Local News
Federal guilty plea draws 150 months
A Richmond man who was indicted on both state and federal charges for what Richmond police termed a “drug deal gone bad” in December was sentenced Wednesday to 150 months in federal prison.
Keith Anthony Griffith Jr., who had entered guilty pleas to two federal counts of trafficking in cocaine and one federal count of “using and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking,” was sentenced in a Lexington federal courtroom by U.S. District Judge Jennifer B. Coffman.
Prosecutors asked for an “upward departure” from the minimum sentence of seven years because of the severity of the beating Griffith gave an informant, according to Kyle Edelen, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
“It was a senseless beating because the informant was no threat to him,” Edelen said.
Griffith and another man, Aaron Brennan, also were indicted in Madison Circuit Court on second-degree assault charges for the Dec. 4, 2008, incident in which they allegedly kicked, beat and pistol-whipped an informant after discovering a recording device on him during a drug buy.
Federal court records indicate Griffith found the recording device, then began punching the informant in the face and head repeatedly, some of which was captured on video by the device before it was destroyed.
Griffith then allegedly asked Brennan to bring a handgun into the room and then “used the firearm to hit the informant multiple times in the head during the beating,” records state.
The informant was able to contact police with a cell phone during the assault, and when police responded to the scene, Griffith was seen at the front door of the Sizemore Drive apartment brandishing a handgun that “was covered in a wet red substance that appeared to be blood,” according to federal court documents.
Coffman sentenced Griffith to 132 months on the firearm charge, an increase of four years over the minimum, and to the minimum 18 months on the cocaine charges.
The state charges against the duo were reinstated after being dismissed Dec. 17 by Madison County Attorney Marc Robbins following the federal indictment. Richmond police had initially charged the duo with kidnapping, second-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence.
If convicted on the state charge, Griffith could receive five to 10 years in prison.
Brennan has entered a guilty plea to federal charges against him, but no sentencing date has been set, Edelen said.
As a condition of his plea agreement, Griffith is required to pay $5,000 in restitution to the informant to cover his medical expenses, and also must pay $900 to the Richmond Police Department for the cost of the recording device destroyed during the assault.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.
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Berea men arrested for robbery
Berea police arrested two men in connection with a March 8 robbery at a check-cashing business, a spokesman said Monday.
Shawn Burns, 32, was charged with first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, while Bradley Lamb, 21, was charged with complicity to first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, said Capt. Ken Clark, Berea Police Department spokesman. -
City seeks proposals for Gibson Bay Cafe
The operation lease for Gibson Bay Cafe expires at the end of May, and the City of Richmond will be accepting bids for the operation of the restaurant from the public until Friday, March 26.
Gibson Bay Cafe, which is located at Lake Reba Recreational Complex on the Gibson Bay Golf Course, is owned by city commissioner Bill Strong and his wife Jeanie Strong. -
Reports of home burglaries keep Richmond police busy
The new owner of a mobile home on Bradbury Pointe reported to Richmond police Friday that appliances had been stolen from the home.
A stainless steel refrigerator, a white stove, a white microwave and a three-ton Trane heating and air conditioning unit were discovered to be missing from the home on March 7, said Chief Larry Brock. -
Parents upset about test scores, deficiencies
The frustration was evident in the voices of a number of Berea Community School parents who spent more than an hour Monday night addressing the Berea Independent Board of Education.
The parents spent most of the evening talking directly to middle school/high school principal John Masters about a lack of communication with school personnel and asking for answers about how the district intends to correct a number of deficiencies identified by the state in a December audit. -
Time to stand up, be counted
Madison County households will be receiving questionnaires in the mail today through Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau which is carrying out it constitutional mandate to count all U.S. citizens every 10 years.
Letters were mailed last week advising household to be watching for the census questionnaire, according to J.C. Barbour, the bureau’s media specialist for Kentucky. -
‘Sunshine Boys’ dedicated to Kerby’s memory
The late Dr. Clifford Kerby, former mayor of Berea, was a longtime supporter and often an actor in community theater.
One of his favorite plays, in which he played one of the two lead roles for the old Berea Community Theater back in 1977, was “The Sunshine Boys,” said his wife Diane. -
Two chances to meet, hear candidates
“You can’t tell the players without a program,” vendors at old minor league baseball games used to yell.
With so many local candidates in the running for election this year, voters may know too little about them to make an informed choice, some observers have remarked.
However, two Madison County organizations have scheduled events for Thursday evening to help clarify who the candidates are and what they stand for. -
Local group to meet on skate park on Tuesday
A local group seeking to build a public skateboard park in Richmond will conduct a public meeting next week in downtown Richmond.
Skate Richmond, KY is a non-profit group founded in 2007, according to group member and local attorney Wesley Browne, and is interested in constructing a public skateboard park in downtown Richmond. -
Lots of ‘energy’ at expo Saturday
Gloomy weather and college basketball did not keep people away from Saturday’s Madison County Home Energy Expo at the Perkins Building on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus.
The second-annual event, hosted by Madison County’s University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension office, moved to the EKU campus this year after last year’s event was conducted at Glenn Marshall Elementary School. -
Kentucky Blood Center collection Tuesday in Berea
Kentucky Blood Center will conduct a blood drive on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Union Church in the Community Room, 200 Prospect St., Berea.
Every volunteer who presents to donate blood with the Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) will have a chance to win a trip to the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four games. One winner will receive a package for two that includes hotel stay April 2-6 and tickets to the Final Four (April 3) and Championship Games (April 5) in Indianapolis. The drawing will be conducted on April 1. - More Local News Headlines
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Berea men arrested for robbery
