By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A Graham County Commissioner is in the process of resigning his seat after he entered plea agreements on a bribery and a drug charge.
Knoll said in a phone interview Friday that the charges against him were an attempt to get him out of office, and he intends to run for Graham County Commission again.
"This is all about Delta 8 and getting me out of office," he said. "This happened two and a half years ago."
Knoll signed plea agreements on two criminal cases as of Sept. 9.
On the bribery charge, a class A misdemeanor, he pled guilty through an Alfrod plea. An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to likely convict them at trial.
He was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation.
The bribery charge stemmed from an alleged $4,000 promise made to the Graham County Community Development Director for the Travel and Tourism Committee, contingent upon the committee not requesting a transient guest tax.
Knoll owns a motel in Hill City.
On May 21, Knoll entered into a diversion agreement on a charge from 2023 of distribution of a substance containing THC in his store, 2 Lane Liquor in Hill City. The charge is a level 4 drug felony.
Another charge of drug distribution of THC and a charge of possession of THC with intent to distribute were dismissed.
Knoll agreed to serve one year of unsupervised probation.
Knoll said his charges stemmed from the sale of products containing what is commonly referred to as Delta 8.
A 2021 Kansas Attorney General opinion stated that Delta 8 is illegal in Kansas except under strict conditions, including that the final product must contain no more than 0.3% total THC.
Law enforcement raids on retailers selling Delta 8 started in 2022, but some sellers argue the Attorney General's opinion is not the same as a law enacted by the Kansas Legislature. Enforcement has varied by jurisdiction.
Ellis County Attorney Aaron Cunningham served as a special prosecutor on the Knoll cases, but Cunningham declined to comment on the cases on Thursday.
On Nov. 3, 2023, the then Graham County Attorney, Jill Elliott, filed a petition to remove Knoll from office.
In that petition, she cited,
• Knoll was also serving on the Morland City Council. Serving as an elected official for more than one local government is against state statute.
• Knoll had moved out of his commission district and was now primarily residing at his motel in Hill City, which is Graham County's District 2.
• Knoll had committed bribery
• Knoll had sold THC-containing products in his liquor store, 2 Lane Liquor, in Hill City.
At the time of the filing, Knoll was also serving as a school board member for USD 281, having been elected in 2019.
Elliott, serving as the Graham County Attorney and Knoll participated in mediation on April 17, 2024.
Knoll in that settlement agreed to resign from the Morland City Council immediately and to resign from the Graham County Commission if he was convicted or diverted on any crime he was charged with at that time.
Knoll was listed as a county commissioner as of the Sept. 9 official minutes of the Graham County Commission, which are available on the county's website.
The minutes from the Sept. 16 meeting have not been approved and have not been released, although the Hays Post requested them on Thursday. Knoll said he did not serve as a commissioner in an official capacity at the Sept. 16 meeting.
Knoll is still listed as a commissioner on the Graham County website, and the Graham County Deputy Clerk said by phone that Knoll was still a commissioner as of Thursday.
However, Knoll said on Friday he was working through paperwork with his attorney to officially resign and planned to release a statement on the resignation early next week.
The current Graham County Attorney, Mike Abbott, said on Thursday he had been made aware of the Knoll's charges and the settlement earlier this week. He said he was still looking into the case.
Knoll said in a phone call on Friday with the Hays Post there will be more information to come out about his case shortly.
"It's a crazy deal. It was all about getting me out of office," he said. "I'll definitely run for office again. I have 80% plus approval right here, in my opinion. We will definitely be running for office after this is all cleared up.
"It'll be county commission," he said of his future hopes for office. "Our county is in a crisis right now. In my opinion, we really need my leadership and business knowledge. We own several businesses in the community. My only goal is to do what's best for the county. That's it. Honest to God."