WICHITA (AP) – A federal magistrate judge has agreed to hear arguments from a former Kansas county official who wants to keep potential employers from hearing about pending federal theft charges against him.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Humphreys set a Feb. 15 hearing on the request by Steven E. Collier, the former public works director in Barber County. Collier wants the judge to remove a condition of his pretrial release that requires his probation officer to make sure his supervisors are aware of the case against him.

His attorney contends that if the condition remains, Collier will become destitute.

An 11-count federal indictment charges Collier and his wife, Diana, of theft, interstate transportation of stolen property and sale of stolen property involving trucks, a bulldozer, a tractor and other items from the county.