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EPD and RPD partner with Lexington Police Department to investigate series of vehicle thefts

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A report of a stolen vehicle led to a multi-agency, multi-county vehicle theft investigation.

“Shortly after 7 p.m. Friday evening, our officers received Flock alerts involving vehicles being stolen from the Lexington area,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “A short time later, Radcliff Police located one of those vehicles and took the driver into custody.”

The EPD says Flock notifications indicated a stolen vehicle travelling south on Patriot Parkway and another near Ring Road and North Dixie Highway. The EPD said a coordinated investigation conducted with the RPD and the Lexington Police Department revealed that a total of seven vehicles had been reported as stolen Lexington-based dealership Freedom Dodge.

The dealership told police the vehicles had been sold to “Verdigris Botanica Tribal Nation”, a nonprofit organization with an address listed in Radcliff, but the vehicles were never paid for.

“Information developed during the investigation, leading our officers to a residence on North Miles Street, where two additional vehicles were recovered,” Denham said. “A fifth vehicle was recovered Saturday by the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, and on Sunday afternoon our officers recovered a sixth vehicle.”

Denham later said the final vehicle was located Monday morning at the McDonald’s located on West Dixie Avenue in Elizabethtown as the result of a call from a citizen.

The female driver arrested by the RPD was later identified as Alaina Padgett. She was charged with Receiving Stolen Property $10,000 or More and First Degree Possession of a Controlled Substance. She was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center and is due to appear for a video arraignment Monday.

The EPD says the investigation is ongoing.

E-Town woman arrested for vandalism of D.C. World War II Memorial

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An Elizabethtown woman faces federal charges after allegedly vandalizing a memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Melissa Farris, also known as Melissa Lovewell, is charged with Willfully Injuring or Committing a Depredation against Property of the United States and Destruction of a Veterans’ Memorial.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Farris was charged by criminal complaint Friday after allegedly vandalizing the Atlantic Theatre Pavilion of the World War II Memorial Thursday.

The criminal complaint states that U.S. Park Police responded to the memorial on August 13 for a report of a disorderly person. A witness told police they saw a woman spray painting graffiti on the memorial. A U.S. Park Ranger arrived on scene and observed foam in the fountain area of the pavilion, and saw multiple people watching the woman as she recorded video of herself before fleeing when she saw the park ranger.

A U.S. Park Police officer recognized Farris in a photo taken by a witness as Farris had been arrested on August 10 for unlawfully camping on federal property a few blocks from the memorial. Officers found that Farris had live streamed her August 10 arrest on social media, and had recorded multiple live stream videos on August 13, in one of which she allegedly admitted to the World War II Memorial vandalism.

Farris is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing in D.C. court Monday.

Trooper rescues four from burning vehicle on I-65

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Kentucky State Police Post Four is highlighting the efforts of a trooper who rescued a family trapped in a wrecked vehicle on Interstate 65 in Hardin County Friday.

According to the KSP, at approximately 2:10 p.m. on August 14 troopers responded to a call reporting a two-vehicle collision near the 87-mile marker on I-65 South. The caller stated that one of the vehicles had overturned and was smoking with a family trapped inside.

The KSP says Trooper Blaine Miller was in the area responding to an unrelated incident and arrived on scene, where he observed the overturned vehicle, which was beginning to catch fire with four people trapped inside. Miller “breached the front windshield of the vehicle, climbed inside, and assisted in removing all four occupants from the vehicle to safety.” The four occupants sustained minor injuries and were transported to Baptist Health Hardin, where they were treated and released.

The KSP says the preliminary investigation indicates a tractor-trailer operated by Steven Hawkins of Munfordville was travelling south on I-65 when the vehicle merged from the middle lane to the right lane, forcing the passenger vehicle off the right shoulder of the roadway, where it rolled several times before coming to rest on its side. Hawkins was not injured and declined treatment.

KSP searching for driver who fled fatal I-65 accident; fire apparatus struck in seperate incident

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Kentucky State Police Post Four is searching for a Louisville man after a fatal collision on Interstate 65 in Bullitt County.

According to the KSP, at around midnight on August 15 troopers responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision at the 112-mile marker of I-65 North near Shepherdsville. The preliminary investigation indicates that Luis Gonzalez Perez was operating a southbound-facing wrecker hooked to a northbound-facing bobtail tractor parked on the shoulder of the roadway. Perez allegedly attempted to make a u-turn across the three northbound lanes in order to transport the tractor.

As the wrecker was turning, it was struck by a passenger vehicle operated by 43-year-old Shawn Franklin of North Carolina. Franklin sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

Perez was not injured and fled the scene. The KSP and other law enforcement agencies are actively attempting to locate Perez, with charges through the Bullitt County Attorney’s Office pending. The KSP’s investigation of the collision is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Upton Fire Department is reminding drivers of the importance of being aware of emergency vehicles while driving on the highway.

According to the fire department, at around 10 p.m. on August 15 firefighters responded to a single-vehicle accident on I-65 North near the 81-mile marker. While crews were working the scene, an Upton Fire Department apparatus was positioned to protect emergency responders and provide advance warning to approaching motorists. The apparatus was struck, with no injuries to firefighters or civilians as a result of the secondary location.

In a Facebook post, the fire department said this is the second time one of their vehicles was struck while working an accident scene on I-65. The fire department is asking drivers to do their part in protecting emergency responders by remaining alert, slowing down, and moving over when approaching emergency vehicles and personnel working on the side of the roadway.

City of Elizabethtown hosting meetings for input on Downtown Master Plan

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The City of Elizabethtown is seeking public input on downtown development.

“The city is hosting a public meeting Tuesday, August 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pritchard Community Center to discuss and to talk about the implementation strategies of the Downtown Master Plan,” said City Planning and Development Director Aaron Hawkins.

The open house-style meeting will have no formal presentation. The city says it is seeking input on the plan’s recommendation for downtown boundaries.

“We invite anyone who has input or feedback on the Downtown Master Plan to come to the meeting and share that with the Planning and Development staff,” Hawkins said.

All are welcome to attend. For those unable to attend, a second meeting will be held at the State Theater on September 29. Contact the City Planning and Development office for more information at 270-765-6121.