Trending Topics

Kan. inmate uneasy about recorded calls

Staff members at the Shawnee County Jail have recorded prisoner calls for at least 10 years

By Tim Carpenter
Topeka Capital-Journal

TOPEKA, Kan. — Convicted felon Stephen Macomber’s effort to defend himself in Topeka against a murder charge triggered a complaint prosecutors unethically studied recordings of jailhouse telephone calls protected by attorney-client privilege.

Macomber, transferred to the Shawnee County Jail after sentenced for shooting a Marshall County deputy in the back and kidnapping an elderly Blue Rapids woman, said District Attorney Chad Taylor and Deputy District Attorney Jacqie Spradling gained access to phone conversations intercepted at the jail.

“If they’re doing what I allege, is that okay?” Macomber said in correspondence with The Topeka Capital-Journal. “I don’t think it’s right.”

Staff members at the Shawnee County Jail have recorded prisoner calls for at least 10 years. Inmates receive written notification of the practice. Signs are posted at telephone stations. Both parties on the line receive a reminder.

Audio files of inmates’ communications are retained for 12 months. Most are never examined, but a small percentage become part of investigations.

Tim Phelps, manager of the county jail’s administrative services and investigations division, said jail policy for the past year had been to forward a comprehensive set of inmate telephone conversations to the district attorney’s office when instructed by subpoena.

Previously, the jail’s staff worked to remove from CDs discussions by inmates with legal counsel.

Phelps said policy was changed because the culling process could be imprecise. Unedited sets of tape guarantees compliance with court orders, he said.

Dakota Loomis, spokesman for the district attorney in Shawnee County, said the shift in jail policy didn’t mean Taylor and Spradling accessed telephone calls Macomber had with lawyers. D.A. office policy forbids review of recordings in which attorneys engage in conversation with clients at the jail, Loomis said.

“We often request tapes,” Loomis said. “Our internal policy is not to listen to any recording of attorneys and clients.”

The Kansas Department of Corrections advises prison inmates their calls - except those with attorneys - can be subject to monitoring and recording.

In Sedgwick County, officials selectively tape jail inmate conversations over the telephone. Attorneys may request their office numbers be excluded from monitoring.

Macomber, 44, of Topeka, asked the Kansas Board of Discipline of Attorneys in September to authorize an investigation of Taylor and Spradling. Macomber received at least one document indicating the state was unlikely to start a review.

Macomber is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2010 fatal shooting of Ryan Lofton, 26. Trial is set for January in Shawnee County District Court.

In Marshall County, Macomber was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder and other charges for shooting Marshall County sheriff’s Deputy Fernando Salcedo Jr. during a traffic stop along US-77.

He also was convicted of kidnapping, aggravated assault and other offenses for instigating a hostage standoff at Hedy Saville’s home in Blue Rapids. She was released unharmed before Macomber surrendered.

Both encounters occurred the same day Macomber stands accused of killing Lofton in Shawnee County.

Macomber, released from Kansas Department of Corrections in 2009 after serving 23 years for a series of crimes, was sentenced to 83 years for wounding Salcedo and making a hostage of Saville.

Taylor and Spradling served as special prosecutors in the Marshall County cases.

Macomber has been represented by attorneys in Marshall and Shawnee counties, but he appears willing to represent himself in the upcoming murder trial.

He also faces charges for a bank robbery in Bellevue, Neb., that occurred prior to the crime spree in Kansas.

Copyright 2011 The Topeka Capital-Journal
All Rights Reserved

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU