Sunshine and slightly higher temperatures today
Social media and a cell phone put Thomas Price back behind bars after he was arrested yesterday in West Virginia by state police there. His extradition papers are being signed this morning to get him back to Kentucky. An alleged accomplice identified as Cindy Rodriquez was taken into custody yesterday also. Price had escaped Sunday night / Monday morning before dawn from Highlands ARH and ran to a nearby apartment complex where Rodriguez is alleged to have helped him.
(Thomas Price) (Cindy Rodriguez)
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the people responsible for a drive by shooting in West Van Lear Sunday night around 9pm, witnesses describe a sedan and a coupe that drove through the area and opened fire on a house. Sheriff Scott Hazelett said his deputies went out on two different calls about this and got there around 930 and found what looked like AK-47 or SKS shell casings. One was injured during the shooting and Sheriff Hazelette said that the shots may have amputated a finger. Several agencies responded including Paintsville and Kentucky State Police as well as the Johnson County Sheriff’s office and Paintsville Fire Department. If you have any information about this, please call the Sheriff’s office at 606-789-4221 or 606-789-3411.
Deputy Allen May with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department arrested 42-year-old Justin Caudill who’s now been charged with trafficking in methamphetamine after an investigation by the agency. Deputy May found baggies and scales in Caudill’s vehicle after stopping him. May said he knew Caudill’s license had been suspended and that he had been involved in drug trafficking after the sheriff’s department had received tips about Caudill’s home being a hot spot for traffic all hours of the day.
A man who is believed to have swindled Walmart out of nearly $100,000 in short-change scams at stores up and down the east coast is in custody, after police say he allegedly tried to pull the same scam in Pikeville. A short-change scam involves a customer engaging a clerk in a series of quick transactions in order to confuse them and get back more money than they are owed. That’s what police say Constantin Lacatus, 43, of Maspeth, N.Y., was doing at Pikeville Walmart, in an attempt to get 25-hundred dollars placed on his card. When the police spoke to him, he said he was simply trying to pay some bills with a money order. However, Walmart security said he used a different name when trying to get the money order, and Walmart had records of him using other names at other stores. In all, Walmart alleges Lacatus has gotten away with more than $95,000 from 61 stores in the eastern United States. He was arrested on charges of identity theft and attempted theft by deception.
A Pikeville man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to federal drug and gun charges. Joshua “Fudge” Habern, 41, pleaded guilty to possession of more than 50 grams of meth and more than 40 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, as well as possession of a gun in a drug-trafficking crime. The charges stem from a raid by Kentucky State Police and Pikeville Police in September of 2022. In court on Thursday, the judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison. While that sentence was within the guideline range, it was apparently not to his liking, because on Friday, his attorney filed a notice that he would be appealing the final judgment. Habern was taken into custody immediately after his sentencing.
