Grand jury gives 4th indictment

? A Johnson County grand jury indicted a fourth business on obscenity charges Tuesday and then disbanded, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Gringo Loco, located in Olathe, was charged with a misdemeanor of selling one obscene DVD.

Earlier, the same grand jury had charged Hollywood at Home in Overland Park with selling four obscene DVDs and Priscilla’s in Olathe with selling an obscene DVD and sex toys. A third business, Spirit Halloween in Overland Park, was accused of displaying obscene Halloween costumes where minors could see them.

The charges are all misdemeanors.

A woman who answered the phone at Gringo Loco’s declined to comment, and it was unclear whether the store had an attorney.

The three businesses previously indicted will have an Oct. 10 hearing, and attorneys for the companies have vowed to fight the charges. A hearing for Gringo Loco has not yet been set, said Brian Burgess, a spokesman for Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline.

The grand jury – the county’s first since 1989 – was convened in mid-July. It and a grand jury in Wyandotte County were formed after a citizens group filed a petition calling for grand juries to investigate businesses believed to be promoting obscenity.

A news release issued by Kline’s office Tuesday said that the grand jury wanted Johnson County residents to know that obscenity laws are being violated and that grand jury members believe more obscene material is being sold in the county.

It also said that the grand jury wanted businesses that are selling potentially obscene material to ensure they are complying with obscenity laws and to keep potentially obscene material out of view of minors.

Jury members also encouraged law enforcement and media to educate Johnson County residents about the obscenity laws, according to the statement.

Federal grand juries are convened regularly in Kansas, but grand juries at the county or district court level have been rare.