Former deputy sheriff charged in theft case

A former Bourbon County deputy sheriff appeared in court on Tuesday to face allegations that he stole two high-powered rifles that were stolen property from a 2003 theft case.

The Kansas Attorney General's Office filed two counts of felony theft against Jim K. Blair, 48, Independence, Mo. He is accused of stealing a Ruger M-77 .25-06 rifle with a Bushnell scope and case and a custom made .30-06 stamped 1916 C.G. Haenell Suhl 2251 rifle with a Bushnell scope.

The guns are valued between $500 and $25,000 for each. The same model Ruger gun can be purchased over the Internet for around $400, depending on how well-used it is.

Court records indicate that the rifles were evidence in a juvenile stolen property case in 2003. In April of that year, prosecutors filed theft and burglary charges against Shane P. Kober, who at that time was 17 years old. The prosecution accused Kober of breaking into a home and stealing the two rifles, which were owned at that time by Norman L. Gates, who lives near Uniontown. Kober later pleaded guilty to the theft charge and the burglary count was dropped. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

Blair was the investigating officer of the crime, according to official records.

The Kansas AG's office didn't disclose any additional details in the case other than what was stated in the charges.

Blair, who served as a deputy sheriff from March 1999 to August 2004, was arrested by agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation on June 28 on a Bourbon County warrant for felony theft. The charges were filed June 27. Blair was released the same day on $5,000 bond.

Bourbon County Sheriff Harold Coleman declined to comment on the charges or the case. He said, however, that Blair left the department for a higher-paying non-law enforcement job.