Monthly Archive for November, 2008Page 3 of 8

2 Ky. therapists accused of bribery take plea

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H-L Justice Team
on November 19, 2008
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Herald-Leader Staff Report

Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday a plea agreement in the case of two Kentucky therapists who were arrested earlier this year on charges that they bribed a witness.

Vanessa Rouse, a speech pathologist from Deane in Letcher County, and Janice Fields, a developmental interventionist from Happy in Perry County, both pleaded guilty in Perry Circuit Court to bribery of a witness, a class D felony, which carries a one-year sentence.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, each will serve 30 days in the Perry County jail with the remainder of the sentence probated. They will also be on probation for five years.

Vanessa Rouse
Janice Fields

Both women were indicted in Jefferson Circuit Court for fraudulently billing the Kentucky Medicaid Program for services provided to children in First Steps, a statewide early-intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities. Investigators say the therapists allegedly billed the state for services, during 2006 and 2007, that were not provided to children.

After receiving a tip, investigators from Conway’s office conducted surveillance of Rouse and Fields. On April 16, the pair was arrested after investigators monitored a transaction in which Rouse and Fields gave $200 to a prosecution witness in Perry County and instructed the witness on how to testify.

“Without the help of the witness and the thorough and exhaustive investigation by our office, justice might not have been served in this case. These two women clearly crossed the line, and I’m pleased to see this portion of the case come to a close,” Conway said in a statement.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18 in Perry Circuit Court. The Medicaid Fraud case against Rouse and Fields is still pending in Jefferson Circuit Court. Rouse faces eight counts of Medicaid Fraud; Fields faces four counts.

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Police identify suspects in apartment parking lot murder

Published
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Steve Lannen
on November 19, 2008
in U.S. District Court and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Two men are suspected in the murder of another man outside a Lexington apartment building last month.

Curtis F. Smith, 18, is wanted on robbery and murder charges in connection with the death of Charles I. Holder. Christopher Edward Taylor, 23, who is already in custody, is accused of complicity to commit murder and robbery, according to arrest warrants filed in Fayette District Court.

Christopher Edward Taylor
Christopher Edward Taylor
Curtis F. Smith
Curtis F. Smith

On the morning of Oct. 22, Holder, 31, was found with gunshot wounds in a breezeway of the Coolavin Apartments on West Sixth Street. He was taken to University of Kentucky Hospital, where he died.

Holder and Smith met in the breezeway for a drug transaction, according to court documents. Then, Smith produced a handgun and demanded money. Holder resisted and he was shot and killed by Smith, according to the arrest warrants.

Smith and Taylor fled in a Nissan Maxima that was later seized. The last person to possess the vehicle was Taylor, according to the warrants.

Forensic investigators found Smith’s fingerprints on the vehicle. Witnesses interviewed later said that Smith admitted to them that he shot and killed a man at the Coolavin Apartments.

If anyone knows Smith’s whereabouts or has recently seen him, call police at (859) 258-3700. Taylor is already in the Fayette County jail because of a probation violation, according to the jail’s Web site.

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Police: Missing hunter was murdered

Published
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Steve Lannen
on November 19, 2008
in Police
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Three people are in jail suspected in the murder of a missing man.

Gregory Allen Shepherd, 38, was reported missing by his family after he did not return from a hunting trip last week. His body was found early Tuesday in Knott County, according to a Kentucky State Police press release.

Tommy Crum, 20, Susan Morgan, 41 and Tina Adkins, 33, all of Hueysville in Floyd County, led investigators to Shepherd’s body. They were all charged with complicity to commit murder and lodged in the Floyd County jail.

Police did not disclose how Shepherd died.

His body is scheduled for an autopsy on Wednesday in Frankfort, according to state police.

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State police offer reward in Shelby murder

Published
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Steve Lannen
on November 19, 2008
in Police
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Kentucky State Police are offering a reward for information that could lead to the arrest of the person responsible for the murder of a Shelby County man.

James Carl Duckett, 43, was found dead in his home on Nov. 10. State police have not said publicly how he died. A pickup taken from Duckett’s driveway was recovered hours later.

Police hope somebody saw someone driving the 2004 Dodge Ram pickup or recalls seeing Duckett with someone else in the days or hours before he was found dead, Trooper Ron Turley said.

The amount and source of the reward are being withheld, Turley said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Mitch Harris, (502) 227-2221.

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Bluegrass Crime Stoppers

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H-L Justice Team
on November 18, 2008
in Uncategorized
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Crime of the Week:

A woman’s purse was stolen at the Panera Bread on Richmond Road in Lexington on Oct. 14, 2008.

The victim canceled all of her credit cards, but was notified two days later from Fifth Third bank that two of her checks were forged at a bank in Louisville.

The checks were in the purse at the time it was stolen. The checks totaled $7,000.

Investigators from the Lexington Police Department traced the checks back to a Chase Bank in Louisville. Investigators retrieved a surveillance video from the bank showing the suspect cashing the stolen checks.

Crime Stoppers is asking for assistance in identifying the suspect cashing the stolen checks.

Anyone with information may call Crime Stoppers at (859) 253-2020 or Lexington Police detectives at (859) 258-3700.

Wanted person of the week:

Curtis F. Smith

Curtis F. Smith

Curtis F. Smith

Date of Birth: 18
Height: 5′ 10
Weight: 165 lbs.
Wanted for: Probation violation

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Injunction that could have halted execution denied

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H-L Justice Team
on November 18, 2008
in Courts
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FRANKFORT — A judge has denied a request for an injunction that could have halted Friday’s scheduled execution of a confessed child killer.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd entered an order Tuesday morning in a lawsuit that questioned whether the Kentucky Department of Corrections followed proper procedure in developing regulations regarding lethal injections.

Attorney Philip Longmeyer had argued that the state agency should have held public hearings before adopting regulations that spell out how lethal injections are administered. David Smith, an attorney for the state attorney general’s office, said public hearings weren’t necessary because state law spells out the procedure.

If Shepherd had granted the injunction, it would have stopped the planned execution of Marco Allen Chapman.

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Mother charged in fire that killed 2 children

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H-L Justice Team
on November 18, 2008
in Uncategorized
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FORT CAMPBELL — A federal grand jury has charged a Fort Campbell soldier’s wife with setting a house fire on base that killed her two children.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kentucky announced Tuesday that Billi Jo Smallwood has been charged with maliciously setting fire to her home in March 2007. She is also charged with attempting to destroy a residential facility for members of the U.S. Army that caused the death of two minors.

Smallwood’s two children, 9-year-old Sam Fagan and 2-year-old Rebekah Smallwood, were killed in the fire and her husband, Army Spc. Wayne Smallwood, was injured.

Smallwood, who is 35, could face death or life imprisonment if convicted. A spokeswoman for the attorney’s office said Smallwood does not have an attorney and she is currently in federal custody.

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Ky. inmate who escaped jail returns on own

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H-L Justice Team
on November 18, 2008
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The Associated Press

PADUCAH — Chad Toy’s escape from jail wasn’t what shocked his jailers; it was his plea to be let back in.

“When I rang the bell at the jail and told them who I was, they were surprised,” Toy told The Paducah Sun newspaper. “I guess they haven’t seen that before.”

Toy, 21, was in the McCracken County Regional Jail in western Kentucky awaiting trial on charges stemming from a July home invasion. He’s also serving a four-year sentence for theft.

Officials said he escaped early Monday while on a cleanup detail in the lobby. He bolted after a guard unlocked the front doors to clean trash from a breezeway.

But Toy returned that afternoon, wet and covered with grime. He told authorities his sister had persuaded him to surrender because his family feared for his safety.

Jailer Bill Adams said he doubts Toy’s account. He thinks the escapee spent his brief liberty hiding beside the Tennessee River.

Adams said it was the first time in his 14 years as a deputy and jailer that he’s seen an escaped convict willingly return.

Toy told the newspaper, “It was a spur of the moment decision. I saw an open door and just ran through it.”

He added, “I am sorry about what I did. If I had it to do over again, I would have never run out the door.”

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Madison middle school volunteer facing sex charge

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H-L Justice Team
on November 18, 2008
in Madison County
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RICHMOND — An AmeriCorps volunteer employed at Madison Middle School was arrested Monday for allegedly sending explicit text messages to a 13-year-old student.

Brandon Clay Rousey, 23, is accused of exchanging sexually explicit text messages with a student at Madison Middle School. He is being held at the Madison County jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Brandon Clay Rousey of Richmond sent more than 100 text messages to the student, asking for sexual favors.

Two sets of parents contacted the Madison County Sheriff’s Department Sunday about communication between Rousey and their daughters, both 13 years old.

Deputies brought Rousey in Monday for questioning, and he confessed to sending explicit text messages to one of the teens, Madison County Sheriff Nelson O’Donnell said.

Rousey, 23, was arrested Monday afternoon, charged with unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities. He is being held at the Madison County jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

Rousey began to send messages at the end of October, O’Donnell said. Phone records show that Rousey sent some messages during school hours, O’Donnell said.

The student involved sent text messages to Rousey, but it is unclear who initiated the correspondence, O’Donnell said.

During interrogation, O’Donnell said, he asked Rousey why he didn’t tell the student to stop sending him messages or inform an administrator.

“He just thought it was one of those things that would quit,” O’Donnell said.

The Madison County school system is conducting its own investigation.

“While Madison County Schools cannot comment on confidential student and staff information, I would like to be clear that the safety and well-being of each of our students is a paramount responsibility that we take very seriously,” Superintendent Tommy Floyd said in a statement.

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17 died last week in crashes

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H-L Justice Team
on November 17, 2008
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This information was released Monday by Kentucky State Police:

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — Preliminary statistics* indicate that seventeen people died in fifteen separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, November 10 through Sunday, November 16, 2008.   Fourteen of the fatalities involved motor vehicles and nine of those victims were not wearing seat belts. Three of these crashes involved the suspected use of alcohol. Motor vehicle crashes occurred in Barren, Breckinridge, Floyd, Hardin, Letcher, Lyon, Madison, Pike, Trimble and Warren counties.

Two double-fatality crashes occurred in Morgan and Nelson counties.

There were two pedestrian fatalities in Harlan and Jefferson counties.

One motorcycle fatality occurred in Pike county. The victim was wearing a helmet and alcohol was not a factor in this crash.

Through November 16, preliminary statistics* indicate that 705 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2008. This is 56 fewer than reported for this time period in 2007.   Of the 534 motor vehicle fatalities, 337 victims were not wearing seat belts. Of the 87 motorcycle fatalities, 52 were not wearing helmets.  Twenty-four people have been killed in ATV crashes and 22 of those were not wearing helmets. Fifty-four pedestrians have been killed. A total of 148 fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol.

Citizens can contribute to highway safety by reporting erratic drivers to the Kentucky State Police toll-free at 1-800-222-5555. Callers will remain anonymous and should give a description of the vehicle, location, direction of travel and license number if possible.

*These statistics are still preliminary as KSP waits for all local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to report any crashes and fatalities that may have occurred in their areas.

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