Kentucky News Now – June 25th 2015

MISSING WOMAN
Police: Missing woman's body found in woods, 2 arrested

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two people have been charged with killing a 19-year-old woman whose body was found in a wooded ravine in Bullitt County.

Multiple media outlets report Louisville Metro Police say 45-year-old Todd Byrd and 22-year-old Monica Mudd were arrested in connection with the kidnapping and fatal shooting of Meagan Hassler. Police discovered Hassler's body Tuesday.

Police say Hassler was reported missing by her father Saturday.

According to a police report, Mudd turned herself into police Tuesday. Police say Mudd confessed to abducting Hassler on June 17 and ultimately shooting her along with Byrd. Police say Byrd was arrested Tuesday.

Both Byrd and Mudd entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday to charges of murder and kidnapping. A judge set a $750,000 bond for each.

The Courier-Journal said Byrd was released from prison 10 weeks ago, six months early on a 10-year robbery sentence.

POLICE SHOOTING
Northern Kentucky man in jail after shooting incident

(Information in the following story is from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com)

CRITTENDEN, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a northern Kentucky man who was shot by a sheriff's deputy is being held in jail after his release from a hospital.

Police told the Lexington Herald-Leader that 22-year-old Shane D. Propes of Crittenden is charged with attempted murder of a police officer and first-degree wanton endangerment.

Police said the Grant County deputy and a state trooper responded June 15 to a report of a suspicious person possibly carrying a gun, and the deputy located the man, who began to run and started shooting at the deputy.

Police said the deputy returned fire, and the man was hit. The deputy, who hasn't been identified, wasn't injured.

Propes is being held in the Grant County jail on $100,000 cash bond. Online jail records do not indicate whether Propes has a lawyer.

FATAL MOBILE HOME FIRE
Smoke inhalation indicated as cause of Ky. woman's death

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say preliminary autopsy results indicate a woman whose body was found inside a home after a fire in western Kentucky died of smoke inhalation.

Police released the results Wednesday in the death of 41-year-old Roxanna J. Jones of the Smith Mills community, which is about eight miles west of Henderson.

Jones' body was found inside her mobile home after it burned Monday afternoon.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

SOLDIER KILLED
Pedestrian killed in Clarksville was Fort Knox soldier

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A 25-year-old Fort Knox soldier has died after being hit by a sport-utility vehicle while walking on a highway in Clarksville.

Clarksville police say Kenneth Ronald Berry of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was at Fort Campbell temporarily for training.

Police said Berry entered the southbound lanes of U.S. 79 for an unknown reason early Tuesday. Police said the driver of the SUV tried to avoid hitting Berry by driving to the left but hit him.

Police said Berry was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he was pronounced dead.

BEVIN-CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT
Bevin backed pro-Confederate flag candidate in 2004

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin's choice for president in 2004 was a third-party candidate who defended the Confederate flag and was supported by a racist group.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Bevin told National Review in a 2013 interview that he voted for Constitution Party candidate Mike Peroutka. Bevin told the conservative publication that he has a "Peroutka for President" T-shirt from 2004.

Peroutka was endorsed by the League of the South, a group described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "a coalition of hard-line 'neo-Confederates' who espouse racist, anti-gay, anti-immigrant ideas."

During the 2004 race, Peroutka said the Confederate flag stands for "justice, decency, integrity and honesty."

On Tuesday, Bevin called for removal of the Jefferson Davis statue from the state Capitol rotunda.

MISSING TIRES
Former Ashland supervisor charged in missing tires case

(Information in the following story is from: The Independent, http://www.dailyindependent.com)

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. (AP) — A former Ashland mechanic supervisor has been charged in connection with $144,000 worth of tires that went missing from the city's garage.

The Ashland Independent reports that 56-year-old Joseph A. Burriss was indicted on Monday by a Boyd County Grand Jury on the charge of abusing public trust.

Commonwealth's Attorney David Justice says Burriss manipulated the rules in the garage to make him the sole authority over tire purchases a few years ago.

City officials say they still do not know where the tires have gone.

By state law, the charge carries with it a punishment of between 10 and 20 years in prison.

Ashland police announced that Burriss turned himself in on Wednesday morning. It was not immediately clear if he has hired an attorney.

TODDLER DEATH
Kentucky couple enter plea agreements in toddler's death

(Information in the following story is from: Daily News, http://www.bgdailynews.com)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Two people charged in connection with the death of a toddler have entered pleas shortly before their cases went to trial.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports that 30-year-old Tiffany D. Sampson and 40-year-old Robert R. Dishman entered plea agreements in the death of Sampson's 19-month-old son Adrian Maldonado. The Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office reported the toddler's 2012 death was caused by multiple blunt force injuries inflicted on the child's head, chest and arms.

Sampson, who pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree criminal abuse on Monday, accepted an agreement that recommends a five-year prison sentence. Dishman, entered an Alford plea of no-contest to the same charges on June 18. Prosecutors recommended a 10-year sentence for Dishman.

KENTUCKY-MURRAY

Canadian guard Jamal Murray headed to Kentucky

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian guard Jamal Murray is headed to University of Kentucky.

Murray announced his decision Wednesday, selecting the Wildcats over Oregon.

"Beyond blessed to announce that I will be attending the University of Kentucky," Murray said on Twitter.

The 6-foot-5 Murray was the most valuable player in the Nike Hoop Summit All-Star game, leading the world team with 30 points in a 103-101 victory over the United States Selects.

Murray played for Canada in the 2014 FIBA under-17 world championships.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.