Jury Trial

A September trial date has been set for singer John Michael Montgomery who was charged with DUI in February. On Montgomery's last court date in early June, Fayette District Judge Joe Bouvier told the singer's attorneys that the next time they appeared in court, he either wanted Montgomery to plead guilty or schedule a jury trial. So on Monday in Fayette District Court, Sept. 12 and 13 were set for a two-day trial for Montgomery. Outside the courtroom, Montgomery's attorney, Brent Caldwell, told reporters that the singer wants to get the trial over with so he can put the incident behind him. He added that the best case scenario would be that the charges will be dismissed, in light of the way officers handled hi's arrest, and the circumstances leading up to it. The case became embroiled in controversy when several Lexington police officers were suspended after posting derogatory comments on a Web site and altering a photo of Montgomery, superimposing the face of the arresting officer over that of a fan whom the singer posed for a photograph with.

Editor's Note: This story is reprinted with permission from the Washington Times Herald. WASHINGTON, Ind. - A jury trial was set to begin today in the case of William David Miller, Lancaster, who admitted to shooting Michael Hays, Gravel Switch, at an Odon, Ind., convenience store on April 24, 2003. Miller, 51, has been charged with attempted murder. Following the shooting, Miller fled the scene and turned himself in to sheriff's deputies the next morning. While Miller has never denied pulling the trigger that night, he has contended that he feared for his life and thought his employer, Hays, was planning to kill him and harm his family, several of whom also worked for Hays, 45. Miller contended that Hays was running a major drug operation from his Kentucky farm, growing marijuana in Indiana and shipping it to Kentucky for processing.

STANFORD - The trial of accused child rapist Clarence Robinson and live-in girlfriend Lisa Robinson was scheduled to continue today as jurors hear closing arguments. Graphic testimony from a young woman offered details into how Clarence Robinson is alleged to have repeatedly raped her before she turned 13. The woman, now 18, said the first time she was raped was in the seventh grade after Clarence Robinson picked her up from school and took her to a back road out in the countryside.

A Garrard County man, David Miller, is set to go on trial June 28 in Indiana for charges that he attempted to murder Michael Hays when he shot him in the back of the head at a gas station two years ago. The shooting set off an investigation and discovery of the body of a Danville man buried on an Indiana farm, and Hays' multi-million dollar marijuana operation based in Forkland. Hays, his wife and stepson pleaded guilty in 2003 to federal charges that they were involved with a marijuana farm.

STANFORD - Tanya Shelton, the woman accused of taking a newborn baby from Fort Logan Hospital in April, was treated and released at the hospital Sunday for undisclosed injuries. She has since been placed on suicide watch in isolation at the Lincoln County Regional Jail, according to the jail. The jail, the hospital, and her lawyer, Ted Dean, all declined to comment on the extent of her injuries. Shelton was arrested on kidnapping and burglary charges after allegedly taking newborn Grayci Barrows from the hospital in April.

STANFORD - Tanya Shelton appeared Monday in Lincoln Circuit Court and pleaded innocent to charges of kidnapping a minor and second-degree burglary. She is accused of taking newborn Grayci Barrows from Fort Logan Hospital on April 2. A pre-trial hearing is set for 10 a.m. July 9 and a jury trial for Aug. 18.

LEXINGTON -- A jury found David "Scott" Miller not guilty Tuesday of federal conspiracy charges connected to Michael Hays' Gravel Switch marijuana farm. Seven women and five men took less than two hours to reach the verdict. Scott Miller was the only one of 11 people indicted who asked for a jury trial. The rest, including his father, sister and brother-in-law, pleaded guilty. "I feel (the verdict) was very fair," Scott Miller said in the hallway of the U.S. District courtroom here.

A former Northpoint Training Center employee was awarded $730,000 in damages by a Boyle Circuit Court jury Wednesday in her lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections. Dorsey Furr, 50, of Danville, was granted the judgment in the suit filed in 1995. She charged staff at Northpoint retaliated against her after she filed sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints at the center. According to Lisa Lamb, director of communications for the state Department of Corrections, Furr was an employee at NTC from 1988 to 1994 as a classification and treatment officer.

The city of Danville has appealed a March ruling from Boyle Circuit Court awarding punitive damages and lost wages to a firefighter who challenged Danville Fire Department's promotion process. Stephen T. King was awarded $29,911 by a jury that found the city was "arbitrary and capricious" in not promoting King to lieutenant in the fire department in April 2000. King was awarded the difference in wages from that time until Feb. 26, 2003, a total of $4,911. The jury also ruled the city acted "with fraud, oppression or malice" in its promotional process and awarded King punitive damages of $25,000, plus attorney fees and interest.