Ralph Davis

ABINGDON, Va. — A Letcher County woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in a conspiracy to distribute meth in southwestern Virginia. Britia Noel Johnson, 40, of McRoberts, pleaded guilty back in March to conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of meth. Prosecutors say she would sell one- and two-pound quantities of meth for others to distribute in southwestern Virginia and that she introduced another person to a source for even larger quantities of drugs. Complicating matters for Johnson was an arrest for meth trafficking in Pike County in April, after she […]

by ROD MULLINSmedia.rodmullins@gmail CLINTWOOD, Va. — Public safety, recreation and long-term planning took center stage Tuesday evening as the Dickenson County Board of Supervisors approved more than a dozen actions ranging from new rescue squad equipment and library improvements to the creation of two new advisory committees designed to shape the county’s future. Meeting on July 28, supervisors unanimously approved several grant applications totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency equipment, authorized major capital improvements, established a county Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and appointed members to a newly formed Energy Opportunity Committee. The nearly four-hour meeting reflected what county […]

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — The former chief safety officer for Floyd County Schools has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, saying the board violated whistleblower protections by punishing him for reporting a child exploitation case, then kept him in the dark about another case. Thomas Gearheart filed his complaint Thursday in Floyd Circuit Court against the Floyd County Board of Education, Supt. Tonya Horne-Williams and all five members of the school board. Gearheart alleges that on March 24, 2025, he became aware of allegations that a minor student had exposed herself by telephone to an adult male while on a school bus. […]

LONDON, Ky. — Trial dates have been set for three Floyd County men who were arrested this week on child exploitation charges. Former school bus driver Andrew Lewis, 40, of Prestonsburg, is charged with online enticement. He is accused of attempting to persuade a student to engage in sexual activity back in March. The charge carries a potential sentence of anywhere between 10 years and life in prison. During his initial appearance in London federal court on Wednesday, a trial date was set for Sept. 29. He will also be back in court Monday for a detention hearing to determine […]

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A Floyd County murder case that has already taken more than seven years to go to trial will now take more than eight, after the trial was delayed once again on Friday. Wesley Glenn Martin, 51, is charged with murder for the February 2019 shooting death of Jordan Christopher Tackett, whose body was found buried in the front yard of Martin’s Wayland home. Martin was expected to go on trial Monday, but that has now been postponed until May 10. The issue was the prosecution’s notice on July 20 that it intended to call two witnesses who […]

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — Prestonsburg Police have arrested a man for engaging in sodomy with a minor. Jesse Dingsong Gent, 19, is charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy. According to the police report and arrest warrant, Gent is charged with engaging in sodomy with a 16-year-old boy over whom he was in a position of authority between July 8 and July 12. The charge is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Gent is being held without bond in the Floyd County Detention Center. The case was investigated by Prestonsburg Police Det. Dennis Hutchinson.

LINEFORK, Ky. – Kentucky State Police, Post 13 in Hazard is investigating a motorcycle collision that has claimed the life of a Letcher County man. Troopers and emergency medical personnel responded to the crash just after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, on Route 1103 at Linefork. The preliminary investigation indicates that a motorcycle operated by Charles Bentley, 67, of Linefork, traveled off the roadway and struck a tree. Bentley and his female passenger were treated at the scene before being airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center for treatment of injuries sustained in the collision. On Friday, Post 13 was notified by the […]

THEALKA, Ky. – One man is dead and another is in jail charged with murder, following a shooting in Johnson County. Kentucky State Police responded Saturday to a residence on Main Camp Branch, where they located Richard Roberts, of River, unresponsive in the driveway of the residence. Roberts appeared to have been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Johnson County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary investigation indicates Blake Allen Webb, 27, of West Van Lear, allegedly shot Richard Roberts after a brief physical altercation. Webb then fled the scene in an unknown direction but was taken into custody a […]

CHICAGO — John M. Rosenberg, executive director emeritus of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD Legal Aid), has received the American Bar Association’s highest honor for lifetime achievement in the legal profession. Rosenberg was presented the 2026 ABA Medal during the association’s “Architects of Justice: Lawyers Advancing American Ideals 250th Anniversary Gala” on July 31 at the ABA Annual Conference in Chicago. The medal recognizes outstanding lifetime service to the law and jurisprudence. A Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States from Germany with his family, Rosenberg reflected on his journey during his acceptance remarks, describing his education […]

SALYERSVILLE, Ky. — A Magoffin County man faces a felony assault charge after being accused of beating his ex-wife with a wooden object and his fists. Kentucky State Police received a call Saturday afternoon reporting that a man and woman were in a physical altercation outside a home on Wright Upholstery Road. Before troopers arrived, however, the woman left to seek help at another residence. She was said to have severe injuries and was waiting for an ambulance. The man, identified as Brian Pennington, 53, also left before police arrived. When interviewed, the woman told police Pennington had hit her […]