Kansas jury finds former Neosho County prosecutor guilty of perjury

Kansas Reflector began reporting on concerns about Thuston’s conduct in 2022. He was accused of trading diversions for cash, which he didn’t account for, and a disciplinary panel reprimanded him for blurring the lines between his private practice and public position.

The sheriff also found that Thuston, through Facebook messages, had persuaded about 50 women to send him nude photos in exchange for legal services.

But the Kansas Attorney General’s Office agreed not to pursue charges for more serious crimes in exchange for Thuston’s guilty plea in the misdemeanor case.

Thuston was called to testify during a preliminary hearing in a criminal drug case in 2024. The focus was on a rendezvous he arranged with a woman by the community college softball field. Shortly after the meeting, sensitive information began to circulate among drug users and dealers about houses that were under law enforcement surveillance. They attributed the information to Thuston, who denied being the source.

Thuston admitted he had exchanged explicit photos with the woman, but he said he was meeting with her as an off-the-books confidential informant. When met with skepticism, he rattled off the names of other informal confidential informants. Some of those individuals later told authorities they had never given information to Thuston.

Special prosecutor Branden Bell, an attorney from the Kansas City area, initially charged Thuston with three counts of felony perjury and three counts of misdemeanor intimidation of witnesses. A jury in December 2025 failed to reach a verdict.

A retrial began Monday in the Neosho County District Court in the small southeast Kansas town of Erie. This time, Bell pursued just two felony perjury charges and dropped the rest.

“At the first trial, I tried to limit some of the more tawdry evidence in front of the jury,” Bell said after the verdict Wednesday. “I think that was a mistake, because it didn’t give the jury a complete explanation of the evidence. This time, we didn’t shy away from that evidence when it was necessary.”

Bell told the jury in opening arguments that Thuston chose to lie about why he was meeting with the woman by the softball field.

“It never stops at just one falsehood,” Bell said. “What I tell my kids is that one lie begets another lie. Because to justify the first lie, you have to make other lies to make the first lie sound good.”

Robert Myers, an attorney from Columbus who defended Thuston, told the jury that some of the people Thuston had named as confidential informants had admitted they provided him information. The others, he said, deny being an informant because they were afraid of being targeted.

“You don’t have to listen to a witness who says, ‘I’m not a narc. I’m not a rat,’ ” Meyers said.

The 12 jurors who decided the case were selected from a pool that filled the eight doublewide rows of the courtroom. Some of the prospective jurors under consideration had connections to Thuston. One said he was a second cousin. Another played sports with Thuston’s son. A couple said they went to school with Thuston 40 years ago. One of the eventual jurors was the son of a local defense attorney.

Four said they were already familiar with the case, mostly from reading news coverage.

All pledged to be fair and reach a decision based solely on the evidence presented in court.

Half the jury panel knew each other, as friends, neighbors, worshipers and coworkers. In the small town, the only restaurant is closed on Mondays. Two food trucks were available, and senior judge Gunnar Sundby noted that the gas station makes “a mean pizza.”

Thuston at times chatted with his wife, who was seated in the front row, until the jury was selected. The courtroom was nearly void of observers when opening arguments began.

Jurors reached a verdict before lunchtime Wednesday, acquitting him on one charge and convicting him on the other.

Bell, the special prosecutor, said the low-level felony conviction could result in probation. The judge also could impose a prison sentence. With the two prior misdemeanor convictions, the sentence range would be six to eight months in prison, Bell said.

Sheryl Bussell, who has Thuston’s old job as county attorney, assisted Bell with the prosecution.

“In 43 years of practicing law, I have learned that there is a level of difficulty in coming in to a place where you don’t live or work to try a case,” Bussell said. “This was an important case for our community, and it is good to hopefully have it resolved now.”

Thuston’s attorney didn’t respond to an email sent Wednesday afternoon seeking comment for this story.