A Franklin County jury finds a man guilty of killing his cousin.
Ronnie Dontrell Drane was convicted on all counts he faced, including murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and wanton endangerment.
Read more at WKYT.com.
Tag Archive for 'Franklin County'
By Steve Lannen
slannen@herald-leader.com
The mother of a baby who died from secondhand crack cocaine smoke pleaded guilty Friday in the little girl’s death.
Jamie Lynn Jockers, 26, pleaded guilty to amended charges of second-degree manslaughter and drug possession. She most likely faces a 12-year sentence when she returns in December to Franklin County Circuit Court.
The case made headlines in 2006 when Jockers and her live-in boyfriend, Michael McIntyre, were indicted on murder charges because they allegedly smoked crack in the presence of 5-month-old Brooklyn P. McIntyre. Toxicology results showed she died from cocaine intoxication.
McIntyre agreed to a plea deal in 2007 and was sentenced to 25 years related to this case and others.
If Jockers’ case went to trial, both her public defender and the prosecutor said the case was not a slam dunk for either side.
The relatively minuscule amount of research on crack smoke overdosing in infants and the emotionally charged nature of a baby’s death created a difficult and unpredictable playing field, said public defender Rodney Barnes.
Barnes said it was possible the baby was accidentally smothered by McIntyre. He also said that Jockers didn’t smoke in front of her child, but did allow McIntyre to do so.
Still, there was enough cocaine in the baby’s blood to be consistent with killing a small child. A jury seeking justice for an infant might not accept an argument that something else other than the crack smoking killed the baby, Barnes said.
“It’s a good science issue, but not a very good jury issue,” he said. “People expect parents to protect their kids.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dana Todd also said proving the child died from the secondhand crack smoke could have been tough.
“We don’t know exactly how much cocaine that baby was exposed to. We know any amount is dangerous, but what amount is fatal could be a proof issue,” she said.
Protecting Jockers’ other two daughters was also a priority, Todd said. As part of her plea deal, Jockers terminated her parental rights to the 5- and 7-year-old girls, who are with a foster family.
Reach Steve Lannen at (859) 231-1328 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1328.
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com
Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod plans to subpoena police records to help determine how a Salvadoran immigrant died at the Franklin County Regional Jail while awaiting deportation.
Ana Romero
Harrod said Tuesday that he was called to the hospital, not the jail, so he was unable to investigate the scene where Ana Romero Rivera died.
Harrod says he will review state police records, photographs and interviews.
Romero, 44, had been placed in isolation for not eating just before her death, and a preliminary autopsy shows she died of asphyxia by hanging. Police are investigating the death as a suicide.
Harrod said that, in addition to police records, he is waiting for toxicology results and a final autopsy report.
Also this week, representatives with Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed more information on the status of Romero’s deportation.
Though she was in the Franklin County jail, she was technically in the custody of U.S. marshals after pleading guilty to immigration fraud.
On Aug. 22, the day she was pronounced dead, she was going to be transferred to ICE custody for deportation.
ICE officials said via e-mail and in a phone interview that Romero would not have remained in the Franklin County jail. Once in ICE custody, she probably would have been transported to one of the four county jails in Illinois or southern Wisconsin that the Chicago ICE office uses.
Several factors would have played into deciding when she returned to El Salvador. Those include whether she would have waived the right to see an immigration judge, whether she had proper travel documents to return and the time of the next ICE-arranged flight to El Salvador.
Herald-Leader staff writer Steve Lannen contributed to this report.
Herald-Leader staff report
State police arrested five people, including a juvenile, Tuesday after a feud between next door neighbors escalated and shots were fired.
Police say the feud started early Tuesday afternoon. It appeared to come to an end after police made two arrests. But police say things heated back up hours later.
State police said the first reports of gunfire came in about 3:55 p.m. Tuesday. Troopers were dispatched to the 3000 block of St. John Road in Northern Franklin County, where an investigation revealed that several shots had been fired between next door neighbors because of an on going feud, according to a news release from Kentucky State Police. No one was injured.
Mitchell R. Engler, 52, was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Christopher T. Beagle Sr., 41, was arrested and charged with nine counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Both Frankfort residents were lodged in the Franklin County Detention Center. Kentucky State Police confiscated two weapons.
Police received a second complaint of shots fired about 6:37 p.m. from the same location. Investigators said a second round of gunfire was exchanged between the same neighbors involving other family members because of the ongoing feud, according to the release.
Christopher T. Beagle Jr., 18, was arrested and charged with 12 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Anthony R. Engler, 32, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. A 15-year-old was taken into custody and charged with 12 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The Juvenile was lodged in the Fayette County Dentition Center. Beagle and Engler were lodged in the Franklin County Detention Center.
Two of the three were struck by shotgun pellets. No medical treatment needed.
Police confiscated eight additional weapons.
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