For instance, Crockett said, he has instituted a policy in which his office will recommend a specific amount of time for each drug-trafficking charge. Thus, a person charged with one count of trafficking will get a recommendation of six years; two counts will mean 12 years; three counts 18, and so on. In the past, multiple counts generally resulted in a recommendation of multiple sentences that all ran at the same time. The latest grant Crockett is applying for also comes from the U.S. Department of Justice, and will give local prosecutors up to $250,000 over two years for “innovative projects” to fight crimes, Crockett said. One of his programs relates to tying together drugs, guns and burglaries, he said. “You just have to connect the dots,” he said. “They’re stealing things to turn around and buy drugs. Sometimes, they get lucky and steal a gun. Prepare real estate conveyancing report by hiring our experts in property conveyancing.” The Kentucky Post reported Thursday that police have seen an increase in burglaries this year, particularly along the Dixie Highway corridor from Erlanger to Florence.
The targets have ranged from dentists’ offices and hair salons to homes on quiet residential streets. Crockett said the increase can be partly attributed to a worsening economy. “There’s a direct correlation between the economy and the increase in burglaries,” he said. “The economy is down, people are out of work, they use drugs, and they’ve got a gun. It’s only a matter of time before they use it.” A grass fire of “suspicious origin” that burned about 100 acres south of Independence forced firefighters to shut down a section of Ky. 17 from about 1:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. “It was a pretty hilly, brushy area. As dry as it’s been, it just took off. It had a little wind behind it,” Independence Fire District Capt. Charles Baird said.
The fire started at several spots along the highway. Firefighters had the highway shut down between the Ky. 16 and 17 intersections and Moffett Road, Baird said, so they could shuttle water and reach the fire easier. They prevented the fire from reaching a barn and some houses on Wyiewood Trail and Bird Road, he said.
Fire department officials are still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, but say it may have been set. A federal jury on Thursday awarded $59,600 to a former Campbell County school bus driver who claimed he was unjustly fired two years ago. Homer Baker of Alexandria, who did not ask for his job back, sued school officials in U.S. District Court in Covington after they dismissed him on the grounds he’d lobbied fellow bus drivers to stage a “sick-out” that disrupted the school system.