By DAN MARGOLIES

A woman less than halfway into her five-year prison sentence walked free in Texas on Monday after a federal judge ruled her constitutional rights had been violated when a federal prosecutor at the Leavenworth Detention Center listened to her phone calls with her attorneys.

Michelle Reulet, of Montgomery, Texas, was 37 years old when she was sentenced in 2017. She and a co-defendant owned a business, Bully Wholesale, in the Houston area. The government alleged the company illegally sold designer drugs marketed as incense, potpourri and shoe deodorizer.

Reulet was charged with drug-related crimes and pleaded guilty in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, in January 2017 to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. She was expected to be released from the federal prison in Bryan, Texas, in September 2020.

“No words,” said Reulet’s attorney, Melanie Morgan, after speaking to her client following her release. “Just tears of relief and joy.”

In a statement, Stephen McAllister, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said the revelations about one of his prosecutors eavesdropping on Reulet’s conversations with her attorneys “were not previously known to the leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s office.”

“In light of those facts, and given the relatively short time remaining on Ms. Reulet’s sentence, we believed the best choice to serve the ends of justice was not to opposed the public defender’s motion to amend Ms. Reulet’s sentence to time served,” McAllister said.

Reulet’s case is the latest instance of a defendant’s sentence being reduced as a result of evidence that federal prosecutors eavesdropped on recordings of attorney-client phone calls made at the Leavenworth Detention Center. Reulet was detained there after she was indicted and taken into custody.

The owner and operator of the prison, CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) routinely recorded outgoing inmate calls, including calls with their attorneys that were supposed to be off limits.

That disclosure more than two years ago provoked outrage among defense attorneys, who have been pressing ever since to find out whether and to what extent federal prosecutors may have been privy to the calls.

During a hearing earlier this month, the Federal Public Defender confronted a now-retired federal prosecutor, Tanya Treadway, with her handwritten notes detailing the contents of about a dozen recorded conversations between Reulet and her attorneys.

Treadway, who had been subpoenaed to testify by the public defender, did not deny that she had listened in on the recordings. Rather, she said they were not privileged or did not concern Reulet’s drug case or weren’t “important.”

After her testimony, Treadway moved to supplement the record with documents that are currently under seal, claiming they were “necessary for a fair and balanced review” of the issues before the court. Without those documents, Treadway wrote, the issues would be “forever mired in mischaracterization and misunderstanding, untethered to their proper context.”

Since the documents remain sealed – the judge has yet to rule – it’s not known what light they might shed on Treadway’s actions.

After Treadway testified, the Federal Public Defender moved for permission from the court to disclose her handwritten notes “to the appropriate disciplinary authorities.” Although Treadway wasn’t named in the motion, the context made it clear the public defender was referring to her.

Reulet had several attorneys, including a family law practitioner in Texas who represented her in a child custody battle after Reulet was indicted and taken into custody. Treadway appears to have eavesdropped on conversations between Reulet and that attorney in addition to conversations with her other attorneys.

Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri judge has made clear that local election workers cannot enforce a core requirement in a new voter photo identification law.

Senior Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan on Tuesday clarified his ruling against a requirement that voters lacking valid photo ID sign a sworn statement and present some other form of identification to cast a regular ballot.

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had said Callahan directed the state not to require a sworn statement from voters without proper ID. But Ashcroft said local election workers were responsible for that.

Ashcroft argued Callahan’s initial ruling created confusion before the Nov. 6 election, which features a marquee race between Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican challenger Josh Hawley.

Callahan later clarified that his ruling applies to local workers, too.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court has allowed an injunction to remain in place against part of the state’s voter photo identification law.

A Cole County judge issued an injunction earlier this month against a provision requiring people lacking photo identification to sign a sworn statement and show some other form of identification in order to cast regular ballots.

Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office had asked the Supreme Court to suspend enforcement of the injunction until after the Nov. 6 election while the case is being appealed. State attorneys argued that the ruling could create confusion for voters and local election authorities.

The Supreme Court issued a one-sentence decision Friday declining to suspend the injunction. It did not explain its reasoning.

JACKSON COUNTY — A woman allegedly facing charges for a triple-fatal Kansas crash who skipped a court appearance was captured by U.S. Marshals Tuesday morning in Nebraska, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse.

On October 11, Maria Perez-Marquez, 49, Omaha,  was charged in Kansas with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and reckless driving for the November 2017 crash near Holton that killed the mother, sister and uncle of two Kansas high school football players shortly after the family watched the boys’ Sabetha team win a state football championship. Two other people were injured.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance from the U.S. Marshals to locate Perez-Marquez. Perez-Marquez who was arrested on a no bond Jackson County District Court warrant, is being transported to the Douglas County Jail in Omaha, Nebraska and will be awaiting an extradition hearing, according to Morse.

Authorities did not released details on the arrest.

 

 

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A man who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault after a traffic crash that killed a Harrisburg track coach is appealing his sentence.

Court records show 27-year-old Brandon Brill says in his appeal that a Boone County judge erred when he sentenced Brill to 22 years in prison for the September 2017 crash that killed 37-year-old Brian Simpson, a Harrisburg teacher.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Brill’s truck crossed the center line and struck a school bus driven by Simpson, who was taking his team to a Moberly cross-country meet.

Judge Jeff Harris cited Brill’s numerous convictions for driving-related offenses before handing down the sentence.

Brill, of Clark, argues in his appeal that a 22-year sentence is too long for an accident.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – An 18-year-old Kansas City man has been found guilty of fatally shooting a man who he believed had assaulted his mother.

The Jackson County prosecutor announced Monday that Tony Mack was convicted of second-degree murder and five other charges in the January shooting death of 56-year-old Leon Taylor.

According to court records, Mack says he shot Taylor because he believed Taylor assaulted his mother.

The Kansas City Star reports court records indicate Mack said he shot Taylor because he believed Taylor assaulted his mother.

Prosecutors say Mack he didn’t believe his mother’s explanation that she had scars on her face and knees because she fell down. He said he thought Mack hurt his mother and went outside and fired several shots into Taylor’s car.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 14.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials say several changes should decrease the time people spend renewing their driver’s licenses.

Starting Tuesday, people ages 21-50 can renew licenses through the Department of Revenue’s iKan mobile app and online here.

The department said in a news release Monday that people who want a Real Id must go into a driver’s license office but the state plans to eventually make that process available through the iKan app.

The department also has updated its KanLicense software program, which should decrease processing time.

And most driver’s license offices in Kansas will be open longer, starting next week. Most offices are adding Monday service and will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Offices will still have the option to open on Saturdays during peak times.

MCDONALD COUNTY— One person die in an accident just before 10:30p.m. Monday in McDonald County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a Dodge Ram driven by James M. Newby, 51, Southwest City, was southbound on MO 59 just south of Ginger Blue.

The pickup ran off the roadway and overturned. Newby was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A man whose excessive flatulence forced a police detective to cut shot an interrogation has pleaded guilty to federal gun and drug charges.

Sean Sykes Jr., 25, entered the plea Monday. The charges stem from a police traffic stop in September in Kansas City, Missouri, in which officers found a backpack with drugs and guns. Sykes was a passenger in the vehicle.

A detective reported that when asked for his address, Sykes “leaned to one side of his chair and released a loud fart before answering.” Court documents say Sykes “continued to be flatulent” and the detective was forced to quickly end the interview.

Sykes will be sentenced at later date, after a pre-sentence report is completed.

KANSAS CITY – A student at Shawnee Mission South High School identified as Chandan Rajanna, 17, was the person who died when an off-duty Kansas City police officer driving a department van hit another vehicle on Sunday.

Police spokesman Capt. Lionel Colon said the crash occurred Sunday afternoon on Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium as Kansas City Chiefs fans were arriving for the team’s game.

Colon says the police van ran into a vehicle involved in slow traffic lining up to turn into the stadium. That vehicle hit a second vehicle, which hit a third car.

Rajanna was in the the van that was hit by the police vehicle. Three others were injured in the crash.

Police staff often are on-call and use police vehicles while off-duty so they can quickly respond if needed.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Police say one person died and three people were injured when an off-duty Kansas City police officer driving a department van hit another vehicle.

Police spokesman Capt. Lionel Colon said the crash occurred Sunday afternoon on Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium as Kansas City Chiefs fans were arriving for the team’s game.

Colon says the police van ran into a vehicle involved in slow traffic lining up to turn into the stadium. That vehicle hit a second vehicle, which hit a third car.

The driver of the van that was hit by the police vehicle was killed. The person’s identity has not been released.

Police staff often are on-call and use police vehicles while off-duty so they can quickly respond if needed.