Topeka Police arrested Republican state Rep. Carl Maughan and booked him at the Shawnee County jail early Monday morning on various driving-related charges.
Maughan was booked on charges of possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to signal when changing lanes or turning and improper driving on a laned roadway.
Maughan said “more than likely” he will be charged with driving under the influence.
The first-term lawmaker from Colwich was booked at the Shawnee County jail at 4 a.m. Monday.
Details about the circumstance of Maughan’s arrest were still not known late Monday, and Maughan declined to discuss the facts related to the case.
The Topeka Police Department could not be reached for comment late Monday.
“I made some poor judgments. I made a bad decision,” Maughan said in an interview with the Sunflower State Journal late Monday night.
“I messed up and I shouldn’t have,” he said. “From here on out, I kind of need to just kind own the responsibility and maybe try to learn something.”
Maughan said he didn’t think he would be fighting the situation from a “legal standpoint.”
“What happened, happened,” he said. “I need to be a little more introspective about it.”
Maughan said police asked him if he had firearm. He told them that he had a gun in his duffel bag so they wouldn’t be surprised when they came across the weapon.
“There’s nothing to hide here,” he said. “It is what it is. I messed up. I exercised poor judgment and now I need to try to learn from that and move forward.”
Maughan, a lawyer, said he discussed the arrest with House Speaker Dan Hawkins. Maughan said he will be stepping down as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
“It’s just not a good look,” Maughan said of keeping the position.
“What’s done is done. I wished I hadn’t made the choices I had, but I did and now I need to kind of face the music.”
Maughan was elected to the Kansas House in 2022. He was unopposed.
He has a bachelor’s in political science and philosophy from Wichita State University and a law degree from the University of Akron.
