Pair accused of driving for hours with corpse
MT. VERNON (AP) — Two people from Kentucky face abuse of a corpse charges after police say they drove around for three or four hours in with an overdosing man in their car.
WKYT-TV reports court documents say Morgan Dixon, David Spoonamore and Jerry Price II drove from Rockcastle County, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) south of Lexington, to Madison County, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north, to buy drugs last July. Price overdosed while the three were in Berea. Documents say Dixon and Spoonamore never sought help for Price, who died while he was with them.
Witnesses also told police they saw Price’s body being dragged. When his body was later found in his minivan, he had grass in his eyes, nose and mouth and his pants were around his knees.
Dixon and Spoonamore face a judge on Monday. A phone directory had no number listed for either person.
___
New felony expungement law causing confusion, disagreement
OWENSBORO (AP) — A new law meant to give some felons a second chance by expunging their criminal records is causing confusion and disagreement.
The law allows people convicted of certain felonies, including theft and drug possession, to have those felonies expunged after certain conditions are met. Multiple felonies can be expunged if they stem from a “single incident.”
The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports the first expungement hearings in Daviess County took place this week.
On Wednesday, Daviess Circuit Judge Jay Wethington expunged a record over the objections of the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, saying that charges included in the same indictment could be considered a single incident, even if the offenses occurred on different days.
On Thursday, Judge Joe Castlen made a similar ruling.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Van Meter told the judge, “There’s no way it can be argued that five separate counts with five separate victims, occurring on different days, is a single incident.”
But that is exactly what defense attorney Kevin Laumas did argue, saying that if the charges were supposed to be considered separate incidents, “they should have been on five or six different indictments.”
Castlen granted the expungement, but said it was likely the meaning of the statute would have to be determined the Court of Appeals.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel defended his office.
“Every person that applies, we are treating them exactly the same as the one that applied before,” Kuegel said. “We’re not bending the rules, we’re following the law as it’s written.”
Castlen said the law’s language could be interpreted so narrowly that it would be difficult for anyone to get relief.
“My hope is the legislature takes it up,” he said.
Wethington agreed.
“I don’t think the court system can fix this. The legislature has to fix it,” he said. “It’s very unclear.”
Of the 16 applications for expungement in Daviess Circuit Court that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office has reviewed, prosecutors have only objected to four, Van Meter said.
___
Invasive plant detected at Cave Run Lake near Morehead
FRANKFORT (AP) — Kentucky officials say an invasive aquatic plant has been discovered in several areas of Cave Run Lake near Morehead and are asking that precautions be taken to help prevent its spread.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release that Cave Run Lake currently has pockets of hydrilla around Warix, Zilpo and Alfrey’s boat ramps. It’s also been spotted along Zilpo Flats and within several small embayments in the mid-lake area.
Dewey, Kentucky, Paintsville, Greenbo and Carr Creek lakes also have established stands of hydrilla.
The agency says boaters and personal water craft users should remove plant material off boats, motors and trailers after pulling boats from the water. Visitors to the lake should make sure their boats are clear of plant material before launching.
___
Brewer issues recall over flavor, color concerns
LEXINGTON (AP) — Alltech is recalling batches of its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale due to issues with flavor and color.
Alltech spokeswoman Susanna Elliott tells the Lexington Herald-Leader that while there are no health or safety concerns, the batches produced by Alltech Brewing and Distilling Co. between July 1 and Sept. 19 did not meet the company’s quality standards.
Customers are encouraged to return the beer covered under the recall to stores where they purchased it.
Elliott said Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, which is distributed in 25 states, should return to stores in the coming week. She says the pumpkin ale will return to stores next year.
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale was launched in 2006.. Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale was launched in fall 2013.
___
State officials impressed with Owensboro Innovation Academy
LEXINGTON (AP) — Owensboro Innovation Academy students began working on a project earlier this week to create four fictional civilizations for Kingdoms, a lawn game set to launch next year.
Denny Weston, a 2004 graduate of Daviess County High School now living in Virginia, created the game and Author’s Board Strategic Gaming LLC, its parent company.
He asked the students to create the geography, religion, government, maps and a detailed backstory with the civilization’s religion and government for the game.
While the students listened to him on Skype, U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie and Stephen Pruitt, Kentucky’s education commissioner, watched from the back of the room.
The two had toured the Life Science Academy at Owensboro Community & Technical College earlier in the day before coming to the Innovation Academy.
“It’s impressive,” Guthrie said later. “When I was in state government, I looked for innovative ways to teach and learn. I like that here you have multijurisdictional districts working together for students.”
Pruitt said, “It’s incredible. This is what we should be doing in all our schools.”
The Academy, the first school in Kentucky affiliated with the California-based New Tech Network, is a stand-alone high school that uses hands-on project-based learning, with an emphasis on technical and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) curriculum.
“It’s very hands-on,” Beth Benjamin, the school’s head teacher, told the visitors. “Everything is project-based.”
The school accepts students from the Owensboro, Daviess County, Hancock County and McLean County systems.
Benjamin said about 51 percent of the students are from Owensboro High School.
The school began in 2015 with a freshman class.
This year, it has freshmen and sophomores.
New classes will be added in each of the next two years until the Academy has all four grades with between 350 and 400 total students.
It’s in the Centre for Business and Research, 1010 Allen St.
Brake told Pruitt and Guthrie that the center also houses several research companies, including Kentucky BioProcessing, which created a vaccine for the Ebola virus in its lab there.
Owensboro Public Schools became a Kentucky “district of innovation” in 2014.
That allowed it the freedom to create the Academy as a different type of high school.
Students apply for admission to the school and are chosen by lottery if more than 100 apply.
Brake said if the school ever finds itself having to turn away large numbers of applicants, “we’ll look at a different model.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of local control in Kentucky schools,” Pruitt said. “It’s good when they do things like this.”
Owens Saylor, superintendent of Daviess County Public Schools, said students at the Academy will have test scores as good as or better than students at a traditional high school.
“I’ll bet they’ll be higher,” Pruitt said.
“This is cool,” Saylor said. “It’s going to make students smarter because learning here is fun.”
“We’re like a family down here,” Benjamin said. “We all know each other.”
Saylor said the Academy is the latest example of collaboration that the two school systems have been working on together for years.
“I don’t think this (level of collaboration) exists anywhere else in the state,” he said.
___
3 of 4 plead guilty in woman’s apartment shooting death
WINCHESTER (AP) — Three of four suspects charged in a Winchester woman’s 2014 shooting death have pleaded guilty to charges.
Local media outlets report that Christopher Robinson, Lamont Wilkerson and Aaron Stailey entered pleas Thursday to charges in 19-year-old Amber Caudill’s death.
Caudill died in December 2014 when a bullet fired into the apartment above hers went through the floor, striking her.
Robinson, Wilkerson and Stailey said in court that they were trying to rob the people in that apartment when the shooting happened.
Robinson pleaded guilty to murder, burglary and assault charges in the case. Stailey and Wilkinson entered pleas to complicity to each of those charges.
All three will be sentenced in November.
A fourth suspect, Lillian Barnett, is charged with complicity to murder in Caudill’s death. She’s awaiting trial.
___
New program aims to educate officers on cultural awareness
PADUCAH (AP) — Paducah police have teamed with professors at Murray State University to undergo training focused on cultural awareness and interactions with diverse communities.
The Paducah Sun reports seven officers completed the Cultural Leadership Academy at MSU last week. The educational pilot program spotlights the need for racial and cultural sensitivity training.
One session was held in April and another in September, covering several topics including diverse communities, community interactions, among others.
PPD Assistant Chief Brian Krueger says the program is about developing an understanding of diverse communities and cultivating awareness of how beliefs and perceptions can affect daily interactions.
MSU professor Teresa Clark says although no specific plans have been made yet, they do want to continue the program, adding that other law enforcement agencies have expressed interest in participating.