Harrodsburg Couple Face Criminal Abuse Charges After Police Search
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Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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A Harrodsburg couple have pleaded not guilty to the criminal abuse charges against them after being arrested last week.
Eric Coffman, 38, and Ashley Coffman, 33, both of Harrodsburg, were arraigned on Monday, Sept. 8, in Mercer County District Court. The couple are both charged with 1st degree criminal abuse. Eric Coffman is also charged with five counts of possession of matter portraying sexual performance by a minor under 12 and one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia, 1st degree possession of methamphetamine and 3rd degree possession of an unspecified drug. The couple have pleaded innocent on all charges.
On Friday, Sept. 5, officers from the Harrodsburg police department executed a search warrant at the Coffmans’ residence on Belmont Street. The search warrant was in reference to an ongoing Internet Crimes Against Children case, according to the uniform citation.
Police found the floors of the residence covered in “feces, roaches, cat litter, bugs, trash, and clothes,” according to the uniform citation.
“The children’s bedroom was completely unlivable with the bed frame on top of the frame,” Patrolwoman Erin Rice noted in the uniform citation. “The only food that was observed was in the floor of the residence with the roaches and the feces.”
Rice noted that officers were “unable to walk through the residence without stepping into feces.”
During the search, police found substances suspected to be methamphetamine and promoethazine in the garage, according to the uniform citation. Police also found a large scale with what they described as “white residue” on it.
At press time, Eric Coffman and Ashley Coffman are both still being held at Jessamine County Detention Center. Eric Coffman is being held on a $100,000 bond while Ashley Coffman is being held on a $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.
