Beauty, Ky – The Martin County Sheriff’s Office has recovered several stolen vehicles and equipment in the Beauty community. Sheriff John Kirk arrested 40-year-old David Joshua Brown of Lovely on Big Elk Road, charging him with receiving stolen property valued at more than ten thousand dollars. Deputies say Brown was in possession of a stolen Kubota backhoe, a Ford pickup and a dump trailer, and may have other missing tools and batteries. Brown is being held at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center as the investigation continues.
Fallsburg, Ky – A Pilgrim man is facing multiple drug charges after deputies say he ran off the road near Fallsburg. Lawrence County sheriff’s deputies Tyler and Wyatt Laney found a vehicle off KY 3 Thursday night and say the driver, 23-year-old Ethan Kole Hensley, smelled strongly of marijuana. A search allegedly turned up marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a bag of white powder believed to be cocaine, which Hensley reportedly tried to destroy. He was arrested on several drug and evidence-tampering charges and taken to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
Pike County, Ky – A Pike County woman plans to plead guilty in a federal child pornography case. Forty-five-year-old Pamela Sargent of Kimper is charged with four counts of producing child porn, with each count carrying 15 to 30 years in prison. The case began with a Missouri investigation where a man said he received explicit videos from a Kentucky woman and her daughter, which were traced back to Sargent. Court records say the videos show Sargent performing sex acts with children believed to be between three and five years old. A plea hearing is set for March 20 in Lexington federal court, and Sargent is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center
Prestonsburg, Ky – The Amber Spradlin murder trial could be delayed again, after prosecutors asked for another postponement on Wednesday. Special Judge Eddy Coleman already moved the trial from December 1 to May 11 so the state lab could finish DNA testing on the last two batches of evidence. With all three defendants now out on bond, Turner says there is no reason to rush to trial. He is asking the court to cancel the May 11 date and set a hearing in late spring or early summer to pick a new trial date.