On the Beat in the Bluegrass

on March 5, 2009

in Fayette Circuit Court

. 3 Comments

By Steve Lannen - slannen@herald-leader.com

Sandra G. Lubben, 40, was charged with murder in the March 2007 shooting death of her husband, David, at 3505 Greenlawn Road in Lexington.

A woman pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless homicide in the 2007 shooting death of her husband.

Sandra G. Lubben, 40, was charged with murder in the March 2007 shooting death of her husband, David, at 3505 Greenlawn Road in Lexington. At the time, several family members said he abused her.

On Thursday in court, Lubben admitted she shot and killed her husband, but said it was in self-defense. Reckless homicide carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Lubben’s attorney said there will be a “ton of evidence” showing that Lubben should be treated with sympathy.

She will be sentenced on April 25.

Man indicted in July bar shooting

Published

on January 22, 2009

. 0 Comments

Herald-Leader Staff Report

A Fayette County grand jury has indicted a Lexington man accused of shooting a man found outside a bar in July.

Yves Garner

Yves M. Garner was charged Tuesday with murder, tampering with physical evidence, possessing drug paraphernalia, driving without car insurance and having excessive window tint on his car.

He is accused of fatally shooting Henry Means, 35, who had multiple gunshot wounds and was found about 11:30 p.m. July 20 outside the Around the Korner bar on Anniston Drive, off Eastland Parkway.

Garner, who is being held in the Fayette County Detention Center, is scheduled to be arraigned at 11:30 a.m. Friday in Fayette Circuit Court.

Slaying suspect pleads not guilty

Published

on January 22, 2009

. 0 Comments

By Steve Lannen - slannen@herald-leader.com

A man charged with second-degree manslaughter in a Jan. 1 shooting has pleaded not guilty.

Stephen J. Wigginton, 28, entered the plea during an arraignment Wednesday in Fayette District Court to a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Robert Jay McAlpin, 27.

Investigators say Wigginton was “mishandling a firearm” when the weapon fired and the bullet struck McAlpin in the head.

However, McAlpin’s father said Wednesday he thinks Wigginton should be charged with murder.

Tim McAlpin readily says that no one other than those present know the exact circumstances that led to his son’s death early on Jan. 1 at a house on Southpoint Drive.

He thinks Wigginton did not simply mishandle the gun as police have said.

Jay McAlpin kept the weapon — a .357 Magnum revolver — on his night stand, his father said.

Tim McAlpin questions the police account of the shooting. He also doesn’t think the two men were friends, as police have said.

He said his son had known Wigginton since their days at Tates Creek High School. But they had had words recently over McAlpin’s separation from his wife.

Wigginton and an attorney declined to comment after leaving court Wednesday. Wigginton is scheduled to return to court at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 30.

Lexington Police Lt. James Curless said detectives charged Wigginton based on the evidence found in their investigation.

Second-degree manslaughter is filed when a person “wantonly causes the death of another person,” according to Kentucky Revised Statutes.

Curless declined to discuss specifics of the case because it will be presented before a Fayette grand jury, which will hear the evidence and has the power to alter the charge.

“We charged him with what we thought was appropriate,” he said.

Jay McAlpin was a manager of one of his family’s businesses, his father said. He had talked about returning to college and eventually pursuing a law degree.

A man of strong Christian faith, in April Jay McAlpin bought a few billboards around Lexington quoting 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. It was a passage his great-grandfather had taught his father. Now, he was teaching his young son, Cameron, McAlpin said.

New Year’s Eve, McAlpin saw his son sitting in his pickup studying his devotional before coming inside. A few hours later, he was dead.

“It’s an awful thing. It’s been the biggest blow certainly in my life … but I know Jay is in heaven,” he said.

Berea man charged with murder in fatal traffic crash

Published

on January 9, 2009

in Madison County

. 2 Comments

By Ashlee Clark - aclark@herald-leader.com

A Berea man who survived a fatal traffic accident last month has been charged with murder for his role in the crash.

Berea police had initially charged Elmer R. French, 70, with second-degree driving under the influence after a Dec. 3 accident near the intersection of Scaffold Cane Road and Logston Lane. Police say French’s Dodge pickup truck crossed the center line and hit a Toyota Camry head-on. The driver of the Camry, Jason C. Isaacs, 35, was taken to St. Joseph Berea Hospital , and then to the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he died from blunt force injuries.

French was cited at the time of the accident. He was taken to St. Joseph Berea, but was later transferred to UK hospital for severe, non-life-threatening injuries, said Berea Police Capt. Ken Clark.

Investigators added the murder charge after talking with prosecutors, he said.

Vehicular homicide defendants can face at least three charges, which have wide-ranging penalties: reckless homicide, 1-5 years; second-degree manslaughter, 5-10 years; and wanton murder, 20 years to life.

When asked about the decision to charge French with murder, Clark cited Kentucky Revised Statutes, which states that a person can be found guilty of murder if they operated a motor vehicle under extreme indifference to human life and caused the death of another person.

Clark said French’s blood alcohol concentration was at least twice the legal limit, but declined to say what the exact concentration was.

French surrendered to police at the Madison County jail in Richmond 12:30 p.m. Friday. French was released from the jail after posting a $100,000 bond.

Herald-Leader reporter Ross Jacobson contributed to this story.

Trial in Paris slaying postponed again

Published

on January 8, 2009

. 0 Comments

By Shawntaye Hopkins - shopkins@herald-leader.com

PARIS — The criminal trial for a Paris man accused of killing a 6-year-old boy in 2007 has been moved to August.

Lewis “Buck” Ballard’s trial was to begin Feb. 4, but defense attorneys said during a hearing Thursday that they needed more time to test forensic evidence.

Ballard, 50, is charged with first-degree sodomy and murder in the death of Wesley Mullins.

Bourbon Circuit Judge Rob Johnson, who had booked the entire month of February for the trial, expressed frustration over the continuance because the trial had been rescheduled in October. The last continuance also was granted because lab testing was not complete.

: Wesley Mullins

: Louis A. Ballard

Johnson said the clerk’s office had started working on the case and had sent subpoenas to potential jurors. The judge said he was concerned that potential jurors would start to follow the case.

“This is probably one of the most important cases that any attorney, judge or jury is going to be a part of,” Johnson said, adding that his frustration was not directed to any side.

He granted the continuance because he said it was necessary for a fair trial.

Defense attorneys said it took a year for the Kentucky State Police lab to test several pieces of evidence. Now Ballard’s attorneys are having items tested at another lab, which could take six to 12 weeks.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordie Shaw did not want the trial moved and offered to help find a lab that could get the tests down sooner.

Initially, Johnson inquired about moving the case to July. But Shaw said that was too close to a double homicide he’s prosecuting in Scott County in June.

UPDATED: Man killed in Versailles

Published

on December 23, 2008

in Police

. 5 Comments

Herald-Leader Staff Report

Versailles investigators are looking into several leads on Tuesday surrounding a Monday night homicide.

Ricardo Velasco-Nanduca, 30, was shot and killed in Versailles Monday night, police said. He was taken to University of Kentucky Hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died, Versailles police said.

Police were called to 231 Montgomery Avenue about 8:30 p.m., Sgt. Ron Wyatt said, and found Velasco in the back yard. The man did not live at the house, Wyatt said.

Police are seeking two men in an older-model, blue, four-door Cadillac.

If you have any information, call Versailles police, (859) 873-3126.

Police officer: Murder suspect described assault, rape of toddler

Published

on December 12, 2008

. 1 Comment

By Steve Lannen

slannen@herald-leader.com

The 18-year-old man accused of raping and murdering a 2-year-old girl told police that he dropped the child from a height about level with his shoulders before sexually assaulting her, according to testimony Friday in a court hearing.

A Fayette County grand jury will consider the case of Brian Crabtree.

Katelynn Stinnett’s mother and some other relatives listened as a police detective recounted his interview with Crabtree.

Lexington Police Sgt. Jesse Harris testified that Crabtree gave him a taped confession several hours after the alleged crimes occurred.

According to Harris, Crabtree said he gave Katelynn a bath on the afternoon of Nov. 25, at a Lexington apartment off Versailles Road. He then dropped her from a height of about his shoulders to the floor before raping her.

Katelynn’s mother, Angela Johns, cried quietly in the courtroom, and an aunt was heard gasping, “Oh my God.”

The child died of her injuries Dec. 3.

Crabtree’s public defender Sam Cox asked Harris if he knew that Crabtree has an IQ of just 68 or that Crabtree couldn’t read or write.

Harris said Crabtree said he had graduated from high school, and Harris didn’t question Crabtree further about his education.

Harris also said that Katelynn’s older brother, 3, was in the apartment at the time that Crabtree said he attacked Katelynn. The boy told investigators, according to Harris, “Brian hit sissy. Brian hit sissy.”

Crabtree was watching the children as their father and his roommate, Daniel Stinnett, worked. Stinnett returned home from work at a fire and disaster recovery company and found his daughter in a deep sleep, according to the children’s mother, who wasn’t living with them. Because it was around the child’s nap time, Stinnett didn’t think much about it and took her to a friend’s house.

When Katelynn wouldn’t wake up, he called his mother, and they went together to the hospital.

For more coverage.

Judge: Clear Ky. record of former death row inmate

Published

on December 5, 2008

in U.S. District Court

. 0 Comments

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kentucky to expunge the record of a man who was once on Death Row.

U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves’s order on Thursday clears the record of 62-year-old Eugene Williams Gall in the kidnapping, rape and death of 12-year-old Lisa Jansen in 1978.

A federal appeals court overturned Gall’s conviction in 2001 saying prosecutors failed to prove key elements of the case and that the prohibition against double jeopardy forbade a retrial.

Kentucky turned Gall over to Ohio, where he is serving a life sentence for rape and murder.

Gall’s attorney, public defender Tim Arnold, says the decision may make it easier for him to argue for parole in 2021. A message left with the Montgomery County, Ohio, prosecutor’s office, was not immediately returned Friday.

Crabtree charges upgraded to murder

Published

on December 5, 2008

in Lexington police and Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE:

An 18-year-old accused in the death of a 2-year-old girl was officially charged with murder Friday morning.

Assault charges against Brian Crabtree, 18, were upgraded to murder after a motion by Fayette County prosecutors. Fayette District Judge Julie M. Goodman set a new bond of $250,000.

Crabtree is accused of the assault, rape and sexual abuse of 2-year-old Katelynn Stinnett on Nov. 25 in a Lexington apartment off Versailles Road. She died from her injuries earlier this week.

Crabtree previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled Friday morning, but it was postponed until Dec. 12 because a public defender had just been appointed to represent Crabtree and he had not yet discussed the case with him.

Posted on Fri, Dec. 05, 2008

Toddler’s death leaves neighbors, family reeling

By Steve Lannen
slannen@herald-leader.com

At a small mobile home park tucked off Bryan Station Road in southern Bourbon County, many people knew 2-year-old Katelynn Stinnett.

They also know the teen accused of killing her.

According to police, Brian Crabtree, 18, raped and threw the girl on the floor of a Lexington apartment on Nov. 25. The toddler died from her injuries on Wednesday.

Crabtree was watching Katelynn and a 3-year-old brother while their father was at work, said Chris Baker, the uncle of Katelynn’s father, Daniel Stinnett.

Crabtree was “a quiet, well-mannered kid, but he showed what he was,” Baker said.

Crabtree is scheduled to appear Friday morning in Fayette District Court. He is already charged with assault, rape and sexual abuse, and has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The Fayette County Attorney’s Office plans to upgrade the assault charge to intentional murder.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled, but Crabtree could choose to waive the hearing and have the case sent to a grand jury. He is being held at the Fayette County jail and declined a request for an interview.

Miles away in Bourbon County at the Turfland mobile home park where he lived until recently, a brother declined to give his name, but said Brian Crabtree is innocent.

An arrest citation for Crabtree indicates he gave a recorded confession to police.

Crabtree grew up in a mobile home near a dead end and attended Bourbon County High School.

In recent weeks, Crabtree moved to a trailer on an adjacent street where he was staying with Daniel Stinnett, who was caring for Katelynn and a young son. Stinnett’s wife has not been near the family for several months, neighbors said.

Baker said Stinnett is reeling from his daughter’s death. “He’s a basket case right now,” Baker said.

Stinnett had lived for a time in the mobile home park years before with relatives, and the two men knew each other, neighbor Tim White said.

“Everybody kind of knows everybody,” he said.

For the few weeks he lived with Stinnett, Crabtree cared for the children while Stinnett was at work, Baker said.

White said that a relative of Daniel Stinnett’s had recently asked Crabtree about some bruises on Katelynn. He said Crabtree responded, “No, I’d never do nothing like that. I love that baby.”

The week before Thanksgiving, Stinnett told neighbors that he was moving to a Lexington apartment that he described as bigger and a better environment than the beige and brown trailer.

Baker said he’s not sure why his nephew and Stinnett moved out of the trailer after living there such a short time.

The two men and two children lived at the Bradford Apartments, off Versailles Road, just four days before Katelynn was injured, a woman in the management office said.

The 3-year-old boy is now in foster care, Baker said.

Vikki Franklin, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, declined to say whether the cabinet had investigated any complaints involving Katelynn Stinnett or anyone in her family.

White said that, if Crabtree is guilty of the charges against him, “I hope he never sees the light of day.”

Funeral arrangements for Katelynn Stinnett are pending.

For more information, check with Ellison Funeral Home, (606) 549-2111.

Herald-Leader Staff Writer Beth Musgrave contributed to this story. Reach Steve Lannen at (859) 231-1328 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1328.

Retired nurse beaten to death

Published