News

By Dennis Brown

As local officials work with North Carolina officials to have a shooting suspect extradited back to Lewis County, a second suspect in what officials are calling an attempted “murder-for-hire” remains on house arrest at his Ashland home.

Gary H. Robinson, 62, appeared last week in Lewis County District Court for a preliminary hearing on the charges of complicity to commit first-degree assault. His case was bound over to the Lewis County Grand Jury.

Authorities believe Robinson hired Wesley B. Allen, 45, to shoot John Jamison, 47, at Jamison’s home on Montgomery Road. The shooting incident happened January 15.

Robinson was arrested just inside Greenup County later that same day and lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center. He was later released on $100,000 cash bond. As a condition of the release, he is to remain confined to his home.

Allen was arrested in Durham County, North Carolina, on January 24. Deputy Dwayne Stone, who is lead investigator in the case, said authorities in North Carolina reported Allen had facial injuries when he was apprehended.

Allen is under a $500,000 secured bond as a fugitive from another state in a Durham County jail while he awaits extradition proceedings.

Stone said Allen may have been injured when he and Jamison exchanged gunfire. “We recovered a blood sample at the scene which does not match that of the victim,” Stone said. “We will have it tested against a sample from the suspect to see if it matches.”

Sheriff Bill Lewis said the incident happened shortly before 9:00 a.m. on January 15. “We received a call about a shooting incident at the home of John and Dana Jamison on Montgomery Road,” he said.

He said the suspect reportedly knocked on the front door at the Jamison home and when Dana Jamison answered the door, he asked to speak with a person who was not at the home and then asked to speak with John Jamison.

Lewis said Dana Jamison warned her husband that something didn’t seem right about the visitor and he responded to the door with a .357 caliber pistol.

Lewis said John Jamison and the suspect fired at each other while Jamison was in the living room of the home and the suspect was on the front porch. He said Jamison was struck in the neck and upper torso by shots fired from the .40 caliber gun.

Lewis said after the shooting the suspect was seen fleeing south on Montgomery Road in a later model white Toyota Camry.

Lewis said Jamison reportedly fired five rounds at the

suspect. He added that Jamison was struck by seven of the ten bullets fired by the suspect. “We recovered 10 bullet casings from the .40 caliber gun,” Lewis said.

Lewis said initial reports were that Jamison had been struck by three bullets but family members later reported to him that Jamison had been struck seven times.

Jamison was taken to the mouth of Montgomery Road by his wife, where they met up with a MedCorp Ambulance which had been dispatched to that location on the AA Highway. Jamison was taken to Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, Ohio, where he underwent emergency surgery, Lewis said. Jamison was transferred to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, after he had been stabilized.

Lewis said Deputy Stone and Deputy Tom Polley soon developed several leads and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Robinson.

Lewis said Deputy Stone along with officers from the Greenup County Sheriff’s Department and Kentucky State Police were waiting for Robinson to arrive at a school in Greenup County on the afternoon of the day of the shooting. He said Robinson apparently saw the officers and didn’t pull into the school parking lot.

He was stopped a short time later by a KSP Trooper on Ky. Rt. 8 near the Lewis County line where he was arrested, Lewis said.

Allen was identified after a surveillance video showing Robinson and another man at a Greenup County convenience store was shown on WSAZ Television’s website.

“Within 30 minutes of the video being released, someone called in to the sheriff’s office and identified the man who was with Robinson,” Lewis said.

It is believed the two knew each other from their work, Lewis said.

Lewis said the video appeared to show Robinson hand the man some money.

He said local deputies worked with officials in North Carolina and obtained a warrant for Allen.

Lewis said SWAT teams there had approached two locations known to be frequented by Allen but were initially unable to locate him.

Probable cause was determined at Robinson’s preliminary hearing last week on the charge of complicity to commit first degree assault. His case will be bound over to the Lewis County Grand Jury.

Lewis said Robinson and Dana Jamison have a child together from a previous relationship.

Several candidates file before deadline

By Dennis Brown

Several candidates have filed to run in the May 2010 Primary Election in Lewis County.

January 26 was the last day to file as a candidate in the upcoming primary, although most candidates in Lewis County filed prior to the deadline.

Candidates who have filed for the local races are:

County Clerk - Glenda Himes, R

County Clerk - Charles Joe Hall, R

County Clerk - George Anderson, R

Judge Executive - Anita M. Gilbert, D

Judge Executive - Bill Tom Cooper, R

Judge Executive - Steve Applegate, R

Judge Executive - Tim Underwood, R

Judge Executive - Thomas H. Massie, R

Sheriff - Tim Walters, R

Sheriff - Johnny W. Bivens, R

Sheriff - Gary Corns, R

Sheriff - Joe Paul Gilbert, R

Sheriff - Jeffrey K. Himes, R

PVA - Anthony W. Silvey, R

County Attorney - Thomas M. Bertram, R

Jailer - Chris McCane, R

Jailer - Larry E. Mason, R

Jailer - Glenn D. Bannister, R

Jailer - Etta Fay Carroll, R

Jailer - Charles Ivan Blevins, R

Constable, District 1 - Mark E. Hershey, R

Constable, District 1 - Terry Armstrong, R

Constable, District 1 - Jason A. Moore, R

Constable, District 1 - David Lancaster, R

Constable, District 2 - Aaron Gilbert, R

Constable, District 2 - Arthur "Big Boy" Applegate, R

Constable, District 3 - Rafe Gibson, R

Constable, District 3 - Larry Colley, R

Surveyor - Michael Ruggles, R

Magistrate, District 1 - Milt Stanfield, R

Magistrate, District 2 - Kasey Nolen, R

Magistrate, District 2 - Paul Bruce Swearingen, R

Magistrate, District 2 - Danny McCane, D

Magistrate, District 2 - Gary Laney, R

Magistrate, District 2 - Harry Carrington, R

Magistrate, District 3 - Joe Bentley, R

Coroner - Tony Gaydos, R

One hurt in accident/fire destroys home

By Dennis Brown

A Vanceburg woman was injured last week when the auto she was traveling in went off the roadway and struck a ditch.

Lewis County Deputy Sheriff Dwayne Stone said the incident happened about three miles west of Vanceburg on Ky. Rt. 3037 Tuesday morning as a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, operated by Jack M. Dyer, 50, of Vanceburg was traveling east on the roadway.

Stone said Dyer told him a small maroon car was in his lane and that he “ . . . cut to the right and traveled 105 feet down the guardrail face.” The vehicle then reportedly crossed both lanes of Ky. Rt. 3037, traveling 63 feet before leaving the roadway.

Stone said the auto then traveled another 90 feet through the ditch line and a yard before striking a sidewalk and driveway culvert. He said the vehicle went airborne, traveled 42 feet and struck a hillside before rolling over a road sign and coming to rest in the ditch.

Stone said a witness reported that he saw the maroon car and that Dyer reported the maroon car had passed another car just before the incident happened.

Stone said no one in the other vehicles stopped and he is now attempting to identify the maroon car and its driver.

A passenger in the Crown Victoria, Barbara M. Dyer, 53, of Vanceburg, was injured and taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia, by Air Met medical helicopter. He said the helicopter had landed near Lewis County Middle School on Lions Lane, near the scene of the accident.

Stone is continuing the investigation into the accident. He was assisted at the scene by Lewis County Fire and Rescue, who utilized the Jaws-of-Life to help extricate Mrs. Dyer from the auto, and MedCorp Ambulance.

By Dennis Brown

Fire officials are working to determine the cause of a fire last week that destroyed a Vanceburg home.

Firefighters were called to Slate Church Road in Vanceburg Thursday afternoon to respond to a fire at the home of Dennis Plummer.

Firefighters from Vanceburg, Black Oak, Lewis County and Camp Dix Fire Departments responded to the call.

Vanceburg Fire Chief Carl Chaney said the first firefighters to arrive on the scene reported they saw fire around the mid-area of the structure near where a heating stove was thought to be located.

Tanker trucks ferried water from a nearby hydrant to the home where a pumper supplied hoses to the firefighters.

Chaney said the efforts to douse the fire were hampered for a while as firefighters waited for a utility crew to arrive on the scene to disconnect electricity.

The home was totally destroyed by the fire.

Chaney said that although the cause of this fire hasn’t yet been determined, many fires during extreme cold spells are caused by heating stoves.

He advises residents to take all precautions when using any heat source and to follow all manufacturer recommendations.

Harry Carrington is Dist. 2 Magistrate candidate

By Dennis Brown

Harry Mitchell Carrington has announced he is a Republican candidate for District Two Magistrate in the upcoming primary election.

“The experience I have acquired during my tenure with the City of Vanceburg has developed my hands-on knowledge of roadways, culverts and many other various projects, to a level where it will enable me to serve you well,” Carrington said on making his announcement.

Carrington is the son of the late Mitchell Carrington and Goldie Carrington Monteith. He is a lifelong resident of Lewis County and presently resides about a mile west of Vanceburg on Ky. Rt. 8.

“My wife (Tena Clark Carrington) and I have been happily married for 26 years,” he said. “She is also a lifelong Lewis County resident. We have one daughter, Sarah Carrington Carpenter, of whom we are very proud.”

Carrington has been employed by the City of Vanceburg for more than 25 years and has been a full-time bus driver for the Lewis County School System for more than five years. He is the owner and operator of Carrington Lawn Service, which he describes as having been a very successful business for several years.

“One of my primary goals is to improve these roadways, bridges and culvert systems in a manner that will make them safer. That, along with implementing a long-term plan for these repairs and replacements with realistic expectations without burdening the citizens with any additional costs,” he stated.

“Another one of my goals, and probably the most important, is to pursue any and all avenues to bring jobs to Lewis County,” Carrington said. “In this rapidly changing economy, I am very aware of the needs of families struggling to survive. I give you my

Harry Carrington

word that I will do everything within my power to make a change for this county and its people.”

“The people of District Two are very important to me,” he said. “I will always try to make time for your concerns and do my best to talk to each of you personally. We must have open, honest and insightful communication between one another if we plan on decisively accomplishing the tasks within our district.

“I think we need to be very optimistic about what we can achieve. However, maintaining our objectivity and well grounded, no-nonsense approach to realistic goals for our county, not only our district, is of upmost importance,” he said.

“We need all of Lewis County to succeed. It is imperative that we have a healthy balance of both optimism and common sense,” he stated.

“I would be very appreciative of your support in the upcoming primary election,” Carrington said.

Gary Laney is Dist. 2 Magistrate candidate

By Dennis Brown

Gary Laney has announced he is a Republican candidate for District Two Magistrate in the May 2010 Primary Election.

“I have made my decision to run after receiving much encouragement and support from many friends and acquaintances,” he said. “At this time I am asking the residents of District Two for their support and vote.”

Laney is the son of Shirley Laney of Black Oak and the late Denver Laney. He has been a Black Oak resident of 47 of his 50 years. Rhonda Laney, his wife of 14 years, is the daughter of Glen and Ruby Kegley of Petersville. They have three children, Miranda Dearing, 25, Lakin Highfield, 21, and Waylan Laney, 21.

Laney is self-employed, having started Laney Services, an excavation and trucking business, in 1997. In 2005 the Laneys built Black Oak Storage Shack, a 28 unit storage building. In 2007 they added another 34 unit building.

In 2008 the couple purchased Kleen Rite Car Wash in Vanceburg and in March 2009 renovated and improved the facility to better serve customers. It was renamed East End Car Wash.

“Being self-employed I will be available to check on roads when needed during emergencies such as flooding,” he said. “I would make it a priority to travel the county roads in a timely manner to check on the condition of them.”

“While monitoring the road conditions is an important part of being a magistrate in Lewis County, I believe there are things the county can do that would create jobs which the county could profit from,” he said.

Gary Laney

“I would also like to see another fiscal court meeting during evening hours that would give day-shift workers an opportunity to attend. This county belongs to the people and everyone should have the opportunity to voice their opinions and ideas,” Laney stated.

“I would be honest and truthful with the residents of District Two on issues that would be coming up. I will keep in mind the concerns of the people when placing my/our vote.”

“I would be honored to serve as your magistrate to be a part of the fiscal court, to work with the public, judge executive, other magistrates, and other county officials in making decision that would better the county and the citizens herein,” he said.

“Again, I ask for your vote. Your vote would be greatly appreciated,” he said. “I will work for you.”

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