Mercer County Grand Jury Indicts 24

The Grand Jury handed down 26 indictments last Wednesday on charges including driving under the influence and flagrant nonsupport.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

• Roilandis Esteves, 30, of 6635 Evangeline Avenue, Louisville, was charged with driving under the influence, driving without liability insurance and driving without an operators license, all class B misdemeanors, and 1st-degree fleeing or evading police and 1st-degree criminal mischief, both class D felonies.

According to the indictment, Esteves led police on a drunken high speed chase through Mercer County on April 14, causing more than $1,000 in property damage at Bright Leaf Resort before being arrested.

Esteves’s bail was set at $5,000 with drug-related conditions, including reporting to pretrial services, random drug testing and was involved in no new arrests involving alcohol, illegal substances or pain medications with or without a prescription.

Patrolman T.J. Godbey (Harrodsburg Police Department) testified.

• Tyler Tudor, 29, of 220 Pope Road, Danville, was charged with driving under the influence, driving without liability insurance and driving without an operators license, all class B misdemeanors, and 1st-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony.

According to the indictment, Tudor drunkenly drove into a school bus parked in front of a driver’s house on April 2, causing more than $1,000 in damage to the bus. Tudor’s bail was set at $5,000 with drug-related conditions.

Dep. Steve Peyton (Mercer County Sheriff’s Office) testified.

DRUG CHARGES

• Meagan Sims, 19, and Zachary Lay, 19, both of 689 Beaumont Avenue No. 1, were both charged with 1st-degree trafficking in cocaine and 1st-degree wanton endangerment of their newborn child, both class D felonies, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor.  The offenses occurred on April 15.

Bail for both Sims and Lay was set at $10,000 with drug-related conditions. Major Brian Allen (HPD) testified.

• Carl Helton, 37, of 1985 Danville Road, was indicted for two separate incidents this year.

Helton was charged with 1st-degree possession of methamphetamine, a class D  felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia (syringe), a class A misdemeanor. The two offenses occurred on Jan. 8. Helton’s bail was set at $5,000 with drug-related conditions.

Helton was also charged with 1st-degree trafficking in methamphetamine (more than two grams), a class B felony, possession of drug paraphernalia (pipe), a class A misdemeanor, and driving under the influence, a class B misdemeanor. On April 28, Helton was found partially unconscious inside the Apple Market after parking at the gas pump.

Helton’s bail was set at $20,000 with drug-related conditions. Major Brian Allen and Patrolman Ryan Evans (HPD) testified.

BURGLARY

Jennifer Shangraw, 30, of 410 Longview Road, Danville, was charged with 3rd-degree burglary, a class D felony, theft by unlawful taking and possession of drug paraphernalia (syringe), both class A misdemeanors.

According to the indictment, Shangraw illegally walked into Walmart on April 10 and shoplifted merchandise worth less than $500. She was found to be in possession of the syringe at the time of her arrest.

Shangraw’s bail was set at $5,000 with drug-related  conditions. Major Brian Allen (HPD) testified.

UNLAWFUL ACCESS TO A COMPUTER

Cari Simpson, 33, of 431 W. Office Street, was charged with two counts of 1st-degree unlawful access to a computer, both class C felonies. According to the indictment, Simpson used computers on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15 to obtain money or property for herself by means of false or fraudulent representation. Her bail was set at $20,000. Patrolman Aaron Steele (HPD) testified.

To learn more, check out this week’s issue of The Harrodsburg Herald.