Drug defendant gets 2 surprises
Staff writer
Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez had a surprise last week for Kevin W. Geren on the same day city officials showed up at Geren’s home with another surprise.
Soyez arrested Geren, 61, May 3 on a felony warrant issued by district court for making criminal threats to five people March 29 in municipal court. The charge formally was filed just the day before.
After Soyez removed Geren, city employees got to work and spent five hours removing rubbish from property at 702 S. Cedar St.
After booking Geren into jail, Soyez returned and advised interim police chief Duane McCarty and city building inspector James Masters that he expected Geren to bond out of jail within 30 to 60 minutes and that he had warned Geren he would be arrested again if he returned to his property and caused trouble for city workers.
Geren’s wife, Janet Geren, had been arrested the day before on suspicion of probation violation.
Indeed, Geren spent 25 minutes in jail before he was released on $5,000 surety bond. His wife also bonded out.
In conducting their cleanup, city workers first surveyed the property, with Masters telling them what to load away and what to leave.
Employees loaded three dump trucks with appliances that were missing doors and with pieces of aluminum and wood fencing, scrap metal, rotten planks of wood, and other rubbish.
Geren’s property was last abated in January, 2021, after a year-long dispute with city officials. Kansas Department of Health and Environment participated in that cleanup.
During that cleanup, Geren yelled and cussed at workers, then later joined them in their work.
Geren had been told before the first cleanups to remove sheds and makeshift fencing around the yard. The city also ordered removal of cars, high weeds, and appliances.
When Geren didn’t get the cleanup finished, the city took matters into its own hands and contacted KDHE’s bureau of waste management.
Geren is no stranger to the county jail. He has been arrested three times in the past year and a total of nine times since December, 2019, mostly on suspicion of drug offenses but also for failing to appear in court and suspicion of probation violation.
He had been out of jail one week before last week’s arrest.
Six felony cases have been filed against him since 2020, along with four traffic infraction cases in Marion County and three in adjoining counties between 2008 and 2019. Two suits for unpaid debts also have been filed against him for unpaid debts. A car he was driving when he was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs was seized and awarded to the sheriff’s office.