Kentucky State Police will conduct safety checkpoints

Kentucky State Police released this report today:

The Kentucky State Police at Dry Ridge will be conducting traffic safety checkpoints throughout the post district. These checkpoints will be set up at designated areas on highways where statistics have shown an elevated number of vehicle crashes. During the checkpoints officers will be enforcing laws related to Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol, Licensing of Motor Vehicles and Operators, Registration and Insurance Violations, Seat Belt and Child Restraint violations along with Motor Vehicle Equipment Violations.

Below is a list of traffic safety checkpoint locations. These roadway locations include, but are not limited to:

Bourbon County

1. US 460 between mile points 0.000 and 21.933

2. US 68 between mile points 0.000 and 10.069

3. US 27 between mile points 0.000 and 15.335

Bracken County

1. KY 10 between mile points 0.064 and 20.941

2. KY 8 between mile points 0.000 and 18.967

3. KY 9 between mile points 0.000 and 19.857

Grant County

1. US 25 between mile point 0.000 and 23.229

2. KY 22 between mile point 0.430 and 15.560

3. I-75 between mile point 143.739 and 165.400

Bluegrass Crime Stoppers

Police say this man was spotted outside La Marquesa, at 165 E Reynolds Rd, around midnight on July 15. Police say the man returned hours later and stole more than $500 in property.

Crime of the week:

A man was spotted walking around outside of La Marquesa around midnight on July 15.

Police say the man, who appeared to be Hispanic, returned to the store at 165 E Reynolds Rd about 3:30 a.m. He threw a rock through a glass window in the front of the store, went inside and helped himself to more than $500 in property.

Investigators need help identifying the man captured on surveillance video.

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

Wanted person of the week:

Dane H. Chappell

Dane H. Chappell

Date of birth: 3/30/78

Height: 5’04”

Weight: 150 lbs.

Wanted for: Probation violation and receiving stolen property (felony)

Man arrested in burning of mobile home

HAZARD — Police arrested an Eastern Kentucky man early Tuesday morning for allegedly setting fire to a mobile home filled with a family of 10.

Kentucky State Police were called to Lower Lost Creek near the Perry-Breathitt County line before 5 a.m.

When police arrived, members of Laura Campbell’s family were holding Elbert Neace Jr. on the ground. The home was fully engulfed.

The family told police they heard a noise, came outside and the home was on fire. They said Neace, 38, was attempting to leave on a scooter. They grabbed him and held him until police arrived.

Ten people were inside the home at the time, including five children. No one was injured in the blaze, state police said.

The family told police that Neace said he was hired to burn the mobile home. The residence and everything inside was destroyed.

Neace was charged with 10 counts of first-degree arson and 10 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, state police said. He was put in the Perry County jail.

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–Cassondra kirby-mullins

3 charged in snake bust plead guilty

The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Ky. — Three Berea men have pleaded guilty to illegally harboring wildlife, including deadly snakes.

The Richmond Register reports that 30-year-old Brian Fryer; 46-year-old John Rowland and his son, 18-year-old Joel Rowland, entered the pleas Monday in Madison District Court.

Fryer was charged with 46 counts of selling, buying or possessing wildlife and was ordered to pay a $2,840 fine by District Judge Earl-Ray Neal. The Rowlands were charged with two counts of illegally buying, selling and possessing wildlife and each was ordered to pay a $700 fine.

The men declined to comment after their court appearance.

They were among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in July in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade. More than 100 snakes were confiscated in the undercover sting. Many of them were deadly breeds.

$7,080 in church offerings missing

By Ashlee Clark

A Berea church is searching for $7,080 worth of offerings that went missing last week.

The offerings were collected at the Aug. 3 service and placed in a money bag in the church office, said Capt. Ken Clark of the Berea Police Department. Members of Union Church of Christ discovered the money was missing on Aug. 7.

The church building was left open throughout the day, Clark said.

Police have no leads on who might have taken the money.

“I think that’s pretty low,” Clark said. “Then, I’m sort of an old-fashioned person, you know, and personally, I really have a problem with it. It’s just one of those things.”

The person responsible for the theft might get less money than they expected. Only $80 of the offering was in cash, and church members have stopped payments on many of the checks, Clark said.

Ashlee Clark covers Madison County for the Herald-Leader. Reach her at (859) 626-5878.

Missing Lexington man found, then arrested

By Greg Kocher

WILMORE — A missing Lexington man who was the subject of a search-and-rescue effort in Jessamine County walked out of the woods unharmed Tuesday morning, and was later arrested on a probation violation, police said.

Police and volunteer firefighters said George Russell Miller, 47, might have been hiding to avoid arrest.

Miller and his nephew, Eric Miller, 28, were hunting for caves and arrowheads on Pekin Lane, a narrow rural road off U.S. 68 about 2 miles southwest of Wilmore. Eric Miller said Tuesday morning that his uncle, who is in his late 40s, had a sharp stick penetrate his foot sometime after 11 p.m. Monday.

“He’s not one to ask for help, and he lay down and he said he was getting dizzy and that I needed to get him help now,” Eric Miller said. “So I went to go get him help and when I come back … he was gone. I don’t understand where he would have went.”

A search-and-rescue effort was begun to look for George Miller, and search dogs were called in, said Jessamine County Fire Chief Mike Rupard.

But about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Miller walked out of the woods in shorts and no shoes, Rupard said. “I take it that he thought we were gone so he came walking out of the woods,” Rupard said. “Essentially I think he was hiding from us.”
Jessamine County Deputy Sheriff Gerald Wheeler said Miller was charged with a probation violation. He was to be lodged in the Jessamine County jail in Nicholasville.

The Millers live in Lexington. In April, they made news when they were searching near the same area and Eric Miller fell off a 150-foot cliff. A search and rescue team was called out for that incident as well.

Following that incident, George Miller was charged with public intoxication and possession of marijuana. Jessamine District Court records indicate that he pleaded guilty.

“I guess we should have never come back,” Eric Miller said Tuesday.

Lawrenceburg man pistol-whipped by intruders

Central Kentucky Bureau

LAWRENCEBURG — Police are investigating a home invasion on Highland Avenue in which a resident was pistol-whipped.

The resident told police that someone kept ringing the doorbell of his house early Tuesday until he opened the door.

Then two men dressed in black forced their way into the house. The resident fought back, and he and the two intruders wound up fighting outside, where the resident was struck in the head with a handgun.

The two men ran off with a purse from the house, police said. The resident was treated for his injuries.

If you have information about this incident, call Lawrenceburg police at (502) 839-5125.

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Three fatal motorcycle crashes top death toll

This week’s accident report as reported by state police:

Release on:  Monday, August 11, 2008

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Preliminary statistics* indicate that 12 people died in eleven separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, August 4 through Sunday, August 10, 2008.   Seven of the fatalities involved motor vehicles and six of those victims were not wearing seat belts.  Motor vehicle crashes occurred in Carlisle, Hardin, Harlan, Jefferson, Ohio and Pulaski (2) counties. The crash in Pulaski county was a double-fatality and involved the suspected use of alcohol.

There was an ATV fatality in Clay county and the victim was not wearing a helmet. The suspected use of alcohol was a factor in this crash.

There were three motorcycle fatalities and two of the victims were not wearing helmets. These crashes occurred in Graves, Harlan and McCracken counties and two of the victims were not wearing helmets. There was one pedestrian fatality in Warren county.

Through August 10, preliminary statistics* indicate that 461 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2008. This is 68 fewer than reported for this time period in 2007.   Of the 354 motor vehicle fatalities, 218 victims were not wearing seat belts. Of the 54 motorcycle fatalities, 33 were not wearing helmets.  Fourteen people have been killed in ATV crashes and 13 of those were not wearing helmets. Thirty-seven pedestrians have been killed. A total of 89 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.

Family sues after Ky. girl killed by deputy’s car

The Associated Press

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The family of an 11-year-old Kentucky girl has filed a wrongful death lawsuit for $7.5 million after the child was struck and killed by an on-duty sheriff’s deputy as she crossed the street last month in Murfreesboro.

A spokeswoman for the Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk’s office on Monday confirmed the family of Lakeisha White, of Hopkinsville, Ky., filed suit on Friday. It names Rutherford County, the sheriff’s office and Sgt. Ron Killings as defendants.

Also on Friday, Murfreesboro Police suspended a commander after disclosing a two-hour lapse between the July 17 accident and the time when Killings had to submit to a blood-alcohol sample.

A bottle of premixed margaritas was recovered by a witness who told police he saw Killings dispose of it after striking the girl.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of White by her mother Montessa Gomez and other family members. The family alleges Killings failed to exercise due care, failed to keep his vehicle under due and reasonable control, was speeding and was driving in a reckless manner.

County Attorney Jim Cope said Monday afternoon he had not seen the lawsuit yet and was not in a position to comment. Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dan Goodwin said it was a matter of pending litigation and it would be inappropriate to comment.

White was visiting relatives in Tennessee when investigators said she darted in front of Killings’ unmarked car.

According to the lawsuit, her mother, Montessa Gomez, said that she has suffered disturbances and injuries, both emotional and mental, including anguish, distress, anxiety, grief, and worry. She is suing for $5 million.

Montavious White, Rayneshia Coleman, Terry Coleman and Moniaveshia Collier are each suing for $250,000 and were listed in the suit as being in close “physical proximity” to the girl when the accident occurred.

White’s six brothers and sisters are included in the lawsuit and are each asking for $250,000 for “the loss of services, consortium, and unhindered companionship of their sister … for all of which they deserve to be compensated.”

A secretary for Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess said he was not expected to be in the office on Monday.

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Information from: The Daily News Journal, http://www.dnj.com

Home burglarized; championship ring missing

RICHMOND — A football championship ring has come up missing after someone broke into a Richmond home Wednesday and left with more than $5,600 worth of items.

A 2007 Eastern Kentucky University Ohio Valley Conference Championship ring that belonged to one of the resident of the house on Rice Court was missing when Richmond police responded to the burglary. Other missing items include a 19-inch television, a DVD player, approximately 13 pairs of shoes, clothing, a backpack and approximately 250 CDs and DVDs, Richmond police spokesman Sgt. Willard Reardon said.

Police are investigating the burglary and have no suspects.