Misdemeanor charges dismissed against Tanglewood 15

Misdemeanor charges against 15 Tanglewood residents for rioting were dismissed earlier this month. Linn County Attorney Justin Meeks said he plans to file new charges against some of the defendants. (Journal file photo)

By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – Defendants from the Tanglewood Lakes May 18, 2023 gate removal incident had their misdemeanors dismissed on April 16 without prejudice. On March 21, Judge Andrea Purvis had dismissed the felony charges for criminal damage and criminal conspiracy against 15 people, leaving them with misdemeanor charges for rioting.

A case that is dismissed without prejudice means that it could just be temporarily dismissed and refiled again. In Kansas, depending on what is being filed, a case can be refiled up to five years after the incident, which in this case would be May 2028. The majority of misdemeanors are filed within one to three years. 

In a recent phone call with Linn County Attorney Justin Meeks, he said that he planned to refile at least some of the cases. He said that he was in the process of collecting more information that would allow him to recharge the cases that could be proven without a reasonable doubt. 

Two of the defendants, Eva Riojas-Mackey and Allyn Mackey had their felonies for interfering with a law enforcement officer changed to misdemeanors. These misdemeanors were also dismissed. Riojas-Mackey pointed out that in the first court hearings, law enforcement officers testified that there was no interference with law enforcement officers.

In an interview with Riojas-Mackey, she said that she had spent nearly six years and talked with 48 government agencies to try to get government officials to seek help for the residents at Tanglewood who had been locked out of their homes. She said that the frustration of being locked in and out of their homes culminated in the  action of civil disobedience of removing the gates at Tanglewood in May of 2023. 

Riojas-Mackey said that she and others plan to file suits to recoup their costs. The defendants monetary losses result from legal fees, bond payments, loss of work income while they attended numerous court hearings over the two-year time period and much more.