PROSECUTOR FILES APPEAL

Motion Seeks Use Of Evidence In Case Against Ex-Treasurer

COLUMBUS, Kan. - A special prosecutor has appealed a judge's suppression of
evidence in the drug case against former Cherokee County Treasurer Sharon
Carpino.

Carpino's attorney, Edward Battitori, said Thursday that special prosecutor
Steven Angermayer has appealed Judge John White's ruling on the evidence to
the Kansas Court of Appeals.

White is an Allen County judge assigned to the case.

Battitori said he had talked with his client about the situation earlier in
the day.

White ruled in February that sheriff's Deputies Roger Wormington and Mickey
Rantz on Dec. 3, 1999, coerced Carpino into making oral and written
statements and signing a consent to search her house. The two no longer
work for the Sheriff's Department.

"When a law enforcement officer stoops to the level that was done in this
case, there has to be some action taken to eliminate that activity," White
said in his ruling, referring to Wormington.

Carpino is charged with one felony count of drug possession. White
dismissed two other counts against her at her preliminary hearing.

The search of Carpino's house led deputies to a pipe containing
methamphetamine residue, found in the pocket of a bathrobe. The judge's
ruling precludes Angermayer from using that evidence, unless the appeals
court reverses White.

Carpino has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Cherokee County, Sheriff Bob
Creech, Rantz and Wormington, alleging they violated her civil rights. The
lawsuit is on hold until her criminal case is resolved.

Angermayer could not immediately be reached for comment.