Probation

A woman will serve three years on probation after setting her apartment on fire minutes before she was due to be evicted. Sondra K. Jones, 38, pleaded guilty in February to one count of second-degree arson and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. She was arrested in August 2011 for allegedly setting her apartment at 2110 Dover Court on fire in what she called a failed suicide attempt. Two other people were in the neighboring apartment at the time, but no one was injured.

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control announced they have asked Carter Circuit Court to revoke the probation of a former Community Presence caregiver. In 2008, Matthew Bortles and Brandon Starostka were indicted in Carter Circuit Court in connection with the death of Michael Price, a mentally handicapped adult from Danville who was under the care of and resided at Community Presence Inc. On Oct. 14, 2007, Bortles laid on the victim’s back for more than 30 minutes using an improper restraint.

David Hacker, 51, was scheduled for a jury trial last Wednesday morning but ended up accepting a plea deal from County Attorney Daryl Day that would allow him to be a free man, but he hadn’t made it out of the courtroom before Day and others say he violated the rules of his probation causing Day to ask for a revocation hearing. Wednesday morning Hacker was scheduled to go on trial for making a terroristic threat against a high school senior at her home in Hustonville back in May. Kelsey Merriman told Hustonville Police Chief Fred McCoy that Hacker sneaked up on her from behind outside of her Danville Street home as she played with her dog in the yard.

STANFORD - A Lincoln County man accused of kidnapping his wife and neighbors at gunpoint and threatening their lives was sentenced to probation Friday in circuit court. Johnny Crowe, 37, of 206 Carter School Road, was arrested in August 2003 after state police say he beat his wife and burned her on a hot stove, held several neighbors inside their trailer at gunpoint, and pointed a shotgun at the five people, cocking and uncocking the gun while aimed at their throats. Crowe was indicted in January on five counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, five counts of first-degree unlawful imprisonment and fourth-degree assault.

STANFORD - There will be no shock probation for Janssen D. Willhoit, who swindled thousands from three Stanford residents, a judge ruled Friday. "He goes to prison. That's the bottom line," said Mitchell Berryman, Willhoit's attorney. Willhoit, 25, of Lexington, is serving 10 years in prison for creating a phony investment company to dupe investors, including Stanford Mayor Eddie Carter and City Councilwoman Jamie Leigh, out of approximately $95,000. No city money was involved in the investments.

LIBERTY - A Casey County man found guilty of vote buying has been placed on probation, circuit court records show. Edgar Joe Ellis, of Ky. 78, was sentenced Monday in Casey Circuit Court to one year in jail on each of four counts of vote buying with the sentences to run concurrently. Circuit Judge James G. Weddle then probated the sentence for five years. Ellis, who was accused of paying $5 and whiskey for votes in the school board election in November 2004, was found guilty Nov. 9, 2005, by a jury.

LANCASTER ? Though he had received about 50 letters supporting Dwayne Nave, Garrard Circuit Hunter Daugherty was not moved Friday to grant the former emergency management director shock probation. "It is unusual to have so many letters in support, but I don't want to tamper with the deal arranged by prosecutors for the reasons state previously," Daugherty told David Marshall, Nave's attorney. Nave was sentenced to five years in prison in July after pleading guilty to reckless homicide in the 2007 death of Willard Quinn of Parksville.

A man who crashed into a motorized wheelchair while running from the police this summer was sentenced to probation, provided he completes a drug treatment program. Shelby W. Banks, 29, of Paris, was facing four years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges last month for the summer pursuit. In October, Banks pleaded guilty to all charges including two counts of possession of a controlled substance, fleeing or evading police, wanton endangerment, possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended operator's license.

A couple who set their home on fire to avoid payments were sentenced to probation Thursday, so they can continue working and paying off their mortgage. Arlie and Britta Younce, 20 and 21-years-old respectively, pleaded guilty a month ago to attempted second-degree arson and criminal facilitation for their roles in the April 21 fire at their home on North Main Street. Thursday afternoon, their pleas and lack of criminal records won both of them probation. The amount of restitution hasn't been determined, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Heidi Engel and the Younces' attorney Carl Gibson said.

LANCASTER ? Garrard Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty denied shock probation Friday for former Emergency Management director Dwayne Nave, who has served only three months of a five-year sentence for reckless homicide. Granting probation to Nave after such a short time in jail would "undo the seriousness of the offense," Daugherty said. "I look at this case with sadness," the judge said. "A lot of it was bad luck. The defendant could have been the victim and vice versa. " Nave initially was charged with murder for killing Willard Quinn of Parksville in a crash on U.S. 27 near Bryantsville in 2007.

The following people were booked into the Jessamine County Detention Center between April 22 and April 23, 2013, according to jail records: April 22 • Nicholas Morath, 26, charged with public intoxication with a controlled substance • Lori Perry, 38, charged with probation violation • Hugh Peel, 48, on a warrant and charged with non-payment of fines • Joseph Cooper, 27, charged with theft by unlawful taking - shoplifting, two...

A woman will serve three years on probation after setting her apartment on fire minutes before she was due to be evicted. Sondra K. Jones, 38, pleaded guilty in February to one count of second-degree arson and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. She was arrested in August 2011 for allegedly setting her apartment at 2110 Dover Court on fire in what she called a failed suicide attempt. Two other people were in the neighboring apartment at the time, but no one was injured.

The following cases were resolved in Clark Circuit Court Feb. 14 with Judge Jean Chenault Logue presiding. - Joshua N. Anders, probation revocation, sentenced to five years. - Ronnie D. Williams Jr., probation revocation, sentenced to three years. - Ashley N. Arnett, probation revocation, stipulated to probable cause, sentenced to one year. -  Larry Scott Minniear, probation violation, stipulated to violation, sentenced to one year. - James Tyler Wells, first-degree burglary (two counts)

The following people were booked into the Jessamine County Detention Center on Feb. 11, 2013, according to jail records: • Marcus Anderson, 21, charged with failure to appear • Jamie Overpeck, 38, charged with failure to appear • Paul Schember, 66, charged with third-degree criminal trespassing • Terence Stapleton, 22, charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place and probation violation