A Georgia man charged with identity theft, criminal use of a financial card, and conspiracy to commit criminal use of a financial card made his first appearance in Lyon County District Court in Emporia on Monday afternoon, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said Tuesday.
According to officials, this marked the first time the Kansas Attorney General’s Office prosecuted an organized retail crime case since the state legislature established new legislation in 2023.
Kobach’s office released a news release stating that Demetrius Odom, charged in the case, has declined an extradition hearing to face retail crime charges in Lyon County.
According to the news release, Odom and an alleged co-conspirator stole from a number of liquor establishments in Kansas.
In July, unrelated felony charges led to the arrest of Odom’s co-defendant, Dwayne Rhoden, in Kentucky. According to the news release, Rhoden declined to waive extradition, so the state is seeking a governor’s warrant.
The case is the Kansas Attorney General’s Office’s first prosecution of organized retail crime, according to the news release. In 2023, the Kansas Legislature passed legislation allowing prosecutors to seek felony charges in retail and organized retail crime cases rather than minor theft charges.
“Fortunately, the Legislature gave the Office of the Attorney General the authority to go after this pervasive form of crime,” Kobach stated in the press release. “This prosecution is a significant milestone.”
The Lyon County Courthouse will host a preliminary hearing on Odom’s charges at 2:30 p.m. on October 21.
