John M. Stumbo eighth-grader Easton Akers, ranked 10th in the state, readies for national competition.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — A man accused of breaking into a Floyd County home helped police with his arrest by getting trapped in shrink wrap.

Floyd County deputies were called to a home in Grethel, where a woman reported that she thought her son was trying to break into her home through a bedroom window.

When police arrived, they found 50-year-old Darvin Shepherd lying on the front porch, tangled in what appeared to be plastic wrap.

The woman told deputies she’d had an argument with her son earlier in the day and thought it was him trying to come through the window, so she locked herself in her bathroom. It turned out not to be her son, but Shepherd allegedly trying to break into the home by climbing through the window.

However, the window had insulating shrink wrap covering it on the inside, which ended up trapping Shepherd.

Shepherd was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, as well as possession of meth, after police found a small bag of the drug in his jacket.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — A Floyd County man was killed Wednesday morning in a crash on Route 979.

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office says Ken Tackett, 59, of Beaver, was driving along the highway when he left the road and struck a tree. Investigators believe it is likely Tackett had a medical emergency which caused him to leave the road.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Floyd County Coroner’s Office.

The incident remains under investigation.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A Floyd County man has been sentenced to a half-century in prison, following his conviction on child porn charges.

Christopher Hall, 26, of Grethel, pleaded guilty back in April to charges of producing and distributing child pornography.

In pleading guilty, he admitted to filming himself sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl, then sending that video to others through the WhatsApp messaging service. The potential sentence he faced ranged anywhere between 15 years and life in prison.

In court last week, a judge sentenced him to serve 30 years for the production charge and 20 years for the distribution charge. Those sentences will be served consecutively, for a total of 50 years in prison.

Hall was taken into custody immediately following his sentencing.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — A Floyd County man was arrested on multiple charges after deputies say he charged at them with a knife while they were responding to an attempted break-in.

Police were called to a Grethel home Sunday night, after a couple reported that Mitchell Williams, 40, was trying to break down their door, armed with a knife and threatening to kill them.

When the deputies arrived on the scene, they spotted Williams walking away with his hands in his pockets, talking to himself. Police say he ignored commands to stop and remove his hand from his pockets.

After a deputy used a beanbag round to stop him, the police report says Williams pulled a knife and started toward the officer, yelling that he wanted the deputy to kill him. The deputy used a taser on him instead, allowing him to get the knife away from Williams and place him under arrest.

Williams has been charged with attempted burglary, two counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer a several other charges.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A Floyd County man is now facing a lengthy prison sentence, after pleading guilty to federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.

Christopher Hall, 26, of Grethel, was originally charged with producing, distributing and possessing child porn when he was indicted last June. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors have agreed to drop the possession charge.

When he was first arrested, Hall initially admitted to downloading child porn and distributing it for financial gain. But in his plea agreement, Hall admits to using his phone to record himself sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl. He also admits to then sending that video to other people using the messaging service WhatsApp.

Hall now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years in prison, with a potential maximum of life. He could also be ordered to pay thousands in restitution to the victim and special assessments.

Hall will be back in court for sentencing August 5.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — Two men were arrested in Floyd County last week, after police on the hunt for a stolen car not only found the vehicle, but a sizable amount of meth as well.

State troopers were patrolling Grethel on the hunt for a Chevy Sonic that had been stolen when they spotted it parked outside a home.

A trooper went to investigate and spotted a man inside the home he believed to be Joshua Henson, 39, of Myra, who was wanted on several active warrants, so he handcuffed him. It was later discovered that the man was not Henson, but his half-brother who resembles him, Bradley Newsome, 40, of Pikeville. However, police learned that Newsome has warrants of his own and he allegedly turned over about a gram of meth that was hidden in his sock, so he was also arrested.

Henson was later found hiding in a nearby creek and was arrested for the warrants. Officers then found the key to the stolen vehicle in his pocket, but he claimed he bought the car from another person.

Inside the home, police found more than 15 grams of meth and a half-gram of fentanyl.

Henson and Newsome were both arrested and charged with meth trafficking. Henson is also charged with receiving stolen property and fleeing police, while Newsome is charged with possession of fentanyl.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — A Floyd County couple was arrested Monday, after police went to their home to investigate allegations of child abuse.

A deputy went to the Grethel home of Krinston Sparks, 37, and Keisha Hamilton, 24, to check on reports of a child being burned with cigarettes. He later wrote in his report that when he arrived, he found a home that was not fit for habitation.

Among the problems he noted were that floors covered in urine and smashed-up food and that there was no heat or food in the home. He also found three children sleeping on couches that were soaked with urine.

The officer also said that two of the children, ages 1 and 3, had cigarette burns on their hands and arms.

The children were placed in the custody of social services and taken to the hospital to be checked out.

Sparks and Hamilton were both arrested on two counts of first-degree child abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor. The child abuse charge is a felony, punishable by 10-to-20 years in prison.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — A Floyd County man has been arrested after police received a tip that someone was viewing, downloading and uploading child porn.

Prestonsburg Police Det. Brad Caldwell, who is affiliated with Internet Crimes Against Children organizations, received information about the illicit activity from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. After obtaining a search warrant, he was able to trace the computer information to 38-year-old Avery Newsome, of Grethel.

Prestonsburg Police was then joined by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police in a raid of Newsome’s home, during which they seized 18 electronic devices and at least 3,500 files suspected to contain child pornography, all of which will be analyzed by the Kentucky State Police crime lab.

In an interview with police, Newsome allegedly gave a full confession.

He was arrested on three counts of child porn possession, with additional charges possible following a full analysis of the seized evidence.

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GRETHEL, Ky. — Two men were arrested after deputies staged a late-night drug raid in Floyd County last week.

Deputies went to the Grethel home of Shelton Jones, 33, with both a search warrant and an indictment warrant for a previous case.

During their search, they found meth, heroin and marijuana, along with a variety of trafficking paraphernalia.

Jones told police all of the drugs were his, but another man at the home, 39-year-old William Hylton, of Salyersville, ran to a bathroom and tried to barricade himself inside. When police got inside the bathroom and detained him, they found bags of heroin and meth hidden in the back of the toilet.

Both men were arrested for trafficking, possession and other charges.

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