Incest trial date set

Local News

June 18, 2009

By Brian Smith The Richmond Register Thu Jun 18, 2009, 11:26 PM EDT

An October trial date is scheduled for a Richmond man charged with four counts of incest dating back to the early 1980s.

Ronnie King, 62, of the 100 block of Milton Lane, is set to be tried Oct. 26 on four counts of incest stemming from alleged sexual encounters involving King and his half-sister that took place between Jan. 1, 1983 and Dec. 31, 1986.

King was indicted Dec. 30 on the charges along with six charges of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree sodomy involving a different victim.

Senior Judge Julia Adams scheduled the trial for two days after both sides indicated they would need a day to present their cases.

Madison Circuit Judge Jean C. Logue granted a motion in April by King’s attorney, Jerry Gilbert, to sever the incest charges from the sodomy and abuse charges. The abuse and sodomy charges have been resubmitted to the grand jury for re-indictment because the alleged victim in those charges was determined to be mentally disabled, changing prosecutors’ theory of the case.

Logue also granted an April motion by Gilbert to have the incest charges reduced to Class C felonies from Class B felonies because the penalty for incest was increased after the crimes are alleged to have happened.

King is free on bond.

Berea burglar pleads

A man initially charged with nine counts of burglary, tampering with physical evidence, possession of burglar’s tools and receiving stolen property will serve 15 years in prison after reaching a plea agreement in two cases.

William Gary Tipton, 28, of Berea, pleaded guilty to one count each of first-, second- and third-degree burglary as well as receiving stolen property and possession of burglar’s tools. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.

Berea police had linked Tipton to a number of unsolved burglaries after he was arrested following a burglary at The Family Tree in March.

Tipton confessed to breaking into two homes on Logston Lane and Washington Avenue, and police were able to connect him to additional burglaries on Logston Lane.

Under the plea agreement, Tipton received 10 years for first-degree burglary and five years each on the remaining felony charges, but will serve a maximum of 15 years.

Other cases

• The case of a man accused of assaulting his wife and killing her pet dog was continued pending the outcome of a June 30 competency hearing.

Samuel Vorhees, 39, is charged with first-degree assault, torture of a dog, felony theft by deception, felony theft by failure to make required disposition of property and violating an emergency protective order.

The hearing is the result of a request by Vorhees’ attorney, Sarah Bryant, to have him evaluated by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in La Grange to see if he is competent to stand trial.

Bryant asked Adams to enter an order directing Madison County Detention Center employees to administer Vorhees medication prescribed by doctors at KCPC for several conditions.

• A woman who was arrested during a Central Kentucky Area Drug Task Force raid on a meth lab at the apartment she shared with another man pleaded guilty to first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Amy Darlene Rogers, 31, of Ravenna, pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors and will serve one year in prison on one felony and two misdemeanor charges.

Rogers and 29-year-old Christopher A. White were arrested March 2 following a raid on their apartment south of Richmond where task force officers found an active meth lab and equipment to manufacture the drug.

White’s case was continued earlier this month to Aug. 18 for him to undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.

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