Lisa Autry

Testimony begins Tuesday in the federal trial of Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton and two other officers charged with using excessive force on a suspect in custody and lying about it to federal investigators. 

Sheriff Eaton, Deputy Aaron Bennett, and Barren County Drug Task Force Detective Eric Guffey are accused of civil rights violations in the arrest of a methamphetamine suspect who led officers on a two-county car chase in 2010. 

The defense will argue the suspect, Billy Stinnett, was combative and the use of force appropriate for the situation. Among the expected witnesses is former Deputy Adam Minor who was originally facing the same charges, but pleaded guilty to one charge of making false statements to the FBI.  In a deal with prosecutors, Minor will testify against the sheriff and two other officers.  

The trial in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green is expected to last at least a week.

A deadly motorcycle crash early Monday morning in Warren County is under investigation.  

According to a Kentucky State Police news release, a Bowling Green police officer noticed the motorcycle operator driving recklessly on Lovers Lane.  The officer attempted a traffic stop but the motorcyclist refused to pull over and took off at a high rate of speed.  The operator lost control of the motorcycle and hit a rock fence on Ewing Ford Road. 

The driver was 22-year-old Timothy Madison of Bowling Green and his passenger was 24-year-old Sandrice Parker also of Bowling Green.  Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Four finalists vying for the presidency of Southern Kentucky Community and Technical College will visit the Bowling Green campus this week for interviews and public forums. 

Southern Kentucky Community and Technical College Provost Phillip Neal is the only in-house candidate. Dr. Lynn Moore from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon is Vice President for Administrative Services and Student Development. Dr. George Sehi is Executive Director of University Relations from the Warren and Butler County, Ohio Educational Service Centers, and Dr. Ralph Sony is the publisher and editor of the North Carolina Community College Journal. 

Current Southern Kentucky Community and Technical College President Nathan Hodges is retiring after eight years at the helm. Under his leadership, the school change its named from Bowling Green Technical College to reflect an expansion of the school’s offerings and reach. 

Hodges’ successor will be named by July first.

Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton, a deputy sheriff, and a detective go on trial Monday on charges of civil rights violations and lying to federal investigators.  The case stems from a 2010 arrest in which the three officers were accused of using excessive force. 

Jury selection begins Monday at 9:00am in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green for Sheriff Chris Eaton, Deputy Aaron Bennett, and Barren-Edmonson County Drug Task Force Detective Eric Guffey. 

According to the federal indictment, a 13-year old girl was at a Glasgow church on the night of February 24, 2010, when she looked out the window and saw suspect Billy Randall Stinnett struggling with the local sheriff and several deputies. 

In testimony to the FBI, the girl and four other teenagers present say they saw Eaton and the deputies beating Stinnett to the point where they thought he was being murdered. 

A financially troubled school district in southern Kentucky has voted to merge with the county school system. 

The Monticello school board approved a plan Monday night that calls for merging with the Wayne County School District, effective July 1st. 

Monticello schools went under state management in February after borrowing more than a million dollars from the state just to keep its three schools open for the rest of the academic year. 

The Wayne County School Board has called a special meeting Tuesday night and members are expected to sign off on the merger.