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Man Shot At Lexington Apartment Complex Overnight

A man was shot at a Lexington apartment complex Thursday night.

Police say witnesses reported people knocking on windows at the Sonic Cove Apartments on Lake Tower Drive around 10:15 p.m. When the victim went outside to see what was going on, he was shot in the stomach. EMS transported him to UK Hospital. His condition is not known.

Family members say the victim is a grandfather in his mid-40's, but police have not confirmed the identity of the man shot.

Police say witnesses reported possible suspects driving away in a silver colored car. Officer took witnesses to police headquarters for questioning, but have not made any arrests.

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What We are Working On

It's Friday!

Hurricane Earl is getting closer. A look at the path he's expected to take and what our Holiday weekend forecast will be as well.

Also, a man is shot at a LEX apartment complex- Courtney Fischer will update us with a LIVE report.

Some KY offices are closed in an effort to save the state money.

They're calling it a fire not an explosion on the latest Gulf oil rig.

And, find out what items are best to buy in September!

Join Chris, Nicole, Tom & Lee for "LEX 18 News at Sunrise" starting at 5AM!

 

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Former Kentucky Resident Accused In Gruesome Florida Murder

A man who used to live in Greenup County is behind bars in St. Johns County Florida, accused of the most heinous crime the sheriff there says he's ever seen.

"How anybody could mutilate somebody to that degree is beyond me," said Sheriff David Shoar, of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Department.

He said, not only did former Greenup County resident Timothy Dale Rose kill his girlfriend, 48 year old Jan Dunn Keller, but he decapitated her, dismembered her, and buried her body parts in an undeveloped section of the subdivision where the couple lived.

Keller was a third grade teacher in the area, and her coworkers got suspicious and called police when she didn't show up for the first day of school last week. Last Tuesday, investigators found Rose slumped on top of a shotgun inside the couple's home, suffering from an apparent drug overdose. They also spotted a rolled up tarp in the garage. After obtaining a search warrant, they found part of Keller's  body inside.

Deputies found a shovel with fresh dirt on it in Rose's pickup. Investigators say he's been talkative but not particularly helpful. Meanwhile, the Putnam County School District where Keller worked is grieving a devastating loss.

"She was just a really really nice person and they all took it quite hard for a tragedy like this. Especially the brutalization that she endured," said Media Relations Officer Kevin Kelshaw of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.

Kelshaw says Rose has been arrested by the sheriff's department there three separate times in the past three years-twice for domestic issues between him and his former wife, and once for aggrivated battery of two people at his work. He is being held in the St. Johns County jail without bond.

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Drought Declared For Parts Of Western Kentucky

FRANKFORT (AP) - Two dozen western Kentucky counties have been declared drought management areas by state officials after water supply levels dropped to dangerous levels.
     
The Office of the State Climatologist and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet issued a Level I Drought Declaration on Thursday.

The affected counties are: Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Ballard, McCracken, Graves, Marshall, Calloway, Livingston, Crittenden, Lyon, Caldwell, Hopkins, Trigg, Christian, Muhlenberg, Todd, Union, Webster, Henderson, McLean, Daviess, Hancock and Ohio.

Officials say a Level I drought indicates moderate drought conditions have developed, with soil moisture and vegetative health affected.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Kentucky May Put Hunting Rights On Ballot

FRANKFORT (AP) - Lifelong hunter Bill Haycraft of Kentucky sees his treasured outdoors heritage under siege and in need of constitutional protection from animal rights advocates.
     
He's one of many hunters backing a "right-to-hunt" amendment that's expected to be on his state's 2012 ballot.

Kentucky is just the latest in a long line of states that have passed or are considering right-to-hunt measures to head off a feared hunting ban.

Animal rights activists, however, say it's all unnecessary.

"It's a solution in search of a problem," said Michael Markarian, chief operating officer for The Humane Society of the United States. "These measures don't accomplish anything."

Hunting advocates in at least five states, responding to pressure from outdoors enthusiasts like Haycraft and the gun lobby, are pushing for constitutional protections for hunting. The National Rifle Association wants to get the pre-emptive amendment in place quickly, before animal rights groups can persuade a majority of Americans that hunting is bad.
     
Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina and Tennessee have right-to-hunt referendums on the ballot this year, and Kentucky, inspired by the other states, is poised to follow in 2012.

Such constitutional guarantees are already in place in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

All of those states, except Vermont, have adopted the constitutional amendments over the past 15 years. Vermont's amendment dates back to 1777.

Haycraft, president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, said he learned to hunt from his father. He, in turn, introduced his own son and later his grandson to the activity, stalking deer and other game. To Haycraft, hunting is a family heritage, dating back generations. He believes it's threatened by animal rights groups that want to make shooting animals illegal.
     
"They have lots of money," said Haycraft, president of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen. "They're highly educated. And if they can swing it with the legislatures, they will do it."

Animals rights groups have pressed for restrictions on hunting in several states, including Kentucky where they tried to stop bear season from opening last year and in Minnesota this year where they
pushed to ban dove hunting.

The right-to-hunt measures would ensure that hunting could never be outlawed without a statewide vote of the people.

"The threat is very real," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. "These folks want to make hunting a crime."     

In Defense of Animals President Scotlund Haisley said NRA and other pro-hunting groups are attempting "a backdoor approach" that would "open the floodgates for more bloodshed, more poaching, greater incidence of non-target species being trapped or snared."
     
"As compassion towards animals continues to grow in American society, a greater sense of respect for wildlife and their protection has become an increased focus," Haisley said. "killing wildlife for sport and in hopes of adding another mounted head on the wall is a disgrace to that end."

The right-to-hunt amendments, which generally give citizens "the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife" subject to existing laws and regulations, are backed by a loose nationwide alliance of hunting and gun advocacy groups.

"Every organization, both national and state, involved in hunting rights is involved in pushing this, and the gun rights lobby as a whole is in favor of it," said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, Wash., which also has signed on. "Protecting any form of gun rights is obviously in our interest."
     
Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo said he's confident the Kentucky Legislature will put the proposed amendment on the ballot, and it will be overwhelmingly approved by voters. Hunting and
fishing, he said, are by the far the most popular sports in Kentucky.

Since the days of frontiersman Daniel Boone, said Stumbo, Kentucky "has been the happy hunting ground," and he said residents want to keep it that way.

The initiatives add an element that could boost voter turnout. However, Western Kentucky University political scientist Scott Lasley said hunting has such bipartisan support that it wouldn't serve as an effective wedge issue between conservatives and liberals in the states where it's on the ballot.

Arulanandam said anti-hunting groups clearly don't yet have the political influence to defeat the amendments or to ban hunting, but that could change in the future.

"It's not a gamble we're willing to take at this point in time," he said. "The reason we're pushing this is we've seen an increase in the last decade or so of very well-funded efforts by anti-hunting groups and extremists to ban hunting. They're using a very smart approach to incrementally ban hunting."
     
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Retail Sales Better Than Expected In August

NEW YORK (AP) - American shoppers, taking advantage of deep discounts and tax-free holidays, opened up their wallets a little more for back-to-school spending compared with last year, giving
some retailers better-than expected gains for August.

The results provided a sliver of hope for the recovery amid an unrelenting batch of bad news, from slumping home prices and high unemployment, that have pointed to a stalling economy and set up
dire expectations for the back-to-school shopping season. Still, the retailers' gains mask underlying weakness in consumer spending as they're being compared with declines a year ago and worries
still abound about the critical holiday season.
     
Shoppers remain selective and are focusing on the necessities, a trend that is expected to continue through at least the holiday shopping season.

The International Council of Shopping Centers's index of 31 major retailers was up 3.2 percent in August, following a 2.8 percent gain in July. August's figure was a little better than the 3 percent increase forecast but is being compared with a 2.0 percent drop a year ago.

The figures are based on revenue at stores opened at least a year, considered a key measurement of retailer health because it excludes the effects of stores that open or close during the year.

In fact, spending on many nonessentials such as fashions is still below 2008 and are roughly equal to five years ago, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which tracks all
transactions including checks.

"We'll finish with an OK back-to-school season, but that's being compared with two back-to-back seasons of declines," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at International Council of
Shopping Centers. "The overall retail industry isn't seeing enough (sales) lift to bring with it the entire industry."

As retailers reported results Thursday, Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a robust gain, boosted by higher gas prices and improved international revenue. Limited Brands Inc. and Macy's Inc. also had
solid revenue increases. Still, a number of clothing stores such as Aeropostale Inc. and Gap Inc. had weak results. Target Corp.'s results came in below expectations.

Retailers, including many teen merchants, aggressively promoted jeans and other fashions in July as they sought to lure jittery shoppers in the stores. Tax-free holidays in nearly 20 states also
helped attract customers.But still shoppers focusing on replenishing items and relentlessly hot weather depressed shoppers' appetite for buying fall items.

The Conference Board's monthly survey, released Tuesday, showed shoppers feeling slightly more optimistic in August than July - but not more than a year ago. And there's no reason in sight for them
to feel better soon.

Home sales are plunging, and consumers are saving more and spending less as the unemployment rate remains stuck at almost 10 percent. The Labor Department is expected to report the fourth
straight month of tepid job gains in the private sector on Friday.

"Consumers are buying what they absolutely need and are being very careful about it," said retail consultant Emanual Weintraub.

Costco said that revenue at stores open at least a year increased 7 percent in August, buoyed by higher gas prices and improved international revenue.

This topped the 4.2 percent rise analysts expected, according to by Thomson Reuters. But fourth-quarter and full-year revenue missed Wall Street expectations.

Target said sales of back-to-school items and food helped revenue in stores open at least a year rise 1.8 percent in August. But the discount retailer's results fell just short of expectations
for a 2 percent increase. Food, health care and beauty items were the strongest sellers. Electronics and home decorations were weaker.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. no longer reports revenue at stores opened a least a year on a monthly basis.

Limited, operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, posted a 10 percent gain in August. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected the figure to rise 7.3 percent.

Gap said its key sales figure rose was flat in August, helped by better results at its Banana Republic chain.

Among department stores, Macy's said revenue rose in August as back-to-school shopping helped the company top Wall Street forecasts. Revenue from locations open at least a year rose 4.3
percent during the month.

J.C. Penney Co. had a 2.3 percent increase. Overall, men's and children's apparel were the top performing merchandise divisions during the month. Kohl's Corp.'s reoprted a better-than-expected
4.5 percent gain on strong sales of home and men's merchandise, and footwear.

Among teen retailers, Aeropostale Inc., hurt by the aggressive discounting at competitor Abercrombie & Fitch Co., struggled with a 1 percent decline, missing analysts' expectations of a 1.2 percent gain. The company said it had better results in peak back-to-school regions, showing shoppers are buying more close to when they need the items.

Abercrombie reported a 6 percent increase, slightly ahead of analysts' estimates for a 5.9 percent gain. But what helped drive business was a generous 40 percent discount, analysts say.
     
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Head Of Charity Won't Apologize For Buying Luxury Suites

LOUISVILLE (AP) - The head of a Louisville-based nonprofit that runs inmate halfway houses says he will not apologize for spending tens of thousands of dollars on sports luxury suites because tax dollars were not used.

Ray Weis, CEO of Dismas Charities Inc., said Thursday the company paid for the suites at the University of Louisville basketball and football venues using investment income.

Dismas gets virtually all of its revenue from the federal government and the state of Kentucky.

Board chairman James Simon told The Courier-Journal the company has invited state Auditor Crit Luallen to review the suite leases.

The Courier-Journal has reported Dismas spent $92,000 to lease a luxury suite at Louisville's new downtown arena and $45,000 for a suite at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
  
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Prosecutor: Cincinnati Cop Who Ran Over Homeleses Woman Did Nothing Wrong

CINCINNATI (AP) - A prosecutor has determined a Cincinnati police officer won't face felony charges for driving his cruiser over a woman in a park, fatally injuring her.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Thursday that a review of all the evidence shows no "reckless" conduct that would support felony charges under Ohio law.

Deters says in a release that witnesses said it was impossible to see JoAnn Burton under the blanket covering her as she slept in the park July 27. The prosecutor says Officer Marty Polk had driven
his vehicle off the paved roadway when he ran over Burton but that officers often have to drive on the grass to fully check the park.

The Hamilton County coroner ruled Burton's death from blunt force trauma as accidental.
     
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Burglar Hits Several Businesses In Office Complex Near Fayette Mall

Police in Lexington say a busy thief hit a string of businesses along East Reynolds Road not far from the Fayette Mall.

Police say the burglaries happened at several different business sometime lat Wednesday or early Thursday in an office complex. They say several thousands of dollars in camera equipment was stolen from Studio Walz, and other businesses are dealing with break-in damage.

One of the business owners says a neighbor saw someone casing the office building on Sunday and that person could be responsible.

The owner of a psychiatrist's office said the filing cabinet with her patients information had been ransacked, but that none of the files were missing.

The neighbor who saw someone casing the building was able to give police a description. So far, no arrests have been made.

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Level 1 Drought Declared In 24 Western Kentucky Counties

The Office of the State Climatologist and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, in coordination with the Kentucky Drought Mitigation Team (KDMT), are issuing a Level I Drought Declaration for three drought management areas (DMAs) in western Kentucky.

Counties within the Level I drought declaration areas include:

Purchase DMA:  Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Ballard, McCracken, Graves, Marshall, Calloway
Pennyrile DMA:  Livingston, Crittenden, Lyon, Caldwell, Hopkins, Trigg, Christian, Muhlenberg, Todd
Green River DMA: Union, Webster, Henderson, McLean, Daviess, Hancock, Ohio

A Level I drought indicates moderate drought conditions have developed primarily affecting soil moisture and vegetative health. Serious impacts to agricultural water needs, wildfire risk and other water-sensitive sectors can be expected in the designated areas.

Most of Kentucky’s potable water supply sources are currently at acceptable levels. Streamflows are generally low but within a normal range for September. Isolated areas of serious low flow have been observed in the middle and upper Green River and Salt River basins, including Rolling Fork in Nelson County, Pond Creek in Jefferson County and West Fork Drakes Creek in Simpson County.

Drought conditions have been developing in western Kentucky with precipitation totals of only 50 to 60 percent of normal for several consecutive months.  Areas to the east have also developed abnormally dry conditions in pockets due to the isolated nature of summertime thunderstorms. 

The long-term outlook and seasonal climatology suggest the likelihood of continued drought in the west and expansion of the dry pockets eastward.  Persistent drought increases the likelihood of adverse impacts to potable water sources, livestock feed and water sources, and urban landscapes. The Kentucky Drought Management Team will continue to monitor drought development and advise the public of changes in Kentucky’s drought status.

The state Drought Mitigation and Response Plan defines a tiered approach to classifying drought severity using multiple “indicators” to assess the intensity and location of developing drought. These indicators include the Drought Monitor, Palmer Drought Index, Crop Moisture Index  and precipitation and streamflow measurements.

More information about drought declaration criteria can be found in the Kentucky Drought Mitigation and Response Plan at http://water.ky.gov/wa/Pages/DroughtMitigationRAC.aspx.

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Judge Denies Motion To Stop Furloughs For State Workers

FRANKFORT (AP) - One day before state workers must take the first of six furlough days this fiscal year, a judge has blocked an attempt to halt the mandatory time off.
      
Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip J. Shepherd ruled Thursday against a request for a temporary injunction that would have kept corrections officers and social workers at their jobs while other workers were furloughed.
      
Shepherd did keep the door open for the six plaintiffs to amend their lawsuit, and denied the state's motion to dismiss the case.
      
Gov. Steve Beshear furloughed 36,000 state workers for six days during the fiscal year to save $24 million. Limited exceptions to the furloughs have already been approved for critical public safety and mental health care positions.
      
Several hundred political appointees in state government have been laid off, saving $5 million.
      
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Feds Shut Down Company Involved In I-65 Crash That Killed 11

LOUISVILLE (AP) - Federal regulators have ordered an Alabama trucking company shut down less than six months after one of its drivers slammed into a van on Interstate 65 in Kentucky killing 11 people.
     
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told Hester Inc., of Fayette, Ala., that it had to cease operations after failing to correct "critical" violations, including allowing drivers to operate trucks longer than allowed by law.
     
The order was issued in June, but was released to The Courier-Journal on Wednesday after the paper requested it through the Freedom of Information Act. Scott Hester, the owner of the company, declined to comment to the newspaper.
     
Truck driver Kenneth Laymon went across the median on I-65 near Munfordville on March 26, striking a van carrying Mennonites traveling to a wedding in Iowa. Two young children survived the crash.
    
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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Two Arrested In Danville For Passing Counterfeit Money

Danville police arrested two men for passing counterfeit money Wednesday.

Police received reports of somebody using counterfeit bills at several businesses, including Best Western, McDonald's, Huddle House and the Bluegrass Truck Stop. Officers got a description of the suspects and later spotted a vehicle matching the description at Taco Bell. Police stopped the vehicle on Hustonville Road and after further investigation arrested Eric Adkins and Jorge Ascencio Jr., both of Junction City.

Police charged the pair with four counts of theft by deception and 31 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Police continue to investigate.

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Arrest Made In Case Of Fake Kidnapping Note

Back in March, somebody left a note at a Bullitt County rest area claiming a kidnapping.

Turns out it was fake and now investigators have made an arrest in that case.

The note appeared to be written by two kids claiming they were taken by a man in a semi-truck.

On Wednesday, police arrested Thomas Napper, 37, and charged him with falsely reporting an incident.Officers say Napper admitted he made it all up to get back at a rest stop worker, who he says smarted off to him about parking in a handicapped space.

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Oral Arguments In Ragland Wrongful Death Suit Set To Begin

More than a decade after the death of a UK football player, the victim's family and the man who admitted shooting him are back in court.

The family of Trent DiGiuro won a wrongful death suit against Shane Ragland in 2008, but Ragland appealed the $63 million judgement. Family members say they believe there have been more than 50 hearings in the 15 years since DiGiuro was killed.

Ragland was convicted of murder in 2002, but the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 2006. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to second degree manslaughter and was sentenced to time served plus three days, according to a Herald Leader report.

Now 's family says they just wants some sense of justice.

"Our goal is to make him pay something every week. I don't want him to get off without doing something. I'd rather have a $100 a week. It doesn't bother me to spend 500 to get 100,"  Trent's father Mike DiGiuro said.

Oral arguments begin in Franklin County on Thursday.

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Traffic Stop Turns Into Police Chase

A routine traffic stop turned into a police chase in Lexington early Thursday morning.

Police say an officer tried to pull over a driver for reckless driving and suspected DUI near Liberty Road and Fortune Drive. But instead of pulling over, the driver took off. Police gave chase, pursuing the suspect onto I-75 and I-64. Officers finally called off he chase and the suspect escaped.

Police continue to investigate and work to track down that driver.

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Teen Crashes Car In Scott County

Deputies say a 16-year-old is lucky to be alive after he took his brother's car and then crashed it early Thursday morning.

The accident happened along the 1400 block of US-25 in Scott County around 3 a.m. Sheriff's deputies say the teen lost control of the car, left the roadway and plowed through a fence, coming to a stop a couple of hundred yards away. A fence plank actually impaled the driver's side of the car.

The teen escaped any serious injury.

Deputies say they suspect the boy was driving under the influence.

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Police Arrest Man With Gun After Fight

Lexington police arrested a man with a gun after a domestic fight Wednesday night.

Police say Joshua Bowen got into a fight with his wife at a home along Daniel Court. The woman left the house and called police, and when officers arrived, they saw Bowen inside the house with a gun. Dispatchers were able to contact Bowen and officers made the arrest without incident.

Bowen faces multiple charges.

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Person Killed By Train

A person was killed by a train in Richmond early Thursday morning.

Richmond firefighters say the train hit a person sitting on the tracks where they cross Four Mile Road just after midnight.

Officials have not identified the victim and they say they don't know why the person was sitting on the tracks.

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Coming Up On LEX 18

Thursday!

Georgetown Police respond to an accident after a 16 year old boy apparently takes his brother's car without asking. That teen is lucky to be alive.

Also, a Harrison Co. toddler drowns in his family's pool.

The head of the Financial Reserve goes to Congress later today. He'll update us on the economy.

A new report says some women are breaking the glass ceiling; find out in what age group.

And, a former Miss KY tackles "The Amazing Race!"

Join Chris, Nicole, Kristie & Lee for "LEX 18 News at Sunrise" starting at 5.

 

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