August 2 , 2007

Johnson found guilty, jury recommends 25 years
by David J. Griffin, Times Staff Writer
It did not take a Powell County jury long to find Stewart Johnson guilty in the murder of Jerry Wayne Dotson. Johnson, 44, of Hargett, appeared in circuit court last Thursday and Friday to be tried on the charge of murder.
The charge stems from the shooting of Jerry Wayne Dotson of Clay City on May 12, 2005. Commonwealth Attorney Darrel Herald presented the events of that night by using the testimony of several witnesses.
Although divorced from Dotson six years earlier, Kristy Dotson resided at the residence along with Dotson and their three daughters. Kristy testified that Jerry had gone to the outbuilding on the premises around dark that evening and had returned to the house at approximately 9 p.m. to get his .357 Magnum revolver. She also said that she and the girls had gone to bed around 10 p.m.
Ms. Dotson continued her version of the event, “I heard a loud noise early in the morning, and I went to see what had happened.” She found her former husband lying wounded in the outbuilding. She said someone standing near a pickup truck yelled at her saying, “Get the @#*& out of here!”
Upon returning to the house, she placed a call to her father-in-law, Verlin Dotson, who lived a short distance away. Verlin testified that when he arrived, he found his son dead. He told Kristy to call 911 and she replied, “I already have.”
According to Kentucky State Police and local law officers, they were called to the home of Dotson on Jones Road, just off Snow Creek Road, at approximately 2:30 a.m. Upon arrival, they found Dotson lying in an outbuilding with several wounds to his body.
Powell County Coroner Carl Wells Sr. testified that he pronounced Dotson dead upon his arrival at the scene. Wells said Dotson was shot five times in the chest.
Kentucky State Police Detective Joe Veeneman testified that he arrived on the scene at approximately 5:05 a.m. on the morning of the shooting. He said, “Dotson was on his stomach on the floor of the outbuilding when I arrived. We rolled him on to his back and found a .357 Magnum revolver under the body.”
According to Veeneman, KSP officers went to the home of Stewart Johnson in Estill County to talk to him later that morning. He testified that Johnson told KSP, “I was there, and I did it.” The officers were also told by Johnson that he fired “10 plus one shots” from his .40 caliber handgun, referring that he had one round in the chamber and a 10 round magazine. Johnson also claimed that Dotson had attacked him and that he fired in self defense.
In his opening remarks, Defense Attorney John Cornett told the jury that both individuals had been drinking and that Dotson had evidence of cocaine in his blood. He explained Johnson’s claim that during the night Dotson attacked Johnson, that he pulled his pistol, and that he fired several shots into Dotson’s body. After the shooting, Johnson left the scene and returned to his residence in Estill County.
However, forensic experts testified on Friday, that no .40 caliber shells were found in Dotson’s body. Instead, the expert testimony, provided by Dwight Deskins of the Kentucky State Police lab in Ashland, went on to say that one of the wounds may have come from a .22 caliber round, while the other four could have been from a .38 caliber pistol. A .22 caliber shell was found in Dotson’s body. However, due to the elasticity of the skin, it could not be exactly determined. The prosecution contended that Dotson had been shot by Johnson’s weapon twice, then Johnson used Dotson’s gun to shoot him three times. Deskins did admit that a .40 caliber weapon that Johnson claimed to have used could not have fired a .22 caliber round, but a .357 caliber weapon could. There were no fingerprints from either man on the .357 Magnum, as it appeared to have been wiped clean, according to testimony. A .22 caliber Remington rifle belonging to Dotson was ruled out as being the weapon that may have fired the .22 round into Dotson.
The jury went into deliberation late Friday afternoon and rendered a guilty verdict. The jury recommended sentence was a term of 25 years. The sentencing hearing will be held on Aug. 22..

Baby abandoned at courthouse, mom arrested
by James Cook, Times Editor
With the sun beating down on Monday afternoon and the heat index climbing, Stacey Johnson decided to get herself something cool to drink. But she forgot about her nine month old daughter, who she left outside the front doors of the Powell County Courthouse. Luckily a work release inmate from the Powell County Detention Center was paying attention.
“She asked me to watch her baby and I told her I couldn’t, I’m here working on work release from the jail,” Stephanie Miller said. “But she insisted she needed a pop. She just bought one. She was staggering all over the place and when she was sitting with the baby, she almost fell over on it a couple of times.”
Johnson, 22 of Hardshell in Breathitt County, left the baby and went to get a drink. According to Miller, Johnson was gone for “about 15 to 20 minutes” so she decided someone had to do something. Miller notified Powell County Deputy Joyce Rogers, who began making calls to get assistance. While Rogers was doing that, Deputy Mike Kelso came upon the scene and took the baby into the Sheriff’s Office. Not long after that, Johnson was found inside the courthouse, unaware of her baby’s location.
Johnson, who was visibly disoriented, unstable and almost fell out of a chair several times during questioning, told police she was only gone for a little while. “If you’ll let me go, I promise you’ll never see me again,” Johnson told them.
The baby was checked by Powell EMS workers and was found to be unresponsive. An ambulance was called and the child was transported to Clark Regional Medical Center. Johnson admitted that she had medicated the baby “because she is teething.” Johnson told police and Cabinet for Family Services that she gave the baby “ten teething tablets and some Motrin.” The ambulance staff did report back to dispatchers that the baby was more responsive and began to cry while on the way to the hospital. It was later discovered that the baby had Down ’s syndrome and had recently had heart surgery. The baby’s condition is good considering the heat and her other medical conditions, but is currently in protective custody.
According to Deputy Kelso the social workers from the Breathitt County office will take over the case. However, an Emergency Custody Order will be sought so that the child can be cared for either until suitable family members can be found.
Johnson was charged with Wanton Endangerment in the welfare of a minor. After being taken to the jail, Johnson admitted to police that she had taken “ten valium and some meth” earlier in the day. An additional charge of public intoxication was added. She was arraigned on Tuesday and pled not guilty to the charges. A bond of $5,000 full cash was levied by Powell District Judge Kenny Profitt. Johnson is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Aug. 7.

Man of action believes healing others is payoff
by Brittany Stewart, Times Staff Writer
“If I die today, I’ve had a good life. I can’t complain.”
These words come from the heart of a true Powell County native…Wayne Randall. For those who know Randall, they too would agree that he has led a great life. Giving back to the community, more specifically the children and veterans, is the driving force behind such a caring man.
Randall grew up in Powell County with four siblings, one of which was his sister, Sue, who passed away when she was only four months old. The family Randall grew up with was not wealthy in terms of money, but in spirit. “Like most people we were poor, but didn’t know it,” Randall said. Most everyone around the Randall family was poor too, so the children didn’t know any different.
At the age of 18, Randall enlisted in the Army. He had two children by then and it was critical that he be able to support them because of the recession sweeping the country at the time. “It was a good way to keep milk and bread on the table,” he said.
With 22 years invested in the Army, he says that his biggest mistake was retiring when he did, “but even an old soldier gets home sick,” he said smiling. Plus his mother was ill and he felt he needed to get back to her. His first eleven years in the service he was an infantryman, which was his favorite part of his military career. The last half of his time in the Army he spent working in transportation.
The Transportation Corps covered everything from the skies to driving jeeps for the ground forces. They didn’t just operate vehicles, but went on convoys and moved cargo to where it was needed. “Beans, bullets and Band-Aids had to get to the front lines somehow,” Randall said.
While serving in the military, he traveled through 42 different countries, Germany, Belgium, Korea, Somalia, and Panama to name a few. He wasn’t necessarily stationed in all of those countries, but he spent some time in all of them. He has seen all kinds of governments work and not work, and he says that even though our country has its share of problems, we definitely have something good going on here in the United States.
After he came home, he moved to Arizona for a few years, but realized his place was in Powell County…it is his home. After arriving back in Powell County, he worked as deputy jailer and a dispatcher for the local jail. While working with the citizens of Powell County, he realized how poor some of the families were and how many kids went without. His sympathy for the children sparked his idea for the Christmas program, which continues to take place each year. Last year was the twelfth annual Christmas program. The first year the program began; it was much different than it is today. People in the community donated old toys and money to buy new toys for the families in the community that were in need. The program started with a table covered with toys at the jail for the children to come in and pick from. There were volunteers to help wrap gifts and to deliver the food, fruit baskets and toys. Each child was made sure to receive one brand new toy for Christmas. The program has continued to grow each year, and eventually was taken over by the Amvets who used their facility to host the program. Children that were helped during the beginnings of the program are now coming back to help and give to other children today. “That,” Randall says, “is the pay off.”
But Randall’s accomplishments didn’t stop with the Christmas program. While he was a dispatcher, the dispatch moved three times. He moved along with the dispatch, from the jail, to the courthouse, to the ambulance service. When the dispatch moved to its final resting place, it was also upgraded to the current 9-1-1 system, so the whole county had to be re-mapped. Randall then went to work on the re-mapping and measuring roads for about three years.
Randall is involved in many organizations including, The American Legions, the Masons, the Retired Enlisted Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also on the board of directors for the Veterans Trust Fund and a member of AmVets, for which he was elected state commander in 2003 and served four terms.
Randall has also been behind other community programs. Patriot Days is one of them. There is a carnival, which is kept affordable so that everyone can enjoy it and other activities for the children in the community. In school, they are asked to write about their favorite heroes. The goal is to instill patriotism in the children and help them understand what it means to be an American.
About seven years ago, Randall arranged for the traveling wall, a replica of the Vietnam Wall to come to town for a week. People came from as far away as Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to see the wall. “I think we’ve had more compliments on that than any other program,” Randall said. He also had the idea for the Veteran’s Memorial that now stands in downtown Stanton. It was just finished last year and was dedicated in December.
Although Randall has been involved in many community projects, he says that he never could have done any of them alone. He wants to thank everyone that has helped to make these things happen. “I don’t even really think about these things as being significant,” Randall said, “its just stuff that needs to be done so I do it.” Randall says that when he hits on an idea, others in the community who are interested in the same things get involved and make it happen.
Today Randall has four children, Sheila, Vickie and twins Steven and James. He also has two step-children, Joe and Bradley, as well as eleven grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. Randall has been married to his wife, Pam, for twelve years. They met when she went to inspect his truck at the sheriff’s office one day and have been inseparable ever since. Anyone who is around them can see the love they have for one another. Also anyone who knows the couple probably knows that Pam has continued to love and support Randall through his current battle with lung cancer. He will soon go through his fifth type of treatment of Chemotherapy.
Although Randall is not sure of how much time he has left on this earth, he considers the time he has spent so far, to be of great value. He loves and cares for his family and is proud to say he has great friends all around the state and right here in Powell County.
“That is what makes you a wealthy man,” Randall said with pride, “you don’t have to have money.” He says he is very happy with the life he has led so far. He has traveled around the world and seen things that others may never get to see in their lifetime. He says that as long as he is able, he is going to continue to help the veterans because he owes it to his fellow comrades that have gone before him. Randall considers what he has done for the community, to be a “labor of love.” His hope is that this “labor of love,” continues for many, many years to come.