Archived Court Cases No. 10

Lexington, KY.   Charity Wernigk was charged with two counts of Statutory Rape after the victim, a 14-year-old boy she babysat, reported that she had engaged in sexual intercourse with him twice.  The victim reported that both incidents occurred in Wernigk's home within a few days of each other.  He also produced several letters written to him by Wernigk.  The letters stated that she was "...sorry we can't go out like regular people..." and that she loved him.  

Wernigk was found guilty by a jury trial and was sentenced to 1 1/2 years with 5 years probation.  She is to have no contact with the victim.

Lexington, KY.   In April of 2000, a confidential informant was sent to the home of Michael Williams, a suspected drug dealer, in an attempt to purchase crack cocaine. The police watched from across the street as the drug transaction was completed. A few days later, a search warrant was issued. Over 7 grams of crack cocaine, $870.00 cash, a pager, a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, and ammunition was confiscated. Williams was arrested and a jury found him guilty of being a drug trafficker and sentenced him to 9 years in prison, but the judge probated his sentence for 5 years. 

Now, less than a year since Williams was probated, his probation has been revoked because he was recently found in possession of a small bag of marijuana.

Lexington, KY.   Michael Silvey approached a hostess at Logan’s Restaurant, with his hand in his shirt as though he had a gun, and demanded she give him the money from the cash register. Becoming aware of the commotion, the manager approached Silvey and asked what it was that he wanted. Again, Silvey asked for the money. The manager explained that he did not have the keys for the register at that moment and further stalled by seating customers. By this time, another employee had called 911. Irritated that the money was not coming quickly enough, Silvey started to leave, but the manager grabbed him and prevented him from leaving. Shortly after, police arrived and arrested him.

Silvey was indicted on the charge of Robbery. He pled guilty and was sentenced to serve 7 years in the penitentiary.

Lexington, KY.   Isreal Smith was the prime suspect in 11 robberies in Fayette County. These robberies took place at fast food restaurants, tanning salon’s, shoe stores, clothing stores, and close-out stores. In each incident the victims reported a male entered the store, demanded money, requested that it be put in either a white or blue plastic bag that he had brought, and left.  As some businesses it was reported that he was armed with a pocket knife and on one occasion a screwdriver.

Due to similarities in the cases and physical evidence later found in connection with Smith, he was charged with 11 different counts of Robbery. He only admitted to 3 of the 11 robberies and was arrested after giving a taped statement detailing his involvement. He entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to a total of thirty-five years in prison.

Lexington, KY.   Donna Lee Ivey was indicted on six counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument and being a Persistent Felony Offender. Ivey stole checks from the Community School That Never Closes, fraudulently signed the director’s name and cashed the checks. She visited the agency almost daily, as they were helping her to obtain housing and employment, and it was on one of those visits that she took the checks. The total amount of the checks cashed was over $1,000.

Ivey entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. That sentence is to run consecutively with the 3 years she is currently serving for violating probation on another Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument charge.

Lexington, KY.   Police took a burglary report from an office on North Broadway Avenue in which the victim reported that his checkbook was one of the items taken.  Shortly after the report, the victim’s checks began to appear at several area banks. The investigation was made much easier when the suspect left his driver’s license and social security card behind after passing one of the stolen checks. Comparison of the license with bank security video revealed that Joseph A. Weir, 29, had passed eight of the victim’s checks for a total of $21,000 over a five-day period.

Weir pled guilty to two felony counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument and was sentenced to a total of 1 year to serve in the penitentiary, concurrent with any other prison time.

Lexington, KY.   

O’Bryan was charged with Receiving Stolen Property, Unlawful Transaction With A Minor, and four counts of Theft By Unlawful Taking Over $300. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

Lexington, KY.   Richard Weiss stole three checks from his friend’s parents while he was in their home. He obtained $1,500.00 by making the checks payable to himself and then cashing them. Weiss also stole a woman’s credit card number by taking bank statements from her mailbox. He then opened an internet account using her name and credit card number and obtained a subscription for a pornographic web site.

Weiss was charged with Theft of Identity, Theft of Mail Matter, and three counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. He admitted to the above charges. He also stated that the money obtained from the cashed checks was for buying drugs. Weiss entered a guilty plea and was sentenced by the Court to serve 2 years in prison.

Lexington, KY.   Charles Fleming Harmon was arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle on a License Suspended for Driving Under the Influence. Just 11 days later, he was arrested again for the same offense. However, this time he was not only driving his car without a license, he was also driving while intoxicated. Harmon, age 21, had three previous convictions of Operating a Motor Vehicle on a License Suspended for Driving Under the Influence and two previous convictions of Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence.

Harmon pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to serve 2 years in the penitentiary.

Jones and Johnson pled guilty to the charge of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. Diangelo Jones was sentenced to 12 months and probated for 2 years. Octavia Johnson was sentenced to one year and probated for 5 years. As part of their probation, they each must pay total restitution in the amount of $9,700.

All four of the defendants pled guilty.  Larry Francis and Craig Steiner were sentenced to 3 years.  Both must serve 90 days and were probated for 5 years.  Lisa Francis and Shanti Ison received 12 months' probation.  In addition, Ison was ordered to pay a $500 fine.  The total value of the property involved in the thefts is over $10,000.  Each defendant was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,541.92

Lexington, KY.   After failing to provide child support for his son in the amount of $50 per week, Larry Wayne Morgan, Jr. was charged with Flagrant Non-Support.  In October of 2000 he was sentenced to 1 year and probated for 2 years.  At that time his arrearages totaled $20,370.  After four administered drug tests were positive for controlled substances and Morgan continued to fail to pay child support, a motion was filed to revoke his probation.  However, he failed to appear for a court hearing and in June, 2000, Morgan was charged with the offense of Bail Jumping.  

Morgan's probation was recently revoked and he was sentenced to serve 1 year in the penitentiary.

Lexington, KY.   Wilma Rae Ivey, 28, was ordered in August of 1996 to make child support payments of $30 per week for her minor children, who were in the custody of family members.  Court records show that by August of 2000, Ivey had not made a payment since October of 1996, resulting in an arrearage of over $6,000 and public assistance being awarded on behalf of the five children, who range from 3 to 12 years of age.

Ivey was indicted by the Fayette County Grand Jury for Flagrant Nonsupport in December of 2000; she pled guilty on January 12, 2001 and was ordered to take a drug screen by the judge.  She failed to reappear and was subsequently indicted for the felony offense of Bail Jumping First Degree.  Ivey was returned before the Court in May of 2001 and pled guilty to both charges.  She was sentenced to 3 years to serve in the penitentiary.  On July 20, 2001 Ivey was granted "shock probation" and released from the penitentiary in order to complete the Drug Court program.  She failed to do so and was recently brought back before the Court.  Her shock probation was revoked and she was returned to the penitentiary to serve the remainder of her 3-year sentence.

Lexington, KY.   A loss prevention officer at the Tates Creek Kroger's observed Rashad Amin Spillman shoplifting several items of food.  The officer had become suspicious when he noticed he was wearing a heavy jacket on a warm day.  When the officer attempted to stop Spillman, Spillman struck him in the face with a frozen can of lemonade, causing injuries to the officer's face.  Spillman managed to get away but the officer was able to get the license plate number and Spillman was later arrested and charged with Robbery First Degree.

Spillman pled guilty to Robbery and was sentenced by the Judge to 5 years to serve in the penitentiary.

Marcus Howard and Ray White were charged as adults and prosecuted in Circuit Court.  They both pled guilty to Robbery First Degree and were sentenced to 10 years to serve in prison.  However, Marcus Howard was placed in a juvenile detention facility until he turned 18 and, when he reappeared before the Court on his 18th birthday, the Court placed him on probation for 5 years.  Ray White is still in the juvenile detention facility pending his 18th birthday review.  Damarrio Howard pled guilty to facilitation of the robbery and the Court sentenced him to 5 years in prison but probated his sentence for 5 years.  Less than a year and a half later, he was back in front of the Court for violating his probation.  The Court then ordered Howard to serve 2 weekends in jail for his probation violations.  

Lexington, KY.   Police officers responded to a call placed by a woman who told them an individual she knew was in her house, involved in narcotics activity, and refusing to leave.  The officers went to an upstairs bedroom and located Hermino Perez sitting in a corner of the room brandishing a large knife and eating cocaine.  The suspect's face and chest were covered in white powder and he was unresponsive to verbal communication, but he acted in a threatening manner when approached by police or paramedics on the scene.  Officers attempted to secure the knife when Perez appeared to lose consciousness but he responded by attempting to stab one of the officers in the throat.  Perez was subdued and transported to the emergency room, where he had to be sedated due to his attempted assaults on the hospital staff.  He was treated for cocaine overdose and released into police custody.

The evidence collection unit of the Lexington Police Department recovered the knife and approximately 25 grams of powder cocaine from the carpet, baggies, and a baby changing table in the bedroom.  Perez pled guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance First Degree and two counts of Assault Third Degree and was sentenced to 5 years in the penitentiary. 

Lexington, KY.   Gary Hammon appeared in District Court charged with DUI.  He had been arrested after a citizen with a cell phone followed him and reported to the police as he drove erratically around New Circle Road.  When he appeared in court charged with DUI, he was recognized by an employee of the Fayette County Attorney's Office, who happened to be married to a Mercer County Deputy Sheriff.  The wife recognized Hammon's name as one of the names used by a person who had been arrested by her husband for DUI.  He used a driver's license in the name of Gary Woods until he accumulated several DUI's, then switched to the Gary Hammon identify.

Hammon's charges were upgraded to Fifth Offense DUI and Third Offense Driving on a DUI-Suspended License.  He left the courthouse and, despite his suspended status, drove away.  This resulted in the additional charge of Driving on a DUI Suspended License and Resisting an Order to Stop.  He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 1 year on Fifth Offense DUI, Third Offense Driving on a DUI-Suspended License and Bail Jumping.  He is to be on 5 years probation after serving 6 months in jail.

Lexington, KY.   Mark Coy went to the Holiday Inn where he had worked for about a year.  His fellow employees observed that he was under the influence of alcohol and reported it to the manager, who fired Coy and demanded that he leave the premises.  Coy instead produced a .380 handgun, aimed it at one of his former co-workers, and pulled the trigger.  The weapon did not fire and the employees of the Holiday Inn scattered quickly.  Coy left the area in a company truck, and was involved in a traffic accident before the police had time to respond to the hotel.  He was arrested at the accident scene and found to be in possession of the pistol, which was registered to him and not loaded, a bottle of whiskey, and a small amount of a controlled substance.  His blood alcohol level was found to be .288.

Coy pled guilty to the felony charge of Wanton Endangerment and misdemeanor offenses including Carrying a Concealed Weapon and DUI.  He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and placed on probation for 5 years.  

The father pled guilty to 2 counts of Use of a Minor in a Sexual Performance and 4 counts of Incest, and the mother pled guilty to Use of a Minor in a Sexual Performance and Complicity to Incest.  Both were required to be sent to prison by law because of the position of trust in the parent/child relationship.  The father could have been sentenced to up to 70 years in prison, but he was sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Court.  The mother's sentences of 10 years and 7 years on each count were run together by the Court for a sentence of 10 years, with 7 of the years to be spent in prison.