photo by: Journal-World File Photo

Breanna S. Pence

A former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy entered into a diversion agreement on Thursday to resolve a domestic battery charge involving another law enforcement officer stemming from a 2020 Halloween party.

The former deputy, Breanna S. Pence, 32, of Lawrence, is charged with one count of domestic battery, a low-level misdemeanor charge, according to charging documents. The incident occurred on Oct. 31, 2020.

Pence is alleged to have been drunk at a Halloween party at which she kicked and hit with a baseball bat former sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Hladky, with whom she was in a romantic relationship, while he was attempting to give Pence a ride home from the party, as the Journal-World reported.

Court records indicate the diversion agreement was signed on July 13 for a term of one year. Diversion is a procedure that gives an individual charged with a criminal offense the chance to avoid a conviction and the adverse consequences that can have on future employment and other areas. The process is handled entirely within the district attorney’s office. If Pence successfully completes the diversion program, her charge will be dismissed.

In Pence’s case, her diversion agreement is with special prosecutor William F. Hurst of the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, who was assigned to avoid any conflict of interest within the county. Pence will be subject to supervision from a diversion case manager in Johnson County.

According to the agreement, Pence is required to undergo a domestic violence evaluation that may result in additional classes for anger management and a batterer’s intervention class. Pence is to refrain from drugs and alcohol and will be subject to testing at the request of the court. She is required to perform 30 hours of community service as part of the agreement. Pence is required to obey all laws and is to pay all fines and fees associated with her diversion agreement.

Pence’s employment with the sheriff’s office ended on May 3 after she was charged in April, but she had been under investigation since late 2022. Her ability to testify in pending cases has been put under scrutiny by Lawrence attorney Gerald Wells, who has argued in court that the allegation against Pence should have been disclosed to his client by the district attorney’s office under Brady/Giglio rules, as the Journal-World reported.

Brady-Giglio, named after two U.S. Supreme Court cases, refers to the evidence that the state must turn over to the defendant to prepare a criminal case, including evidence favorable to the defendant and evidence affecting the credibility of witnesses for the state.