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Courts & Crime

  • Crestwood charged with arson, wanton endangerment after fire, standoff

    More than just candles were on fire at a Lake Louisvilla birthday party Sunday evening.

    As a child's fifth birthday celebration wrapped up on Glenwood Drive, neighbor James W. Crawford Jr., 51, threw accelerant onto the house's siding and caught it on fire, according to Pewee Valley Fire Chief Bob Hamilton.

    When fire crews arrived around 11:30 p.m., residents had extinguished much of the fire, Hamilton said.

    The fire caused no major damage but about a dozen people were inside the home when Crawford allegedly set it ablaze. 

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  • Holiday weekend hijinks

    It was all work and no play for local police and fire departments during Memorial Day weekend, with numerous arrests, citations and fires throughout the county.

    Oldham County Police, La Grange Police and the Kentucky State Police increased patrols this weekend as part of the national “click it or ticket” campaign.

    Kentucky State Police arrested a Crestwood man for heroin possession. See sidebar, A2. 

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  • Crestwood man arrested for heroin possession

    Police arrested an Oldham County man for possession of heroin on Sunday night. 

    Troopers from Kentucky State Police Post 5 arrested Cody Ray Russo, 18, of Crestwood, after they discovered he was allegedly in possession of eight ounces of heroin.  

    According to police, Russo pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot in Pendleton after being stopped for not wearing his seat belt around 9 p.m. Sunday. 

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  • Teacher admits to having sex with students

    A former high school teacher and La Grange resident arrested last summer for sexual abuse involving students is unlikely to serve jail time. 

    Shannon Hirchert, a special needs teacher at Shelbyville’s Martha Layne Collins High School in 2010-11, pleaded guilty Monday to six counts of first-degree sexual abuse and distribution of obscene matter.

    Hirchert, 43, reached a plea agreement with Shelby County prosecutors. 

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  • Westport man charged with double murder in sisters' death, arrested in New Castle

    A Westport man who claims he shot two women in self-defense a week before Christmas is now charged with the sisters' murder. 

    An Oldham County grand jury handed up an indictment for Ronald T. "Ronnie" Evridge on May 3. After police searched for him for several days, he was arrested early Friday morning.

    Evridge, 57, faces two murder charges and one charge of tampering with physical evidence in the deaths of his girlfriend, Sandy Allen, 24, and her sister, Heather Faulkerson, 21.

    Evridge claims he shot the women in self-defense.

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  • Alleged PNC Bank robber arrested

    Prospect police arrested a man attempting to rob the PNC Bank on U.S. 42 Wednesday.

    According to Prospect Police Chief Jeff Sherrard, a call came into the department around 1:40 p.m.

    Sherrard said he was actually in the bank's side lot filling out his own deposit slip when dispatch notified officers.

    People were coming in and out of the bank as usual, Sherrard said, as he waited for backup to arrive.

    Sherrard stopped a customer leaving the bank and asked if everything was alright — the customer told him everything was fine.

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  • Crestwood man admits intoxication, crashes after fleeing police roadblock

    Troopers conducting a traffic checkpoint Saturday night arrested a Crestwood man after he fled from Kentucky State Police.

    Elliot Biernetzky, 23, of Crestwood, approached a roadblock at Ky. 146 and I-71 North in Buckner about 11 p.m. Saturday.

    After admitting to police that he had been drinking, Biernetzky fled the scene and led troopers on a 1.5 mile chase down Ky. 146 into Crestwood. 

    The chase ended when Biernetzky crashed his vehicle into a ditch at the entrance of Maplehurst subdivision, just a few blocks from his home on Maple Hill Way.

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  • Business owner helps police apprehend armed fugitive in La Grange

    An inmate receiving medical treatment at a La Grange hospital escaped a guard's custody and spent 10 hours on the run Thursday before an eagle-eyed business owner's report of suspicious activity at his warehouse led to the inmate's arrest. 

    According to police, Christopher Eric Claxton, 32, fled about 9:50 p.m. April 4 from Baptist Hospital Northeast after a struggle with a female corrections officer. Officials say Claxton overpowered the officer and swiped a .38-caliber revolver from her possession.

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  • Prospect names new police chief

    The City of Prospect has a new police chief.

    Jeffrey Scott Sherrard was chosen among 20 applicants to lead the city's police force.

    Sherrard earned a bachelor of science degree in police administration from the University of Louisville.

    During his 27-year career in law enforcement, Sherrard has served 17 years in supervisory roles, eight years in confidential criminal and internal investigations and seven years in budgetary, personnel and policy development.

    He retired from Louisville Metro Police Department as a captain.

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  • Former La Grange mayor cited for sagging roof on Main Street building

    A judge signed a restraining order against a former La Grange mayor Tuesday.

    The emergency order prevents Elsie Carter from continuing renovations to her building at 114 E. Main St. due to safety concerns.

    A stop-work order was issued by code enforcement officer Jeff Richardson in February after he noticed the second-story roof sagging.

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The Oldham Era is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Oldham County and LaGrange, Kentucky, and the surrounding area.