Public Defender

Charles "Chuck" Girdler, fired last year from his job as a deputy jailer at the Lincoln Regional Jail, pleaded guilty April 11 to second-degree sex abuse. Girdler, 46, of Somerset, had consensual sex with a female prisoner in the jail on Sept. 10. Girdler was sentenced to six months in jail, probated for two years on the condition he serve 30 days in a jail of his choice at his own expense. He also will be listed among Kentucky's 6,245 registered sex offenders. Represented by public defender Elizabeth Kidd, Girdler has tried to plea bargain his way out of the sex-abuse charge to avoid having to register as a sex offender.

Two Stanford men charged in recent Boyle County robberies will have their cases go before a grand jury after appearances Thursday in Boyle District Court. Curtis Hampton, 44, was charged with second-degree robbery for allegedly stealing a purse from an elderly woman in a wheel chair last week at the Danville Wal-Mart. Following a preliminary hearing on the case Thursday, District Judge Jeff Dotson held the case to the grand jury. The case of Matthew Bruner, 24, accused of using a BB gun to rob the Junction City Express Shell last weekend, also is heading to the grand jury after the public defender assigned to represent him waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

Bond was set at $100,000 for a Eubank man who is charged with the attempted rape of two juveniles. Juan P. Lopez, 20, 4510 Ky. 70, was arrested last Thursday and charged with two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of unlawful transaction with a minor less than 18 years of age. Police say Lopez picked up two juveniles after school and took them to his residence and forced them to have sexual contact with him for four hours, while at...

LANCASTER - A couple charged with robbing Central Kentucky Federal Savings Bank did not appear Monday in Garrard Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing, and are rescheduled to appear at 9 a.m. next Monday. Ralph Cain, 39, and Jessica Herrin, 25, both of Louisville, entered pleas of not guilty last week and requested public defenders. Only one public defender was available Monday when the hearing was to be held, causing the hearing to be delayed. Police say Cain walked into the Lancaster bank last Tuesday, brandished a handgun and demanded money.

LANCASTER - Sentencing for Owen Ray Gadd, 49, of Richmond, will be held in Garrard Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on Oct. 21. Gadd was found guilty Tuesday of sodomizing a 7-year-old boy twice, in 2001 and 2002, while he resided in Lancaster. The jury convicted Gadd of two counts of first-degree sodomy and recommended two consecutive life sentences on Tuesday. Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty will weigh the jury's recommendation but is not obliged to follow it when he imposes Gadd's sentence in October.

STANFORD - A man accused of giving two minors marijuana before raping them pleaded not guilty in Lincoln Circuit Court Friday and was appointed a public defender. Johnny D. Watson, 34, of 2671 Hurricane Ridge Road, Waynesburg, faces two counts of first-degree rape with serious physical injury, two counts of first-degree sodomy and two counts of unlawful transaction with a minor. Watson was arrested Wednesday, two years after a criminal complaint was filed by Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy Ron Luster.

STANFORD - A Stanford couple pleaded not guilty Monday in District Court to charges of manufacturing methamphetamine at their Blue Lick Road residence while two young children were in the house. Roger A. Wilson, 32, and Juanita D. Wilson, 29, both of 3831 Blue Lick Road, were arrested Sunday shortly before midnight by state police after an anonymous tipster identified the house as a possible meth lab. State Police Trooper Bill Collins said he knocked on the door at the home and was granted permission to enter the residence.

LANCASTER - Sentencing was held in Garrard County Circuit Court on Friday for Jeremy Decker, 21, of Kennedy Bridge Road. Decker previously pleaded guilty to second degree rape, sexual misconduct and unlawful transaction with a minor (second and third degree). Decker was sentenced to serve 60 days of his two-year sentence in the Lincoln County Regional Jail, with the balance probated. He was fined a total of $620.50. According to court reports, in June of 2002, Decker was 18 years old and knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old minor.

HARRODSBURG - A couple who were caught on surveillance tape last December stealing Christmas gifts were sentenced Tuesday in Mercer Circuit Court. Joseph and Rebecca Wilson were caught on tape as they burglarized the home of the Bruce Ashford family on Sexton Lane. Personal items and electronics, all valued at more than $1,400, were taken. Joseph Wilson pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, theft by unlawful taking over $300 and second-degree persistent felony offender charges.