The Fayette County Coroner’s Office confirms they have been called out to the scene where Lexington Police are conducting a search related to a homicide investigation.
Investigators are out on the Kentucky River near Riptide Restaurant Bar where a search has been taking place Friday morning.
Lexington Police did not release many details about the search and did not say what case the search was connected with, but did say it is connected to an ongoing homicide investigation.
http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html
On Dec. 31, investigators were out in the same area looking for the body of missing Lexington man, Alex Johnson, who has not been seen or heard from since Dec. 20. Johnson was on the phone with his girlfriend at his home in Lexington when he hung up the phone to answer a knock on the door. That’s the last time anyone heard from Johnson.
Two people have been arrested in connection to Johnson’s disappearance, which started as a missing person’s case but became a kidnapping and homicide investigation. Robert Markham Taylor, who goes by Mark Taylor, was arrested Wednesday in Pharr, Texas, blocks away from the Mexican border, accused of kidnapping and murdering Johnson.
LEX 18 has learned Taylor worked at Riptide as a bartender for several months in the past.
Taylor was scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning.
Timothy Ballard, who goes by Tiny, was arrested Monday and is in the Fayette County Detention Center charged with complicity to kidnapping resulting in the death of a victim, and tampering with evidence. Ballard’s bond has been set at $253,000 and he has asked for a public defender.
Lexington Police have not given any details as to how the investigation led to the suspects and their connection to the crime.
Lexington Police say Taylor had moved to Lexington a few years ago, and had befriended Johnson. They did not comment further on how the men were connected.
Lexington Police had sent the Pharr Police Department a picture of Taylor and a possible location.
LEX 18 learned Taylor ran when Pharr Police went to check out the motel where he was staying. Taylor was later found near the border and police say he had several pounds of marijuana in his car when he was arrested. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office will arrange Taylor’s extradition, after he responds to the drug charges in Texas. The whole process could take three to five months.
