A former Leawood priest is out on bond after turning himself in for allegedly stealing roughly $160,000 from his parish.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office booking logs show Richard Storey was arrested by sheriff’s deputies at 7:44 a.m. Saturday and then booked into the jail at 8:29 a.m.
Storey was booked into the Johnson County Adult Detention Center on a pending felony charge of theft of over $100,000.
He spent just over three hours in custody before he posted a $25,000 bond and was released at 11:36 a.m.
Storey served as priest at Curé of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Road in Leawood, from 2015 until his resignation in September of 2025.
The alleged financial crimes came to light after the Prairie Village Police Department began investigating a separate criminal allegation against Storey, involving an adult victim, in September 2025.
Storey resigned his position at the church, and the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas began an internal financial review, standard procedure when there is a change in pastoral leadership at a parish. That audit uncovered the alleged theft of funds, which was reported to the Leawood Police Department and led to Saturday’s arrest.
In a news release on Saturday, Archbishop Shawn McKnight of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas called the news “deeply painful.”
“My primary concern at this time is for the people of Curé of Ars parish and all those directly affected,” Archbishop McKnight said. “These allegations are serious, the legal processes must be allowed to proceed, and Father Storey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law or internal canonical process.”
The archdiocese said Curé of Ars parish intends to file an insurance claim to recover the stolen funds.
Formal charges are still pending.
Storey is scheduled to make his first appearance in Johnson County District Court on Tuesday afternoon.
No other details were immediately available.
