Paintsville, Ky – A former Paintsville doctor has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for a drug conspiracy. Don Bryson admitted that even after giving up his medical license, he helped control operations at Appalachian Family Medicine, his son Jeremy’s clinic, while Schedule II drugs were overprescribed. Prosecutors say the clinic discouraged drug monitoring and let a doctor without a DEA number illegally use another doctor’s registration to write 79 prescriptions for more than 6,900 pills. Bryson must also forfeit over one hundred twenty-four thousand dollars, the clinic building and a 2020 Dodge Ram.

Pikeville, Ky – A Pike County man is jailed after police say he fired into a crowd at a Pikeville bar, injuring another man. Early May 3, officers were called to Klarissa’s Bar on North Bypass, where witnesses said 27‑year‑old Brian D. Johnson got into a fight and then opened fire. Detectives say Johnson shot several times toward people trying to break up the fight, hitting one man in the leg, and that multiple shell casings and a handgun with extra rounds were recovered. Johnson faces attempted murder, assault and wanton endangerment charges and remains in the Pike County Detention Center.

Frankfort, Ky – Unemployment fell in nearly every county in our area over the past year, with one big exception. According to the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Wolfe County was the only one of the state’s 120 counties where the jobless rate stayed the same between February 2025 and February 2026. Wolfe also posted the commonwealth’s highest unemployment rate at 11.1 percent, followed by Magoffin at 9.8, Lewis at 9.5 and Elliott at 9.1 percent. Rounding out the top 10 were Menifee at 8.8 percent, Carter at 8.1, Martin at 7.9, Morgan at 7.2, and both Jackson and Lawrence counties at 7.1 percent.

Perry County, Ky – A Perry County man has admitted in federal court to transporting an underage girl across state lines for sex. Twenty‑six‑year‑old Noah Back, of Vicco, pleaded guilty May 1 to taking a girl under 18 to Georgia with the intent to engage in sexual activity that would amount to statutory rape under Georgia law. The charge carries a possible sentence of 10 years to life in prison, followed by five years to life of supervised release. Court records say the victim told investigators Back first contacted her on social media when she was in junior high, that they began dating when she was 14, had sex multiple times, and that he eventually began filming the encounters.