The effort to legalize industrial hemp reached the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer promoted their efforts to eliminate federal restrictions that amount to a ban on growing the plant. Comer said he will restart the Kentucky Hemp Commission to advocate the elimination of the federal restrictions. Paul, R-Ky., is a co-sponsor of a bill in the Senate that would take industrial hemp out of the control of the Drug Enforcement Administration so it could be treated like other agricultural crops. Comer also said he hopes for a similar bill to be filed in the Kentucky General Assembly to deal with the issue. [continues 320 words]
Detectives Used Forged Warrants Louisville metro government has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle two lawsuits involving two former narcotics detectives involved in Jefferson County's largest police scandal in decades. "We believe they are reasonable settlements," said Bill Patteson, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Attorney's Office, which defended the metro government. The civil lawsuits stem from more than 50 criminal cases involving former detectives Mark Watson and Christie Richardson in which charges were dismissed or convictions erased because of the two detectives' conduct. Watson is serving a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty in January 2003 to 299 felonies and three misdemeanors for using photocopied judges' signatures on search warrants and using them to enter people's homes. Richardson is on probation after a jury convicted her in February 2003 on 20 felony charges, including 19 counts of tampering with public records and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument. The jury also found her guilty of official misconduct, a misdemeanor. [continues 329 words]
Prominent Men Help Lead Dialogue Troubled by violence in recent years, 17 of Louisville's most prominent African-American men and an audience of about 800 people held a dialogue for three hours yesterday in search of solutions. The event was a success, if only a start, said two of the participants in the Brothers Reaching Brothers forum, the Rev. Kevin Cosby of St. Stephen Baptist Church and Ricky Jones, chairman of the University of Louisville Pan-African Studies department. "This was a large forum bringing some constituencies together that normally wouldn't come together," Jones said. "So today I think was going to be more symbolic than substantive. The substantive work comes later." [continues 498 words]
10 People Claim Their Civil Rights Were Violated Almost a year after former Metro Narcotics partners Mark Watson and Christie Richardson were tried criminally in Jefferson County's largest police scandal in decades, the fallout is far from over. Even as the officers serve their sentences - he's in prison; she's on probation - six civil suits, involving 10 people who were cited or had property seized by the officers, are pending in Jefferson Circuit Court and U.S. District Court, alleging the detectives and local government violated citizens' civil rights when charging them with trumped-up charges. [continues 1330 words]
Vigil, Forum Held; Ministers Chide Mayor Residents and community activists held a vigil and forum yesterday to vent their frustration over the Jan. 3 shooting of a 19-year-old black man by a Louisville Metro Police officer, while metro officials again asked for patience. Nearly 100 participants gathered for a candlelight vigil last night at the site where Michael Newby was fatally shot in the back by Officer McKenzie Mattingly during an alleged undercover drug buy. Hours earlier, the Rev. Louis Coleman promised to enlist parents to help keep the peace during a prayer vigil and protest planned for 2:30 p.m. today at police headquarters, hoping to avoid the violence that broke out at a similar protest Thursday and ended in four arrests. [continues 1291 words]
His Prescriptions For Pain Medicine Set Off Inquiry A state board has suspended a Louisville doctor's medical license over allegations that he prescribed pain medication to patients without properly examining them. The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure issued the emergency suspension Oct. 16 against Dr. David H. Thurman and also filed a disciplinary complaint. A hearing on that complaint is scheduled for May 26-27. In a telephone interview yesterday, Thurman's attorney, J.Fox DeMoisey, said his client will fight the medical board's efforts. Although different doctors can have different opinions on how to treat patients, DeMoisey said he isn't aware of anything that justifies the suspension. [continues 370 words]
Former narcotics detective Christie Richardson was sentenced yesterday to five years' probation in connection with one of the largest police corruption cases in Jefferson County history. Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon said sending Richardson, convicted in February of 20 felony charges, to prison would be a ''miscarriage of justice.'' Mershon said the actions of Richardson and her Metro Narcotics partner, Mark Watson, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, made a mess of the legal system. In the aftermath of the case, charges have been dismissed and convictions set aside in circuit and district court cases, involving more than 50 defendants. [continues 756 words]
Ex-Detective Richardson Will Be Sentenced Today Probation Will Be Sought For Ex-Officer The sentencing today of the second former detective charged in one of Jefferson County's largest police-corruption cases could bring one chapter of the story of Mark Watson and Christie Richardson to an end. But the fallout from the bogus search warrants and charges that resulted from their work could last for years. Richardson could face additional charges, and four lawsuits are pending that include allegations of civil-rights violations by Watson, Richardson and the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government. [continues 1093 words]
Mark Watson Had Requested Probation Former metro narcotics detective Mark Watson received a 20-year prison sentence this morning for his role in one of the biggest police corruption cases ever in Jefferson County, then waved to supporters as he left the courtroom. Minutes before, Watson nodded his head as Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon imposed the sentence, the result of a plea agreement in which Watson admitted to 299 felonies and three misdemeanors. Watson admitted creating bogus search warrants with photocopies of judges' signatures; obtaining warrants by using fraudulent affidavits; and obtaining payments for informants who said they never received the money. [continues 201 words]
Jury Recommends Minimum Sentence For Former Detective A jury yesterday recommended the minimum sentence -- one year in prison -- for former Metro Narcotics detective Christie Richardson in one of the largest police corruption cases in Jefferson County. The jury, which found Richardson guilty of 20 felonies and a misdemeanor on Thursday, issued a statement saying it recommended the minimum sentence, along with a $500 fine, because its members believed Richardson was honest when she became a narcotics detective in 1998. "We felt that her misdeeds resulted, in part, from extremely lax enforcement of the (standard operating procedures) and a very permissive attitude on the part of some of her superiors to liberties which were taken," read the statement. It was signed "The Jurors." [continues 882 words]
Richardson Now Faces Up to 20 Years in Prison in Police Corruption Case Former narcotics detective Christie Richardson faces up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty yesterday of 20 felonies and a misdemeanor in one of the largest police corruption trials in Jefferson County. Jurors are to return this afternoon to recommend a sentence for Richardson, 36, whose face was flushed as Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon read through the verdict on each of 284 counts. Mark Watson, Richardson's former partner who pleaded guilty earlier during the trial and testified against her, is to be sentenced March 24. Richardson left the courtroom without giving interviews. Her attorney, Steve Schroering, wouldn't comment. [continues 917 words]
Richardson Testifies She Knew Nothing About Corruption Former narcotics detective Christie Richardson testified yesterday that her ex-partner, Mark Watson, is responsible for all of the charges she faces in one of Jefferson County's largest police corruption scandals. ''I feel like he took my life away,'' Richardson said, speaking publicly for the first time since she was charged. The indictment issued last year accuses Watson, who pleaded guilty last week, and Richardson of creating bogus search warrants bearing photocopied judges' signatures, of signing as witnesses to payments that confidential informants say they didn't get and of claiming overtime for work on cases that didn't exist. [continues 829 words]
He Tells Court Richardson Was With Him When He Created Bogus Search Warrants Testifying yesterday in the trial of his former partner, former narcotics detective Mark Watson made no apologies for his own criminal conduct. Some of the actions, he suggested, were common among officers. In mostly brief answers to attorneys' questions, Watson testified that his partner, Christie Richardson, was with him on three occasions when he created -- and served -- bogus search warrants. But Watson stopped short of alleging that Richardson knew the warrants were bogus. [continues 706 words]
Former Metro Narcotics detective Mark Watson was a soldier in the war on drugs who bent the rules but provided a valuable service to the community, according to his lawyer. Christie Richardson, who worked with Watson, was a loyal partner who put too much trust in the wrong person, her attorney said. But a prosecutor in one of the largest police misconduct trials in Jefferson County disputed both descriptions -- made in opening arguments yesterday during the officers' trial in Jefferson Circuit Court. [continues 772 words]
Two former narcotics detectives accused of wrongdoing in their jobs will be tried in Jefferson County because enough potential jurors were deemed qualified yesterday. Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon last year denied requests to move the trial by attorneys for Mark Watson and Christie Richardson, citing publicity about the case. But he had set up Bowling Green as a backup location for the trial if enough impartial jurors couldn't be found in Jefferson County. Mershon and the attorneys in the case interviewed jurors individually Wednesday and yesterday on the issues of whether they had formed opinions from the pretrial publicity or whether anything would prevent them from participating in the entire trial, which is expected to last about a month. [continues 189 words]
Two Ex-Detectives Face Hundreds Of Allegations Two former narcotics detectives who were relatively unknown a year ago will go on trial tomorrow in one of the largest and most publicized police-corruption cases ever in Jefferson County. Mark A. Watson and Christie Richardson, who have resigned from the county police, are charged with creating bogus search warrants with photocopied judges' signatures, with obtaining warrants through the use of fraudulent affidavits, and with obtaining payments for informants who say they never got the money. Watson faces 472 counts and Richardson 467. [continues 1191 words]
A former Jefferson County police officer pleaded guilty yesterday to three charges of obtaining prescription drugs through fraud or deceit. Scott D. Shearer, 32, was sentenced to five years of probation by Jefferson Circuit Judge Lisabeth Hughes Abramson. If he violates the terms of probation, Shearer, of Grandview Avenue in St. Matthews, could be sent to prison for five years. In an agreement with the prosecutor, charges that Shearer robbed six Hispanic men were dismissed. Prosecutor Allan Cobb said yesterday that five of the six accusers could not be located and the sixth had changed his story and would not cooperate. All were itinerants, he said. [continues 309 words]
Officials Suspect Deceit In Getting Search Warrant A judge set aside a 3-year-old drug conviction yesterday at the request of prosecutors, who believe the search warrant that led to the man's arrest was obtained through deceit. The conviction of George Spencer III is the eighth to be set aside involving two indicted, former Metro Narcotics detectives, Mark Watson and Christie Richardson, said prosecutor Alex Dathorne, a Jefferson County assistant commonwealth's attorney. That's in addition to the dismissals at the request of the commonwealth's attorney's office of 18 cases involving 32 individuals that had been pending in circuit court and nine other cases, involving 17 people, that were dismissed before indictment, Dathorne said. [continues 509 words]
Jefferson County's drug courts received recognition yesterday from a professional group as a ''national model and training center.'' The National Association of Drug Court Professionals honored the Jefferson County drug court, one of the first of its kind in the country, for its success in rehabilitating substance abusers and finding alternatives to prison. Carolyn Hardin, project director for the association's National Drug Court Institute, presented plaques to Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze, Jefferson District Judge Henry Weber and Jefferson Circuit Judge Stephen Ryan for their work in the program. [continues 235 words]
He Gets Home Incarceration For False Reports A Louisville man convicted of taking bribes in exchange for falsely reporting the results of court-ordered drug tests will have to spend six months on home incarceration and pay a $3,000 fine. Rodney K. Sanford, 49, also received two years on probation as part of his sentence, which U.S. Chief District Judge John G. Heyburn II imposed yesterday. Sanford, the former president of Adapt Inc., entered a plea agreement in September to federal charges of wire fraud and using an interstate facility to promote bribery. He maintained his innocence but conceded that the evidence against him would result in a conviction during a trial, his attorney, Frank Mascagni, said yesterday. [continues 371 words]
