Written by Mark Payne, LINKnky Media politics and government reporter
John “J.R.” Roth was once a convicted felon – until former Gov. Matt Bevin pardoned him. Now, he is so far the lone candidate running for constable in Campbell County’s District 2. The filing deadline for candidates is Jan. 25, and the primary is May 17.
Under current Kentucky law, constables are elected officials with full police power, which includes arresting people or making traffic stops. Roth declined to comment for this story.
“I think it’s very concerning that someone who has been prosecuted and convicted of a felony will have arrest powers,” said Sen. Wil Schroder (R-Wilder). “My hope is that someone who is qualified steps up to run against him.”
Bevin pardoned Roth in 2019.
Roth is a former Campbell County Tea Party activist and was convicted of two counts of trafficking a controlled substance in 2017 after it was found he possessed morphine and oxycodone with the intent to sell. The charges carried up to 15 years in prison before his sentence was commuted to time served and he was given an unconditional pardon.
The first count of trafficking morphine over 10 dosage units accounted for 10 years of the sentence. The trafficking of morphine accounted for five. A cooperating witness identified Roth, and then police conducted a search warrant of his property.
Roth “made a foolish decision a few years ago and broke the law,” said Bevin in his December 2019 statement on the pardon. “The punishment does not appear to fit the crime when all the facts are considered, and for this reason, I am commuting Mr. Roth’s sentence to time served and issuing him a full and unconditional pardon.”
Previously, Roth had been arrested for animal cruelty charges stemming from alleged mistreatment of animals on his farm. He was acquitted of that charge after appealing to the Supreme Court.
First reported by Fort Thomas Matters, now part of LINK Media, Roth told FTM that he was being “railroaded” for the animal cruelty charge.
“The court is letting everyone else bond out, and I’m going to jail because I’ve been a fly in the local government ointment in Campbell County,” Roth said at the time. “I’ve held the library and fiscal court to proper tax rates, and the effect of that is somewhere around 50 million that I have saved the residents of Campbell County in taxes.
“They’ve been sitting on my appeal for two years. I’ve showed up to every court hearing, never skipped one, but they want me in jail. They want to make an example out of me.”
Well known in Northern Kentucky political circles, Roth was part of a lawsuit in 2012 that attempted to repeal the property tax that funds libraries in Campbell County. He has been a staunch opponent of government spending.
Last year, Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger) co-sponsored House Bill 267, which would require constables to receive training before holding the powers of the law. That bill died, but he reintroduced it again in the 2022 General Assembly session as House Bill 289.
“There are over 500 constables in this state, and they are allowed to exercise peace officers’ powers just like any sheriff’s deputy or city or county police officer, but they’re required to have absolutely no training,” Koenig said.
HB 289 would change the statute to say that “unless you are a certified peace officer, you no longer as a constable have the right to exercise those peace officer powers,” Koenig said. “You can still do everything else you were doing – serve papers, direct traffic, back up police officers … but you can’t pull people over, arrest them, or anything of that nature.”
In 2016, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting ran a story that showed that constables in the state of Kentucky have often misused or abused their powers, leading to questionable arrests and committing their own crimes.
Candidates like Roth “… shouldn’t hold any office, much less an office that allows you to arrest someone and take away their liberty as he sees fit,” Koenig said.
Photo: Campbell County Courthouse in Newport (LINK nky file)
