The Kansas Bureau of Investigation arrests a former community corrections employee in central Kansas for forgery and judicial interference.

 

35-year-old Katie Hales of Great Bend was arrested on Tuesday on charges stemming from incidents that occurred in Barton and Rice Counties during a two-year period starting in 2021. During that time, Hales is alleged to have submitted fraudulent court filings that included the forged signatures of both corrections and court officials while she was employed by Central Kansas Community Corrections. Hales resigned from her position in October 2023, about a month after the K-B-I began investigating the accusations.

 

Hales was taken into custody by a KBI agent at the Rice County Sheriff’s Office. She was processed and later released on an own recognizance bond. Hales is charged with 14 counts of forgery, 14 counts of making false information, and 14 counts of interference with judicial process in Rice County and 17 counts of each offense in Barton County.

 

?Both cases will be prosecuted by a special prosecutor with the Pawnee County Attorney’s Office.

 

The KBI says the investigation remains ongoing.