The Associated Press

HAZARD - A Perry County grand jury member has been charged with attempting to trade confidential information about cases police presented to a panel in exchange for prescription pills.

Scott Shepherd, 32, of Big Creek, was charged with receiving a bribe, official misconduct and misuse of confidential information, said Perry County Commonwealth's Attorney John Hansen.

Kentucky State Police Detective Dan Smoot said investigators raiding a Hazard residence found a note allegedly written by Shepherd.

In the note offered to provide, in exchange for controlled substances, a list of cases that police presented to a Perry County grand jury, Smoot said.

The list contained the cases, names of suspects and exact amount of drugs purchased by investigators, Smoot said.

Shepherd was arrested Friday.

The person with whom Shepherd allegedly made the trade has not been arrested, but the investigation is continuing, Smoot said.

Hansen said Shepherd was chosen for grand jury service in February. He will be replaced by an alternate, Hansen said.

Shepherd was released from the Perry County jail on Monday after posting a $25,000 cash bond, a deputy jailer said.

Shepherd, a driver for a county-operated ambulance service, is at least the third public employee in the county to be charged with a criminal offense recently.

Arrested earlier were Calvin Sizemore, an evidence officer for the Hazard Police Department, and Frank Smith, a Perry County sheriff's deputy.

Sizemore's trafficking and theft charges in state court have been dropped, but federal charges are pending, officials said.

A Letcher County grand jury indicted Smith for theft after he allegedly received personal payment for the services of the Perry County sheriff's office drug dog.