The texts between Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody and a restaurant owner were allegedly deleted amid widespread scrutiny of the chief's August 2023 raids of the Marion County Record newspaper and the homes of the paper's owners.

MARION, Kansas — Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody probably committed a felony crime when he told a witness to delete text messages they exchanged before, during and after he led raids on a newspaper office and the publisher’s home, a district judge ruled Wednesday.

But Cody won’t be tried for the raids, which Marion County Record editor-publisher Eric Meyer says is the real crime.

A two-hour preliminary hearing revealed new details about the texts that Cody exchanged with Kari Newell, whose drunk driving record and request for a liquor license at her resta

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