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Suspect in double homicide and suspect in BHH ER incident make court appearances

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Two suspects in October Hardin County incidents were back in court Tuesday.

Dustin Caudill appeared via Zoom before Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock for an arraignment hearing following his indictment by a Grand Jury on multiple charges including two counts of Murder and one count of First Degree Arson, among other charges. Caudill is accused of shooting and killing 41-year-old Blake France of Greenville and 43-year-old Anthony Garrett of Elizabethtown and then setting fire to the Henon Lane residence they were in on October 30.

Public defenders assigned to represent Caudill initially asked that the arraignment be delayed in order to allow Caudill to attend in person as he said he had difficulty hearing the proceedings via Zoom. Judge Ashlock declined this and said the Kentucky General Assembly asks the courts to do arraignments via video in order to keep costs down. A plea of not guilty was entered by the defense on Caudill’s behalf and the commonwealth attorney’s office submitted discovery in the case for the defense to review. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for February 11.

Meanwhile, George Lee Jr. appeared via Zoom for a pre-trial conference. Lee faces multiple charges including two counts of Kidnapping and three counts of Wanton Endangerment after he allegedly discharged a firearm in the Baptist Health Hardin emergency room October 19. A jury trial was scheduled for September 8 with a final pre-trial conference scheduled for September 2.

Both Caudill and Lee remain incarcerated in the Hardin County Detention Center.

Attorneys for Steven Lawson ask for trial delay to review case files

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Attorneys for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Steven Lawson are asking Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III to delay the start of his trial.

Lawson’s jury trial on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence is set to begin on February 10 in Warren County. In a motion dated January 3, however, Lawson’s attorneys motioned to continue the trial to a later date in order to allow the defense more time to review discovery submitted in the case.

Attorneys Darren Wolff and Zach Buckler state in the motion that they expressed concern with having enough time to review the case files when they were assigned to represent Lawson in August 2024 following the dismissal of Lawson’s previous attorney Ted Lavit. They also state that when they first met with Lawson he had only been shown written discovery and none of the two terabytes of data contained on hard drives submitted by the case’s special prosecutor.

The motion states that access to additional discovery in the case, contained in about 10 terabytes of data, was delayed as the special prosecutor reviewed and removed duplicate data. Lawson’s attorney’s say they believe they have a duty to review the entire 10 terabytes, stating “while this effort will necessarily delay the trial for Mr. Lawson, it ensures that he may receive a fair and full defense in anticipation of trial.”

The matter will be discussed in court during a hearing scheduled for January 9.

Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson, who also face charges in relation to the investigation, are scheduled to go to trial in Warren County on June 24.

USPS asks customers to help keep mail carriers safe in winter weather

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The U.S. Postal Service has a request for area residents as they wait for the thaw after Winter Storm Blair.

The USPS is reminding customers that it is important to keep walkways, sidewalks, and areas around mailboxes clear from snow and ice in order to help letter carriers provide safe and timely deliveries.

The USPS says postal employees make every reasonable effort to deliver mail in many different weather conditions, but snow and patches of ice in front of mailboxes can make it difficult for letter carriers to work safely. Customers that receive curbside delivery should also make sure there is a clear access point to their mailbox for letter carriers who deliver from the street.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is encouraging drivers who have made appointments to visit driver licensing regional offices this week to consider postponing their appointments if possible. Licensing offices across the state are dealing with weather impacts and limited staffing availability. Drivers are also reminded that remote driver’s license renewal options are available online at drive.ky.gov.

Snow and ice out of the forecast, but cold temperatures remain

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The National Weather Service in Louisville says the winter storm is over, but the area will still see impacts from cold temperatures the rest of the week.

After some communities in the area saw more than five inches of snow along with additional levels of rain and ice from Sunday into Monday, precipitation is out of the forecast for the time being, but the NWS says air temperatures will remain below freezing through at least Thursday night. The minimum wind chill forecast for Elizabethtown now through Thursday night goes to 21 degrees at its highest and 2 degrees at its lowest.

During an update on conditions across the state Monday, Governor Andy Beshear said emergency responders had a busy couple of days.

“KSP dispatchers have reported more than 170 car accidents, 27 accidents with injuries, and over 280 stranded motorists have been helped,” Beshear said. “KSP dispatchers have answered 1,450 calls for service. That means when you get out there in your vehicle, there’s a decent chance that you’re going to end up sliding off the road and needing help, so again, if you can stay home today, please do so.”

KYTC District Four said Monday afternoon that solar leak through the cloud layer Monday allowed for some melting, and crews worked hard to clear and treat roads as much as possible ahead of any overnight re-freezing. Drivers should still use extra caution on the roadways. Slow down, allow extra time for traveling and extra distance for braking, and give highway crews and emergency responders extra space.

Nolin RECC crews see multiple outages due to winter storm

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Nolin RECC crews have been busy the last two days as winter weather impacts their service area.

The co-op says more than 1,700 members were impacted by more than 50 separate outages as service lines were bombarded with snow and ice.

The co-op continues to urge members to take precautions.

“We encourage our members to stay weather-aware and to keep devices charged,” said Nolin RECC Communications Manager Sarah Fellows. “It’s also really important that if a member or their loved one relies on electricity for a necessary medical device that they have their backup plan ready to go in the event that they lose power. A reminder that all residents should stay away from downed power lines or low hanging lines. Never try to knock anything off or remove anything that might be touching a line. If you see a hazard on our system, report it on our website. We have an outage center page with ways to report hazards like that.”

With cold temperatures in the forecast this week, remember to use caution when using devices like space heaters and generators.

“If residents are using a generator, be sure to keep it far away from your home and never plug it into your home system as it can back feet onto our system, and that creates a potentially harmful situation for our linemen,” Fellows said.

Follow Nolin RECC on social media for more updates.