Archived Court Cases No. 3

At trial on May 25, 2000, Thompson denied his guilt and claimed that the drug sale was committed by another person known only as "Froo", who owed him money from a bet.  However, patrol officers observed the transaction and detectives recovered the marked buy money from the defendant.  The Jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance 1st.  The Jury also returned a verdict on the charge of Persistent Felony Offender based on the defendant's prior felony conviction for Possession of a Forged Instrument.

The Jury set the penalty at 8 years for the Trafficking conviction, which was enhanced to 15 years due to the guilty verdict on the Persistent Felony Offender charge.

For his illegal actions, a Fayette County Jury convicted Lyles of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance and of being a Persistent Felony Offender First Degree.  The jury recommended a sentence of 15 years in prison and the Judge imposed the sentence of 15 years on May 19, 2000.

The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the murder conviction because the jury heard evidence that the defendant was on probation when he was arrested for the murder.  Hall has a lengthy criminal history including the following convictions:

Hall was on probation for the unrelated misdemeanor offense of violating an Emergency Protective Order when he was arrested by the Lexington Police for the murder of Sue Ryan.  The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the jury could have based its decision on Hall's probation rather than the two days of evidence put on by the prosecution.  Therefore, the Supreme Court returned the case to Fayette County to be re-tried.

In the two years since the conviction, many of the witnesses have scattered and the memories of those remaining in the Lexington area had not improved with time.  Accordingly, Hall pled to the amended charge of First Degree Manslaughter, stating that he and the victim had been involved in a physical altercation that got "totally out of control" when he twisted a T-shirt around her neck until she stopped struggling.  The 15 year sentence was imposed by the court and Hall was returned to prison.

Lexington, KY.  A Fayette Jury convicted Wuan Edmonds of the October 17, 1999, murder of 17-year-old Robbie Huggins.  They recommended he serve 20 years in prison.

On that day, the defendant Wuan Edmonds drove his car full of friends to E. Second Street.  He got out of his car alone, armed with a .380 chrome handgun, and walked up to the victim, Robbie Huggins, who was leaning against a fence with his friends.  Edmonds accused the victim of having stolen two of his cd's (compact discs), then pulled out his gun and shot him 5 times.  Three shots went through his chest, killing him.  The other 2 shots narrowly missed.  Robbie Huggins was pronounced dead by the time he got to the hospital.  He was unarmed.

Edmonds fled the scene and threw the gun out of the window of his car, then drove to another location and disposed of his clothes before leaving town.  Several hours later he was located in Richmond, Kentucky.

Collins pled guilty to Sexual Abuse 1^st Degree. Prior to sentencing he spent only 24 days in jail. On March 2, 2000, Collins was placed on probation for 5 years. Collins, who is a 42-year-old father of two daughters, was determined to be at moderate risk to re-offend by the Sex Offender Risk Assessment Unit.

Collins’ criminal history consists of a prior charge of Theft by Unlawful Taking.

Hendren pled guilty on May 21, 1999 to Wanton Endangerment, Escape, Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence, and being a Persistent Felony Offender. Hendren’s prior criminal history includes Assault, Alcohol Intoxication, Unlawful Transaction with a Minor and Theft By Unlawful Taking.

At sentencing Hendren was placed on probation for 5 years and ordered to complete the Drug Court program. He failed to complete his probation because he absconded from supervision. On May 5, 2000 he was returned to prison to complete his five year sentence.

On July 16, 1998 Barrett’s ex-wife filed a criminal complaint against Barrett for Criminal Non-Support. From 1995 to the date of sentencing, Barrett’s child support payments were inconsistent at times and non-existent at others. At the time of sentencing, Barrett had failed to pay $14,366.49.

Barrett’s criminal history includes Burglary, Wanton Endangerment, and several counts of Theft By Deception.

In early January 2000, while a trustee at the Fayette County Detention Center, Briscoe sodomized a fellow inmate who was serving a seven day sentence for Driving Under the Influence.  As Briscoe was being escorted out of the courtroom after the sentence, he pushed a bailiff and fled from the courthouse.

Several sheriff's deputies and detention center officers who were present in the courtroom ran down the stairs and out of the courthouse in pursuit of the convicted felon.  Throughout the night, the shifts of sheriff's officers attempted to locate Briscoe with help from canine units of the Lexington Metro Police Department, Fayette County Detention Center officers, and U.S. Marshall's Service officers.  Briscoe was spotted in various locations in the downtown are during a foot pursuit, but managed to evade officers each time.

Winston Briscoe is no longer at large.  He was apprehended by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.

Upon investigation, police found that Washington had used the number at other hotels in Lexington including the Embassy Suites and Microtel. When Washington was questioned further, he then told police that he obtained the number from an ex-girlfriend in Michigan. He told police that he was only using the credit card number until he could reach Atlanta where he had a job waiting for him.

On August 27, 1999, Washington was sentenced to one year and probated for five years for the Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card. One of the conditions of his probation was to pay $5,513.83 in restitution. However, Washington failed to pay back the money. So, on February 25, 2000, Washington was ordered by the Judge to serve his sentence for his failure to pay the money.

Both men were sentenced to five years and probated for five years by the Judge. Both men were ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution. Darland had other charges and was sentenced to serve two years in prison for those crimes.

Winn was originally charged with drug possession.  He was released on a third party bond to his father.   When he failed to appear on his next court date, he was charged with Bail Jumping, and a contempt citation was issued for his father, who had signed his bond, promising to have him back in court on the scheduled date. 

Editor's Note:  This should be a lesson to those who seek to have friends and relatives released on reduced bond.  When the accused fails to appear, the consequences can be severe, both for the defendant and the person who goes his bond.   In some cases, people have lost large amounts of money or their homes when they pledged themselves as sureties on bonds, and the defendants failed to come to court.

Lexington, KY.   On May 11, Gene Tapp Perry received a life sentence for killing 51-year-old Patricia Dodson.  The victim's naked body had been found by police at a house on Georgetown Street on May 18, 1996.  She had been strangled with a pillowcase and a plastic ball-point pen had been driven into her neck.

Perry was sentenced as a Persistent Felony Offender.  His felony record includes the following:

At the sentencing phase of the trial Perry's lawyer argued that due to his unhappy childhood, Perry "never had a chance."  However, the records showed that he had numerous chances.  Several of his sentences in Ohio had been run concurrently, and he admitted that on four occasions in Ohio, he had been paroled rather than being required to serve his sentences out.

In Kentucky, he received "administrative conditional release" on the Burglary charge after serving part of the sentence, and he testified that on the Reckless Homicide, he received a minimum sentence due to a plea bargain. 

Lexington, KY.   Ernest Dawahare was convicted of Manslaughter 2nd and D.U.I. by a Fayette County Jury.  The same jury fixed his punishment at 7 years in prison.  On June 9, 2000, the judge followed the jury's recommendation and sent Dawahare to prison for 7 years.

The judge denied a motion for an appeal bond for Mr. Dawahare, which would have permitted the defendant to remain free pending the outcome of his appeal.

Bradley Coffey, a well-known 28-year-old Toyota employee and model, died shortly after midnight on September 12, 1999 when a Corvette driven by Mr. Dawahare abruptly pulled in front of Mr. Coffey, who was riding his motorcycle down Rose Street.  Coffey could not avoid the Dawahare vehicle. Dawahare's blood alcohol level was .18, nearly double the legal limit.  Dawahare also had Valium in his system.

Dawahare had previously been convicted of D.U.I., Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Manufacturing a Controlled Substance, Reckless Driving, and Disregarding a Stop Sign. 

Lexington, KY.   A F

The fraudulent credit cards were then used to finance global travel, dining and luxury hotel accommodations in both the United States and Europe. All the while his relative’s credit rating suffered. The Judge placed Harscher on probation for 5 years, and ordered him to pay restitution of over $50,000.   

Simpson, brandishing a .380 pistol, and Huguely burst through the front door and demanded all of the victims' money. Simpson placed the gun to the back of the head of one of the victims. One of the other men tossed his wallet toward Simpson which momentarily distracted him. Another one of the victims quickly knocked the pistol out of Simpson’s hand. It was recovered by one of the victims. He and Simpson struggled over the gun. The victim broke loose, and shot Simpson twice, once in the stomach and once in the side. Huguely was also shot in the side as he attempted to flee the scene.

Both of the would be robbers staggered down the street and collapsed in a nearby yard. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment, then arrested on several counts of robbery.  Both are lodged in the Fayette County Detention Center.

Huguely pled guilty to Robbery 1st and was sentenced to 10 years in the penitentiary.  Simpson went to trial and was convicted by the jury on all 5 counts of Robbery 1st.  The jury recommended 40 years in prison for him.   

The jury deliberated for less than two hours and found Morton guilty on all 20 counts of Use of a Minor in a Sexual Performance, 2 counts of Sodomy and 4 counts of Sexual Abuse for the criminal sexual acts depicted in the pictures. They recommended a sentence of 15 years in prison. 

White was one of a number of Detroit, Michigan defendants who participated in a organized scheme to recruit juveniles from the Detroit area to travel to Lexington in order to sell cocaine. White admitted to the court that he and a number of individuals recruited juveniles from Detroit, brought them to Lexington either by car convoy or Greyhound bus, set them up in various houses on the north side of town, and had them sell cocaine.

This group sometimes refer to themselves as "Fresh Boys" or "CEO’s." The leaders of this group, Marcus Binder and Jerome Spencer, are currently fugitives from justice. The remaining defendants are set for trial in June. 

On March 24, 2000, Christopher Cox, 30, pled guilty to the charges of Possession of Ecstasy (a "sex-drug") and Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The Narcotics Unit of the Lexington Metro Police Department received information from two confidential sources that Cox was in possession of a large amount of the "sex drug". A search of Cox’s residence at 2937 Rio Dosa Drive revealed a hidden supply of ecstasy, two firearms and $7,614.00 in cash. Cox is a convicted felon having been convicted of possession of LSD in 1989.

He was sentenced on April 28, 2000 to one year.  The Judge probated Cox's sentence for five years.  

The investigation of Benningfield began in late Spring of 1999 when police received information that Benningfield was selling large amounts of cocaine and prescription pills from his residence. A confidential informant bought cocaine from Benningfield on three different occasions.

A search of Benningfield’s house yielded approximately 3/4 of an ounce of cocaine, numerous prescription pills (including Xanax, Lortab, and Soma), drug scales, and 12 loaded firearms.

Benningfield is set to be sentenced on May 26, 2000.