By Brian Smith
A Berea man entered a guilty plea to a theft charge stemming from a July 4 break-in at a Richmond home, while the cases of three people charged as being complicit in the theft were continued.
Ronald Mullins will serve two years in prison as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in the case, while the charges against Perry Pingleton, 29, Jennifer Pingleton, 28, and Teresa Burns, 28, all of Richmond, are expected to be reduced to misdemeanors.
The foursome was accused of taking televisions, digital cameras, a laptop computer, prescription medicine and other items from a home in the 400 block of E. Main Street, according to Richmond police.
Pretrial conferences against the other three were continued following Mullins’ plea while attorneys discuss whether the misdemeanor charges will be probated.
Mullins could have received 10 to 20 years in prison on the charge because of a persistent felony offender charge against him, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Mushroom case
The case against a West Virginia man charged with drug trafficking for allegedly attempting to ship a package of “magic mushrooms” to his home state was continued Thursday so attorneys can continue to discuss the case.
Steve Cahill, 48, of Princeton, W.Va., faces a possible prison sentence of five to 10 years if convicted on the single charge of trafficking in a controlled substance, second or greater offense.
Cahill was indicted last month for the July 20 incident in which he allegedly attempted to ship two bags of psilocybin mushrooms to a West Virginia address from the Richmond UPS Store.
Kentucky State Police was alerted to the package after a supervisor at the UPS shipping depot in Lexington contacted them to report that the package had a strange odor. Authorities used a police dog to conduct a “package lineup” at the Lexington depot, where the dog identified the package as containing the mushrooms, state police Detective Dusty Hon testified in a September preliminary hearing.
Madison Circuit Judge William G. Clouse continued the case to Dec. 3.
Cahill remains free on bond.
Child porn
The defense attorney for a former Eastern Kentucky University student charged with 67 counts of possession of child pornography asked Clouse for additional time to prepare his case and speak with state police investigators.
Samuel Crabtree, 24, was investigated by state police and EKU Police on the charges, and state police computer technicians still are examining a computer seized as part of the investigation.
The case was continued to Jan. 21 so Crabtree’s attorney and prosecutors can continue reviewing the evidence in the case.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.
