Shawnee County prosecutors have charged state Rep. Carl Maughan of Colwich with driving under the influence arising from his arrest in a traffic stop in early March.
Maughan is now facing the DUI charge, which was not originally filed when he was arrested in the early morning of March 4.
The charge was filed May 8. His next court appearance is June 26.
Maughan said in an interview with the Sunflower State Journal after his arrest that he would “more than likely” be charged with driving under the influence.
He is still facing charges of possession of firearm while under influence of alcohol or drugs, unsafe turning or stopping for alleged failure to give a proper signal and failure to check for safe passage before passing from a single lane, court records show.
A Topeka police spokesperson said that Maughan was stopped March 4 at about 12:30 a.m. when officers observed traffic infractions near Southwest 29th Street and Topeka Boulevard.
Officers initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as Maughan, 52.
As a result of the investigation, Maughan was later arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Correction, the spokesperson said.
Maughan has acknowledged making some “poor judgments.”
“I messed up and I shouldn’t have,” he said in an interview after his arrest in March.
“From here on out, I kind of need to just kind of 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, eventually stepped down as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, although he continued to serve on the panel during the session.
“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 has filed to run for a second term in the Kansas House.
However, Darren Pugh has filed to run for the seat as a Republican.
