zebulunjones

Each week The River City News talks with Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders about his weekly e-newsletter that highlights who was sent to prison or got probation in the previous week. At the bottom of this post you can find a link to that newsletter. Here are this week’s questions and answers:

RCN: Ronnie Rider gets a recommended sentence of four years for third-degree rape (plus a recommended two more years for escape and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device). What is third-degree rape and what are the details on Rider’s case?

SANDERS: Third-degree rape covers a number of scenarios such as jailers having sex with inmates, foster parents having sex with foster kids, anyone in a position of authority having sex with a child under sixteen, and anyone over twenty-one having sex with someone who is incapable of consent due to mental retardation, but those are fairly rare. It most commonly is applied when someone twenty-one or older has sex with someone under the age of sixteen.

In February 2012, while Rider was 22-years old, he invited a 14-year old girl who was spending the night at his parents house to sleep on an air mattress with him. The two laid awake talking and watching movies for several hours. Eventually the girl fell asleep only to wake up to Rider on top of her, engaging in intercourse. The victim never vocalized an objection or made any attempt to stop Rider so we couldn’t pursue a forcible rape charge but, under Kentucky law she was incapable of consent due to her age. Thus, the third degree rape charge and four year sentence. Rider got an additional two years in a separate case because he cut off his ankle monitor and fled the state while out on bond so he’ll be doing a total of 6 years and be required to register as a sex offender.
 
RCN: What about Leonard Glass? He got fifteen years for first degree sexual abuse and incest. What can you tell us about this case?
 
SANDERS: Glass had three forms of deviate sexual intercourse with a teenage boy in his custody giving rise to the incest charge. He also touched the privates of a teenage girl in his custody resulting in the sexual abuse charge. Mr. Glass continues to promulgate ridiculous accounts of his crimes that basically deny criminal intent despite his actions. If he sticks with that alternate version of reality, he’ll never get through sex offender treatment, which is required before he is eligible for parole. I’m OK with that though because I think I’d prefer he just do every day of the 15 year sentence. At his age, he will be lucky if he ever makes it out of prison.
 
RCN: Zebulun Jones faces two years in prison for trafficking in a simulated substance. What’s that about?
 
SANDERS: Trafficking In a Simulated Controlled Substance is when a would-be drug dealer rips off the buyer by selling them something that purports to be a narcotic but isn’t. It is only a misdemeanor for the first offense but a second or subsequent offense is a felony and Mr. Jones has a prior conviction for the same thing. The most commonly simulated substance is crack cocaine because there are a number of different substances, such as wax, that can be made to look very similar.
 
Selling fake drugs may sound like no big deal but it often leads to violence, especially if you’re talking a large quantity of fake drugs. The buyers aren’t very happy about being ripped off and it’s not something you can report to the police so they tend to extract street justice of one sort or another. Rather than risk more bullets flying around, its better to just get the dealer off the street. It really doesn’t matter what they’re dealing if the substance brings the same sort of problems, and the potential for violence, as the real drug does.
 
RCN: Looks like you had another theft of identity case last week and now Hubert Barrett faces a year and a half in prison. What did this guy do?
 
SANDERS: Covington Police were called to a house on 42nd Street where “Huey Barrett” was said to be forcing entry in violation of a Domestic Violence Order stating he could not be there. Officer Douglas Ullrich was the first to arrive and found Barrett leaving out the front door. Barrett gave Ullrich the name “Tyler Barrett” who turned out to be Barrett’s juvenile son, and a phony date of birth. Ullrich warned him about giving a false name but Barrett insisted he was Tyler Barrett. A short time later Officer Justin Edwards, who was familiar with Barrett, arrived on the scene and said “Hey, Hubert” and Mr. Barrett made the mistake of answering him. Mr. Barrett then admitted his true identity and told them he used his son’s name because he had a warrant for probation violation.
 
RCN: Raymond Martin was convicted in two different third-degree burglary cases. He got six years for one (that also involved a theft conviction) and two years for the other. Was the additional theft charge the reason for the larger sentence (which will be served concurrently with the other)?
 
SANDERS: Mr. Martin and two co-defendants broke into Moyers Automotive on Decoursey Pike and stole a 2012 Nissan Frontier, a 2003 Mini Cooper, 40 car wheels, and some of the siding off the building. Because the building is a business, it was only third-degree burglary which only carries 1-5 years, despite the sizable loss to the victim. The value of the Nissan alone exceeded $10,000 though so the Theft charge is bumped up to 5-10 years, making this a rare occasion when Theft carries more punishment than Burglary. The total loss, in theft and damage, to the business owner that wasn’t covered by insurance was $11,500 which the defendants will have to pay back when they get out of prison. To answer your question though, yes, the sentence is heftier than your average “burglary third” because of the substantial size of the theft. The second “burglary third” charge was when Martin and his same co-defendants stole a number of tools from a barn on Percival Road. 
 
See the full list and mugshots of those who were convicted of felonies in Kenton County Circuit Court at the link: This Week in Kenton Co. Circuit Court
 
PHOTO: Zebulun Jones

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