WQXE News

Two suspects charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation made court appearances last week.

Steven Lawson faces charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence following his arrest in December. Lawson appeared in the Nelson County Circuit Court for a pre-trial conference and bond reduction hearing.

Lawson’s lawyer Ted Lavit said his client has consistently been cooperative with officials conducting the Rogers investigation, and said that an agreement had been made that Lawson would not be prosecuted. Lavit said that Lawson has proven he is not a flight risk with his cooperation with the investigation and has never made efforts to evade law enforcement. Lavit later said Lawson had been working in Winchester, Indiana, and then visited his mother in Harrison County the day he was arrested.

Lavit asked for Lawson’s bond to be reduced from a $500,000 cash bond to either a $20,000 cash bond or a $40,000 real estate bond. Lavit said Lawson does not have the financial resources to meet either, but those bonds are more obtainable for him than $500,000.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young said that Lawson was charged based on the decision of the grand jury to indict him when presented with evidence in the case. Young said he did agree that Lawson wasn’t necessarily a flight risk, but said a $500,000 bond fits the seriousness of the charges.

Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III said he would make a decision on the bond reduction sometime within five days.

Meanwhile, Joseph Lawson, who faces charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence, appeared in the Nelson Circuit Court via Zoom Friday from the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange.

The court was to consider a motion filed by the defense to reduce Lawson’s bond from $500,000 to $50,000 and to transfer Lawson to home detention with GPS monitoring, but Lawson’s attorney Kevin Coleman asked for that motion to be moved to a later date so that Lawson could attend the hearing in person.

Lawson’s next court date was set for February 8. Special prosecutor Shane Young said most of the discovery in the case should be processed and made available to defense by that time so a trial date should be able to be set.

February 8 is also the date of the next court appearance for Brooks Houck, who is charged with Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence in the Rogers investigation. Court orders were filed Friday for Lawson to be transferred from the Kentucky State Reformatory and Houck from the Oldham County Detention Center to the Nelson Circuit Court that day.

Hardin County Schools Community Relations Director John Wright said 2023 was a great calendar year for the school district, with assessments showing growth among students and students proving themselves as they look beyond their K through 12 education.

“87 HCS students earned an associate’s degree from ELizabethtown Community and Technical College through the HCS Academy at EC3 and the Early College Pathway,” Wright said. “That’s the most students that have ever done that.”

528 students earned work ethic certifications at ECTC, 141 made the college’s President’s List, and 118 made the Dean’s List, along the way earning an average GPA of 3.54 in college courses.

“479 of those passed a career end-of-program assessment or earned an industry certification in one of the 37 career pathways offered by the district, so students are succeeding,” Wright said. “They are getting what they need to succeed here in Hardin County Schools.”

As the district enters 2024, Wright says a major goal is improving attendance, an issue all Kentucky schools have been battling with particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. The district is under the state average for chronically absent students, but Wright says the district is still aiming to improve.

“Whether that be excused absences or unexcused absences, we really do need to take a focus on making sure that students are in the building and students are ready to learn,” Wright said. “You can’t learn effectively if you are not in the school building.”

Phase One of construction at Central Hardin High School is due to be completed in 2024, after which Phase Two will begin, and the district also plans to begin work on several other projects.

“Namely, the project of building a new West Hardin,” Wright said. “That land has been acquired. Everything is falling into place. Obviously there are some things that the Kentucky Department of Education has to approve, but we are looking at hopefully starting that project sometime in the calendar year of 2024.”

Visit Hardin County Schools on the web for more information and district news.