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Judge reduces Stephen Lawson’s bond from $500k to $250k

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It is not the amount that his attorney requested, but Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III has granted a bond reduction for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Stephen Lawson.

Simms issued an order Tuesday reducing Lawson’s bond from $500,000 to $250,000. Lawson faces charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence following his arrest in the investigation.

Lawson’s lawyer Ted Lavit said during a bond reduction hearing last Thursday that Lawson was not a flight risk and had fully cooperated with state and federal authorities every time he has been questioned in the investigation. Lavit requested the bond be reduced to either $20,000 cash or a $40,000 real estate bond because although Lawson still did not have financial resources to reach that amount it was more attainable than $500,000.

Simms noted that neither the defense or the prosecution called witnesses during the hearing, so the court is unable to determine whether Lawson had been sent to Winchester, Ind., on December 6 when he was arrested at his mother’s residence in Harrison County. Lawson was told the grand jury would be considering charges against him on December 5, and Simms said “it is highly suspicious that Lawson was discovered in another state after being informed of the potential indictment.”

Simms considered Lawson’s limited finances in reducing the bond, and also considered that Lawson’s criminal history does not include any violent acts. Simms said Lawson’s pretrial assessment determined him to be a moderate flight risk, and said the bond amount still reflects the severity of the charges and the potential prison sentence Lawson would consider fleeing from.

Lawson remains incarcerated at the Nelson County Correctional Center.

Radcliff council reviews zoning requests, considers police personnel proposal

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The Radcliff City Council discussed zoning and police personnel during a work session Monday.

Radcliff Planning Official Murray Wanner discussed an annexation and several zoning change requests that were recently approved by the city’s Planning Commission. The annexation request is for about 12.5 acres located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Ernest R. Kouma Boulevard and Patriot Parkway, and developers are asking for that property to be rezoned from R-1 Residential to Commercial Zone to match neighboring properties.

Zoning changes for properties located 1276 and 1278 Hill Street to R-6 High-Density Multi-Family Residential, and for a property at 3491 South Wilson Road to R-4 were discussed. City Attorney Michael Pike said developers are responding to demand.

“Everyone’s telling us we need more housing,” Pike said.” The employers are telling us we need more housing, the realtors and brokers are telling us we need more housing. We don’t have enough inventory. Interest rates are higher than they’ve been for years.”

Radcliff Police Chief Jeff Cross discussed a proposal to remove the department’s evidence custodian position and replace it with two contract officers hired as detectives that would be in charge of the department’s evidence room. Cross said hiring detectives for the positions would keep the evidence room in check while also making additional personnel available for investigations.

“Those detectives work long hours,” Cross said. “It takes a lot to do what they do, and the first 72 hours of that are the most important. We had one (case) where the suspect had to go to the hospital and we had to sit on that person for a couple of days, and so we were having officers having to come in and call people in to cover the streets because they were having to help do that, so the more manpower we’ve got in that detective section the better it would be for them to investigate those crimes that take up a lot of time.”

Cross said money is in the budget for the positions for the current fiscal year, but he is requesting an additional $50,500 for the next city budget. Mayor J.J. Duvall said the city would look into its options.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet January 16.

Elizabethtown City Council reviews ordinance regulating recovery residences

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The Elizabethtown City Council met for their first meeting of the new year Monday.

The first reading was held for an ordinance that requires the certification of recovery residences providing treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse. That ordinance follows Kentucky law to create a multi-point set of rules and regulations for said facilities and will allow for the city’s inspection officer to ensure facilities are in compliance. Facilities must be in compliance by March 15. Mayor Jeff Gregory said other communities in the state are looking to E-Town to take the lead on enforcement as there are more than 150 facilities in the city. A meeting will be held for property owners on the new ordinance at the Elizabethtown Police Department on January 29.

The council approved a municipal order that accepted certain streets into city maintenance. Included in the municipal order are several streets in the Magnolia Gardens and Ashton Park subdivisions. All of the accepted streets passed city inspections.

The council approved a resolution in support of the Elizabethtown Tourism Bureau for the Buffalo Lake Trail Phase One project. The portion of the trail that will be worked on in this phase starts at the Haycraft, and a groundbreaking is planned for this month.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet January 16.

LaRue County couple, former Bullitt County official sentenced in federal court

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A LaRue County couple will serve two years and nine months in prison on federal drug charges.

Court records state that Ashley Ramsey-Wilmoth and Stephen T. Wilmoth were each sentenced for conspiring to steal hydrocodone and oxycodone from a pharmacy to sell. Following their prison terms, the two will serve three years of supervised release, and will pay $2,500 in fines and about $18,700 in restitution.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky says Ashley Ramsey-Wilmoth was an employee of Century Medicines, and took unopened bottles of oxycodone and hydrocodone from the retail pharmacy and provided the drugs to her husband, Stephen Wilmoth, to sell and distribute. The case was investigated by the DEA, the Kentucky State Police, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of the Inspector General.

Meanwhile, former Bullitt County Master Commissioner John Anthony Schmidt was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison after he defrauded two trusts originally held by senior beneficiaries.

The charges stem from a case in which Schmidt stole over $435,000 while serving as the court-appointed trustee for two trusts, paying for his own personal expenditures including to pay debts related to his legal practice and the Bullitt County Master Commissioner’s bank account.

In addition to paying restitution, Schmidt will serve three years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service following his release from prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says there is no parole in the federal system.

Preliminary work at I-65/KY 480 interchange begins

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Preliminary work is set to begin this week on an interchange improvement project for Interstate 65 at Kentucky Route 480/Cedar Grove Road in Bullitt County.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says Cleary Construction Inc. of Tompkinsville was awarded the $18.7 million contract for the project, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025.

The KYTC says the project “will improve access to the existing and committed businesses in Cedar Grove Business Park and the surrounding area.” The existing interchange will be reconfigured into a double crossover diamond interchange and will add enhanced signaling to the intersection.

Motorists should expect changing traffic patterns, lane shifts, and closures as work takes place in the area. Obey all restrictions and use caution when driving through construction zones.