Good chance we’ll see rain today and a mild temperature drop tomorrow as a cold front moves through the region, It’s Wednesday June 26
Three people are facing drug charges after police discovered about a kilo of meth during a traffic stop. Officials said the incident happened on June 20, when Kentucky State Police Post 9′s Criminal Interdiction Unit tried to conduct a traffic stop in Prestonsburg. After the vehicle took off, troopers reported they were able to find it at a home in Pike County. Approximately one kilogram of suspected methamphetamine was seized. Troopers also found 1.8 ounces of suspected fentanyl and money. Ahmad Moore, 25, of Ohio, Dean Blair, 23, of Georgia, Nevah Twitty, 20, were all charged with feeling or evading police, possession of marijuana resisting arrest, trafficking in a controlled substance and other charges and taken to the Pike County detention Center.
The woman who allegedly helped a Floyd County inmate escape earlier this week is now facing criminal charges of her own. Thomas Price, 37, of Williamsport, was being held in the Floyd County Detention Center on pending charges in Floyd and Johnson counties. On Sunday, he was taken to Highlands ARH for treatment of an unspecified medical condition, when he allegedly got away from a sheriff’s deputy and fled. Prestonsburg Police have said they believe he was assisted by Cindy Rodriguez, 49, of Prestonsburg, who allegedly drove the getaway car. She was arrested Monday morning in Prestonsburg. The escape charge is a felony, punishable by 5-to-10 years in prison. Rodriguez has since been released from jail on an unsecured bond.
The University of Pikeville has been selected to receive a Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education Vocation Across the Academy Grant from the Council of Independent Colleges. This grant program aims to help colleges and universities develop more effective ways to enhance the connection between undergraduate education and career preparation through the exploration of vocation and calling. At the end of the grant period, a well-established program will be integrated into the Center for Career, Vocation and Leadership funding.
A Pike County man was formally sentenced June 21 after pleading guilty to the May 2023 death of a West Virginia woman following an ATV collision in the Peter Fork area of McCarr. Conard L. Fields III, 26, of Ransom was originally charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol — a Class B felony. However, that was amended to a Class C felony charge of second-degree manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of first-offense DUI, according to records on file with the Kentucky Court of Justice. The initial investigation of the crash indicated that Fields was driving a 2023 Polaris UTV when the UTV failed to negotiate a curve and overturned in the roadway. Shelley Prater, 23, of Matewan, West Virginia, a passenger in the vehicle, was pronounced dead on the scene by Pike County Coroner Kevin Hall’s Office. Fields appeared by Pike County Circuit Judge Eddy Coleman who sentenced him to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge. He was also given 30 days for the DUI offense which will run at the same time as the felony charge.
The family of an elderly woman who went missing weeks ago from Carter County said they are now offering a reward for any information that will bring her home. Frances Byrd, 72, was reported missing June 13. A Golden Alert was issued after she disappeared. Her family said she suffers from several health conditions. Police say Byrd was last seen in the Cedar Run area of Carter County where she was seen leaving a home in a “newer white color passenger car” on June 11.
