Friday, July 21, 2000
Driver gets 10 years in teacher's death
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — Fort Thomas resident Jill Ott received the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison Thursday in Campbell Circuit Court for the death of schoolteacher Sue Schlarman last December.
Ms. Ott pleaded guilty June 6 to second-degree manslaughter, and Jack Porter, assistant commonwealth attorney for Campbell County, recommended the maximum sentence. Judge William Wehr followed the recommendation.
Ms. Ott, 33, was originally charged with murder for hitting Ms. Schlarmann, a teacher at Holy Cross High School in Latonia, with her car on Dec. 26 in front of Ms. Schlarman's home on Brentwood Place. Ms. Ott also lived on Brentwood.
Police said a test showed that Ms. Ott's blood alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.
Several members of the Schlarman family spoke before the sentencing Thursday. The family had agreed with Mr. Porter on the reduced charge.
Ms. Ott will be eligible for a parole hearing in two years.
Grand jury gets case of boy killed by car
NEWPORT — Phillip Bridges, charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 10-year-old Stephen Schroder, was bound over to the Campbell County grand jury on Thursday.
Mr. Bridges, 52, of Fort Thomas is accused of hitting the boy with his car as Stephen crossed Garrison Avenue in Fort Thomas near his home on June 28. The boy died a short time later at St. Luke Hospital East.
Fort Thomas Police Officer Michael Lehkamp, a certified accident reconstruction specialist, testified before Campbell District Court Judge Karen Thomas Thursday that skid marks left by Mr. Bridges' car showed he was traveling at least 40 mph. The posted speed limit on Garrison is 25 mph.
Officer Lehkamp said Mr. Bridges told him at the scene that the boy ran out in front of him. Garrison is a one-way street with parking permitted on both sides.
He also said Mr. Bridges told him the boy ran out from the left side of the street, although witnesses insisted he ran from the right side. Officer Lehkamp said no one saw the car hit the child.
Defense attorney Robert Carran emphasized that Mr. Bridges was certain the boy entered the path of the car from the left side, which would account for the injuries on the right side of the boy's body. Officer Lehkamp also agreed that it was likely Stephen came from behind a parked car into the middle of the street.
Attorney indicted on drug charges
LOUISVILLE — A Louisville defense attorney was indicted Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury on drug-possession charges, accused of accepting marijuana and morphine as payment.
John T. Rankin, 55, is charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Originally, Mr. Rankin also faced charges of drug trafficking and trafficking near a school.
Prosecutor Alex Dathorne said he decided not to pursue drug trafficking charges because the two possession charges were more appropriate.
Mr. Rankin was arrested Monday and released on his own recognizance. The charge of possession of a controlled substance is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail.
Mr. Rankin is scheduled for arraignment next week in Jefferson Circuit Court.
Bill fighting drugs in Appalachia OK'd
WASHINGTON — A $288 billion defense bill passed Wednesday by the U.S. House includes $3.6 million for National Guard drug-countering activities in the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
The area includes 40 counties in eastern Kentucky and parts of Tennessee and West Virginia. The provision for the funding was added to the defense bill by U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
The main thrust of the bill provides a pay raise for men and women in uniform and better health benefits next year. The bill also includes the creation of new brigades to send to the world's trouble spots and $100 billion to buy weapons and other equipment sought by the Pentagon.
Police probe death of man shot in leg
IRVINE, Ky. — Authorities are investigating how an Estill County man died, apparently from an accidental gunshot wound to his leg.
Kenneth Ray Turner, 37, of Irvine, was found dead Tuesday night in a van parked in front of his girlfriend's house, said county Coroner John Toler. Mr. Turner had a wound in his left leg from a .357 Magnum.
Auctioneer accused of not paying clients
MAYFIELD, Ky. — A former auctioneer will be sentenced Aug. 7 on charges he failed to pay clients money he collected on sales of their property.
C.W. Shelton, 60, entered an Alford plea Monday in Graves Circuit Court to three counts of failing to make required disposition of property. Special Prosecutor Tim Kaltenbach recommended a sentence of two years on one count and one year on each of the other two counts.
Mr. Shelton is also scheduled to be sentenced on similar charges in Marshall, Calloway and McCracken counties.
Under an Alford plea, Mr. Shelton doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges that enough evidence exists for a conviction. Earlier this month, Mr. Shelton entered the same pleas to four felony charges in Marshall County and one in Calloway County.
He will be sentenced on those charges and in Graves County on Aug. 7.
Mr. Shelton disappeared from western Kentucky on Oct. 4 and was arrested Nov. 2 at St. Simons Island, Ga., where he had taken out a multiple-month lease on a condominium at an upscale resort. He was found with $14,000 in cash.
DAYBOOK Kentucky events
Erlanger: Erlanger Parks and Recreation Free Friday Night Flick, 9 p.m., Stuart Little, Erlanger Railroad Park, Crescent Avenue. Newport: Art exhibit opening, “Sharing Forms of Expression, Past, Present and Future,” 6 to 10 p.m., The Artery, 913 Monmouth St.
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Clubhouse gutted, but pool to reopen
Driver gets 10 years in teacher's death
'Fly Jock' show free at Aronoff
Former OSU star Schlichter indicted
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Audit raps Lebanon for finances
Boy, 16, charged with murder
Cancer Society's resale store needs volunteers
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Taft, school-reform group meet
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Witness in fatal shooting recants
