bless and Good Luck!
January 24, 2010 at 12:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
koalemos (anonymous) says...
Drug forfeiture laws are to blame. The law is unjust as police are allowed to take property and dispose of it without even waiting for the wheels of justice to crush anything. Forfeiture laws have stained the thin blue line with the ink of dirty money.
January 24, 2010 at 1:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Oh true! One of those things that looked like a good idea at the time...but in retrospect??????
But the agencies have gotten used to the cash cow now....and won't want to give it up easily.
January 24, 2010 at 1:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
phl_eagle (anonymous) says...
Clint don't know if you will see this but I wanted to let you know I was sad to hear the accusations against you. I remember working with you in Burlington and how much you talked about being an officer. I am sorry your name has been dragged through the mud. I remember you as a good man with a great sense of humor. If you remember mine and my husbands background, I can tell you this, get away from the small towns, get away from KHP. I wish you the best. Stephanie
February 5, 2010 at 5:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )