PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — The judge over the Amber Spradlin murder trial has placed restrictions over when one of the defendants can visit a restaurant he co-owns.

Prestonsburg dentist Michael McKinney is charged with eight counts of evidence tampering related to the June 18, 2023, killing of Spradlin in his home. His son, M.K. McKinney, is charged with her murder.

Michael McKinney is currently out of jail on bond, but under house arrest except for certain hours when he is allowed to work in his office. The rules of his work-release also allow him to run errands related to his business, such as going to the bank or post office.

He is also part-owner of the Brickhouse Restaurant, which is located a block from his dental office. After Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner heard rumors that McKinney was spending significant amounts of time in the restaurant, he obtain GPS records of his ankle bracelet to determine if the rumors were true.

He found that McKinney had visited the restaurant a dozen times over a six-week period, but most of those visits were for a few minutes. The exceptions were three occasions when he spent between one and two hours at the restaurant.

McKinney’s attorney said most of his visits to the Brickhouse were to take care of business matters, but said he occasionally dined there or picked up meals to take home for dinner.

Both attorneys asked the judge to provide clarification on whether McKinney could visit the restaurant and under what conditions.

On Monday, Special Judge Eddy Coleman ruled that McKinney is not allowed to go to the Brickhouse to dine or pick up meals, but he is allowed to visit for “legitimate business purposes.” The judge further said those business visits are not to exceed 30 minutes.

A copy of the judge’s order is reprinted below: