Covington police jail man accused of chase

        Covington police have arrested a Northern Kentucky man who led police on a wild chase earlier this week that ended in Cincinnati.

        Troy Allen Harper, 36, of Newport is being held at the Campbell County jail.

        He is accused of running from police after ramming a police cruiser on Interstate 275 in Campbell County while driving on a suspended license with a flat tire.

        Police arrested Mr. Harper 6:30 p.m. Monday at 4505 Huntington Ave. in Covington. He is being held at the Campbell County jail.

        Bond had not been set as of Tuesday afternoon.

TIPPY AND TUNES: Korie Julick, 9, of Crittenden, pets Tippy, a 2-year-old wire-haired terrier, while her mother plays in the Florence Community Band. The Tuesday performance in Presidents Park was the first in a series of 12, kicking off Edgewood's 2001 summer concert series. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Highland Heights police Sgt. David Lawson joined Taylor Mill police in chasing a car eastbound on the interstate at about 2:40 a.m. Monday.

        Sgt. Lawson entered the highway at the I-471 interchange in front of the fleeing car, which was going 60 mph on a flat tire.

        Mr. Harper is charged with ramming Mr. Lawson's cruiser near the Combs-Hehl Bridge over the Ohio River.

        The car chase ended, police said, after Mr. Lawson exited the interstate in Ohio by going the wrong way on an entrance ramp at Kellogg Avenue.

        Cincinnati police later found the abandoned car, registered to Mr. Harper. Inside the car was Mr. Harper's mobile phone.
       

Authorities want to ID victims on videotapes

        LOUISVILLE — Police investigating a rape suspect who is accused of posing as an officer have discovered videotapes showing the man having sex with at least a dozen more women.

        The videotapes appear to portray nonconsensual sex between the women and 35-year-old Byron A. Bradford, said Louisville Police Capt. Steve Thompson. But none of the women has reported a rape, he said.

        “We have the evidence. We want the victims,” Capt. Thompson said Tuesday during a news conference to appeal to victims to come forward.

        West Memphis, Ark., police found the videotapes during a search of Bradford's Toyota on May 30, police said.

        They were in a hidden compartment under a spare tire in the trunk, Capt. Thompson said.

        The 10 videotapes show 12 different women engaged in sexual acts with Mr. Bradford at either a warehouse location or his Louisville apartment, Capt. Thompson said.

        They were recorded sometime between July 1999 and September 2000 when he was living in Louisville, Capt. Thompson said.
       

Literacy goal in Ky. elusive, governor says

        LOUISVILLE — The goal of getting all Kentuckians to a sufficient level of literacy remains elusive, Gov. Paul Patton told a Governor's Literacy Summit audience Tuesday.

        The meeting sponsored by a consortium of education agencies and groups drew educators, advocates and community representatives.

        Kentucky's future economy and the public's well-being depend on education and a higher literacy rate, Mr. Patton said. Yet an estimated 1 million Kentuckians read poorly or not at all.
       

Madison Co. theft ring broken up, police say

        RICHMOND — Several juveniles as young as 14 and one adult have been held by police in connection with a countywide theft ring that netted up to 7,000 CDs, stereo equipment and other items.

        “These were young professionals. I guess that would be the best way to describe them,” said Richmond Police Chief Charles DeBord. “They were pretty well organized.”

        No names were released.

        More arrests are pending, Chief DeBord said. The ring apparently involved up to 10 people — ranging in age from 14 to about 20 — from various parts of Richmond and Madison County, he said.

        Officers said a group of thieves concentrated on unlocked cars in Madison County over about a two-month period, robbing up to 100 in a single night.

        They took thousands of CDs, pieces of stereo equipment and a few guns, police said.
       

Principal accused of sex with 11-year-old

        HAMMOND, Ind. — A judge denied bond to a former Baptist school principal accused of crossing state lines twice to have sex with an 11-year-old girl.

        William A. “Andy” Beith, 29, of Burns Harbor has been in custody since being arrested May 1 when Las Vegas police spotted him and the girl in a vehicle.

        His lawyers' request Tuesday for bond was rejected by U.S. Magistrate Andrew Rodovich.

        Mr. Beith was charged last week by a federal grand jury with two counts of crossing a state line with intent to engage in a sexual act with a person under the age of 12. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison on each count.

        The indictment alleges Mr. Beith went from Indiana to Michigan April 23-25 to have sex with the girl during a camp-out with the Liberty Baptist Academy.

        The second count alleges Mr. Beith had sex with the girl while they were on the run before arriving in Las Vegas.

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