Murder Case

Another murder case may be settled by felony mediation, rather than by plea agreement or jury trial. On Thursday afternoon, attorneys for Robert Deskins and prosecutors told Clark Circuit Judge Jean Chenault Logue that they had agreed to try mediation next month in hopes of resolving the case. Last week, mediation was approved in another homicide case involving the death of a 17-day-old infant. That case was the first in Clark County to go to mediation. According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, mediation is a voluntary method to try and reach an agreement in a case.

 The two Danville men accused in the Oct. 10 shooting death of Mellisa White-Luna waived their preliminary hearings Wednesday and their cases will be presented to a Boyle County grand jury next month. Lamar Stallworth, 27, is charged with murder in the shooting of White-Luna as she stood just inside the front door of her apartment on Longview Drive. David J. Harlan, 23, who police said was involved in an altercation that led to the shooting, is charged with complicity in the murder.

With Dr. Steven Hall’s murder trial less than two weeks away, defense attorneys are asking that prosecutors clearly define under the law the direction they will take in trying to prove he killed his wife with a pontoon boat on Herrington Lake last summer. In a motion filed Friday in Boyle Circuit Court, attorney Gregory Sims requests that Commonwealth’s Attorney Richie Bottoms disclose how he intends to proceed at Hall’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 16. According to the motion, Kentucky Revised Statutes state a person may be guilty of murder if they intentionally cause the death of another person, or wantonly engage in conduct that creates a grave risk of death and thereby causes death.

The victim in a home invasion and attempted murder case took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon to testify against her estranged husband and said she heard a bullet from his gun fly past her head. Joseph Clower, 41, of 1363 Ruckerville Road, remains in the Clark County Detention Center on a $250,000 bond for attempted murder and first-degree burglary from the April 4 incident. The judge presiding over Clower's preliminary hearing Wednesday in Clark District Court bound the case over to the grand jury.

On May 21, as calls came into the Danville police station about gunshots fired on High Street, officers Brian Adams and Ryan Lipscomb were the first two on the scene of the double homicide.  At Monday's Danville City Commission meeting, both were recognized for their actions that day that led to a quick arrest in the case.   Adams has been with the department eight years, and Lipscomb has been with the department for two.  “I want to recognize these two gentlemen for their outstanding work,” Police Chief Tony Gray told the commission.

A trial date has been set for the Bourbon County man indicted in the August sodomy and murder of 6-year-old Winchester boy Wesley Mullins. A judge set the trial of Lewis A. "Buck" Ballard, 48, for July 10 -31. He'll face the death penalty. According to the indictment, Ballard lived with Mullins' grandfather in the Paris home where the boy was found bludgeoned to death in the garage Aug. 4. He had also been sodomized. A pre-trial conference is set for Dec. 11 at 9 a.m. in the Bourbon County Circuit Courthouse.

As Jeffrey and Tabitha Byrd await the next step in their murder case, a lack of attorneys has stalled their original robbery case. Both sets of charges against the Winchester siblings stem from the March robbery of Luther Fountain at his apartment in Tyler Banks. The murder charges were filed after Fountain died in the hospital in May. Last week, the Byrds were in Clark Circuit Court on the robbery charges for a pre-trial conference. Both are represented by public defenders, but Tabitha Byrd's attorney recently left the Department of Public Advocacy to go into private practice.

The murder trial of a Winchester father and stepmother may be moving to Madison County, though the official decision won't come for a couple weeks. Thursday afternoon, Circuit Judge William T. Jennings said he was inclined to move the trial of Patrick and Joy Watkins to another county due to pretrial publicity and a rally on the courthouse steps three weeks ago. "I think it would be virtually impossible to get an impartial jury who were not affected by that," Jennings said.

The state's medical examiner's office has concluded that 49-year-old Dale “Monty” Burgess died of multiple gun shot wounds, and now Jessamine County Sheriff's Office (JSO) is conducting its second murder case in a four-month period. The sheriff's office received the call around 12:10 p.m. Friday and responded to 1034 Elm Fork Road, where they found the body of Burgess in a bathroom, according to deputy Larry Oliver. Burgess had lived in the residence for 10 years, Oliver said.

Following a hearing Tuesday in Boyle Circuit Court, it appears Thomas Hager Jr. will plead guilty to shooting two men to death inside a Danville residence in May. “The only thing we can say at this point is that we are working toward a resolution,” said Ernie Lewis, one of Hager's attorneys. Commonwealth's Attorney Richie Bottoms echoed Lewis' comment about resolving the case while noting that Hager's next court appearance is April 18, the day on the circuit court docket set aside for defendants to enter guilty pleas.

Double murder suspect Lillie Stanton's case went to the grand jury following a brief court appearance this morning. Stanton, 48, of 233 Vaught Road, returned to Clark County last week following a court-ordered treatment stay at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in June. She is facing two counts of murder for allegedly killing her daughter Danel Korrey Stanton and her 22-month-old granddaughter Kaydence Ray Miers in May. They were killed days before a custody hearing for Miers, according to court documents.

On May 21, as calls came into the Danville police station about gunshots fired on High Street, officers Brian Adams and Ryan Lipscomb were the first two on the scene of the double homicide.  At Monday's Danville City Commission meeting, both were recognized for their actions that day that led to a quick arrest in the case.   Adams has been with the department eight years, and Lipscomb has been with the department for two.  “I want to recognize these two gentlemen for their outstanding work,” Police Chief Tony Gray told the commission.

A Clark District Court judge Wednesday set a $500,000 bond for a Winchester woman accused of killing her daughter and granddaughter. Lillie Stanton, 48, was arraigned via a video link on two counts of murder in the May 20 deaths of Danel Korrey Stanton, 23, and 22-month-old Kaydence Ray Miers. Judge Brandy Oliver Brown scheduled a June 13 preliminary hearing for Lillie Stanton. A not guilty plea was entered automatically on Lillie Stanton's behalf. According to Winchester Police, Lillie Stanton told officers she was concerned about a May 23 Clark County Family Court custody hearing between her daughter and Jonathon Miers.

The ability to pick an impartial jury in Clark County for Patrick Watkins may not be an issue after all. Watkins is facing a second trial for allegedly killing his daughter in 2007. The defense and prosecutors said Thursday they have agreed to pursue felony mediation in the case, and possibly avoid a trial. Attorneys have the option to pursue mediation before a senior status judge in felony cases, if the attorneys all agree. All parties, including the defendant and the victims, have the opportunity to speak before the mediator, who then comes up with a resolution for the case.

The victim in a home invasion and attempted murder case took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon to testify against her estranged husband and said she heard a bullet from his gun fly past her head. Joseph Clower, 41, of 1363 Ruckerville Road, remains in the Clark County Detention Center on a $250,000 bond for attempted murder and first-degree burglary from the April 4 incident. The judge presiding over Clower's preliminary hearing Wednesday in Clark District Court bound the case over to the grand jury.