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Virginia woman indicted for allegedly smuggling drugs into federal prison in Kentucky
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ, Ky. — A 63-year-old Virginia woman is facing criminal charges after her indictment Thursday in Martin County for allegedly smuggling drugs into the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. The grand jury charged Irene A. Looney of Pounding Mill, Virginia, with second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (over 20…
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Former Kentucky federal corrections supervisor sentenced to 5-1/2 years for leading cover-ups of inmate assaults
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT PIKEVILLE — A former Bureau of Prisons supervisor was sentenced Tuesday to five and one-half years in prison followed by one year of supervised release for leading two cover-ups of assaults of inmates held at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Kevin X. Pearce, 39, of Inez, was convicted in March after…
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Former correctional officers sentenced
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT LEXINGTON — Two ex-corrections officers received prison sentences Nov. 8 for assaulting inmates at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Samuel J. Patrick, 41, of West Van Lear, and Clinton L. Pauley, 42, of Ironton, Ohio, received prison sentences of 36 and 40 months, respectively. This sentencing follows their guilty pleas and…
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Bardstown teen arrested on federal prison property with suspicious items; motive unclear
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN DEBORD — Police arrested a Bardstown teen Friday for criminal trespassing at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Marcus Durbin, 19, was nearly 200 miles from his Nelson County home when he entered the federal property equipped with a ski mask, hand restraints and a lock-blade folding knife.…
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Drone carrying contraband intercepted near federal prison; one arrest made
BY RACHEL DOVE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN VAN LEAR — A significant police operation unfolded in Stoney Brook Estates on New Route 3 Thursday morning. Residents awakened to a large police presence as law enforcement swooped in to intercept a drone transporting a substantial quantity of contraband. According to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Department representative, the cargo…
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Federal prison lieutenant convicted of covering up assaults of inmates
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PIKEVILLE — A federal jury convicted a former Kentucky Federal Bureau of Prisons lieutenant on two counts of obstruction for covering up assaults of two inmates by corrections officers under his command. Kevin Pearce, 38, of Inez, Kentucky, a former supervisor at the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord, was…