On Monday, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd had law enforcement hand deliver a blunt, crystal clear warning to Hutsler: keep your hands off the downtown Parkville sandbags.
In a letter entitled "Obstruction of Government Operations," Zahnd lowered the boom.
"Please be advised that you are the target of a criminal investigation involving the attempted
removal of the sandbag levee currently in place to protect the City of Parkville from potential flooding," Zahnd wrote.
It has been common knowledge in Parkville that Hutsler, also the head of the downtown's Community Improvement District, has demanded the removal of the downtown, volunteer built sandbag wall, claiming it was harming his business by blocking off parking from the downtown municipal lot. As reported in last week's episode of the Parkville Luminary, Police Chief Kevin Chrisman put himself squarely in front of the wall, saying it was there as a safety barrier and part of a strategic plan to combat the flood and aid in evacuation of the English Landing Center in the case of an emergency.
But Hutsler has been dismantling the sandbag wall around his properties -- just a month after making desperate pleas for volunteers to help assemble them -- and, witnesses allege, he has even gone so far as to hire someone to dismantle the barrier on Main Street.
That could lead to jail for Hutsler, Zahnd made clear.
"Please understand that the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will vigorously prosecute
anyone who commits the crime of obstructing government operations by attempting to remove or
dismember the levee currently in place in Parkville," Zahnd wrote.
City officials told Hutsler faces a municipal fine, but as of this writing, he has yet to be served with a ticket for the alleged violation.
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