Attorney General Jim Hood announced today that a West Point woman has been formally charged with insurance fraud and wire fraud.

EDWARDS

Georgenna Edwards, 27, was indicted in April by a Clay County grand jury on one count of insurance fraud and one count of wire fraud. She was arraigned Monday in Clay County Circuit Court before Judge Lee S. Coleman.

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The indictment alleges that Edwards submitted a false disability form to an insurance company in order to obtain money. The wire fraud charge is based on the fraudulent form being transmitted via facsimile from Clay County to Union County, according to the indictment.

Edwards was released on a $10,000 bond. If convicted, she faces the possible sentences of three years in prison and $5,000 in fines for insurance fraud, and five years in prison and $10,000 in fines for wire fraud.

A charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by Ronnie Odom of the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Unit and will be prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Stanley Alexander.

A Frankfort man is in jail after a dispute that the Franklin County Sheriff says was sparked by stolen car parts.

The incident started around 11 p.m. Monday night at a home on Strawberry Lane in Frankfort and led to a confrontation that ended in gunfire.

Police say this all started after a man went to the house accusing the homeowner, Brian Pulliam, of stealing car parts and putting them on his own car. Pulliam responded by shooting. Someone nearby called 911 and Pulliam took off running toward a wooded area behind the home.

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Sheriff’s deputies, along with a helicopter from Lexington and State Police began searching for him. They found him and arrested him just before 2 a.m.

The car with alleged stolen parts was towed from the scene.

Pulliam pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to multiple charges, including Wanton Endangerment and Fleeing and Evading.

A traffic stop in Franklin County led to the arrest of two people after deputies say they discovered weapons and drugs in the car.

Deputies say they pulled over 25-year-old Chelsea Sutherland when they noticed she was driving recklessly. Sheriff Pat Melton says that she admitted to deputies that she was a meth user and that she had marijuana in her car.

Sutherland allowed deputies to confiscate the marijuana, but deputies say they also found a baggie with meth in it in the driver’s door.

Sheriff Melton says that they also found a loaded .25 caliber handgun under the back seat, a large knife wrapped in a towel and two homemade shanks.

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They say there was a number of check in the floorboard.

The deputy says he discovered that State Police had been to Sutherland’s house on Swigert Avenue for fraudulent checks and that troopers had been looking for her passenger Christopher Green.

Officers went to Sutherland’s home, where they say they found a stolen credit card, more fraudulent checks and Sutherland’s two children, ages three and four, home alone.

“You’ve got these children who don’t have a choice, don’t have a choice about to do where they are and you’ve got parents and family that’s more concerned about doing drugs and getting high than they are taking care of their children,” said Sheriff Melton.

Sutherland and Green are both in the Franklin County Detention Center.

Green’s charge is listed as Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument 2nd degree.

Sutherland was charged with Reckless Driving, Failure to Produce Insurance Card, Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st degree, Possession of Marijuana and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.

The Sheriff’s Office says that Social Services was called but a family member is now taking care of the children.

Police are looking for three men involved in a Lexington shooting that injured a music video producer and director.

Around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 26, police say Coleman Saunders was robbed and shot three times just off North Limestone and East Seventh Street.

Lexington Police Detective Mark Thomas says that Saunders stumbled to the sidewalk and begged a jogger to call 911. At that time he was coherent, but losing a lot of blood.

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Saunders works with country musicians like Sundy Best and J.D. Shelburne producing and directing music videos.

Saunders spent days in the hospital undergoing surgery and recovering from the attack.

Police are looking for three men in their late teens to early twenties.

“When you have more than one suspect involved, now we have three times as likely of chances of catching these guys because, somebody out there is going to run their mouth to a family member, a girlfriend, or another friend. Somebody knows exactly what happened here that night,” said Thomas.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.

You can leave information on the Bluegrass Crime Stoppers website, by calling (859) 253-20202 or by sending a text message to ‘CRIMES,’ just text LEX-PD and your tip.

Three teens accused in connection with the death of a Mercer County High School student faced a judge Tuesday.

17-year-old Trent Easterling is charged with murder and robbery in the shooting death of Tristan Cole back in April.  Court documents say he met Cole near a barn robbed him, shot him and left him to die.  Easterling, who is being charged as an adult, entered a not guilty plea to these charges Tuesday morning.

Two other teens, Zachary Lay, 18, and Meagan Sims,18, are accused of selling the murder weapon.

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Lay and Sims are both charged with evidence tampering. According to court documents, Sims and Lay sold the gun that was related to a murder investigation. Paperwork also states that Lay concealed the weapon.

Sims and Lay both pleaded not guilty.

Students at Mercer County High School were left with many questions as to why anyone would hurt Cole.

“I don’t know of him to have any enemies, he was a very nice sweet man,” one student told LEX 18 during the aftermath.

Easterling will be back in court August 9.

The Better Business Bureau of Central & Eastern Kentucky has a warning for ‘Pokemon Go’ players out there.

They released the following warning about the virtual scavenger hunt smartphone app:

Expenses: It’s possible to play completely cost-free by winning “PokeCoins” (the app’s currency) through gameplay, but you can also purchase the coins through an in-app purchase. The longer you play, the more spending money you need to store and “train” your gathered characters. The app also requires constant GPS access, and it uses a lot of data. After playing for hours every day, consumers with limited data plans may find themselves with a hefty bill at the end of the month.

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Privacy: In order to play the game, users must allow the app to access other applications, such as maps and camera. Many users sign in with a Google account, and that has caused some concerns about privacy. The Android version of the game only accesses limited data (such as the user’s email address), but the iOS version for the iPhone can access all Google data. Niantic, the game’s maker, says no personal information has been accessed, and it is issuing a bug fix to correct the problem. Users can create an account through the app itself rather than using an email address to access the game.

Malware: So far, the app is only available in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, which has given cybercriminals an opportunity to capitalize on the demand. A malware version of the game has been found online; although no known infections have been reported. Users should only download the app through official app stores, not third-party sites.

Safety: Players should use the same safety precautions while playing the game that they would in any other outdoor setting, including caution in strange locations. A Missouri police department reported robbers using a secluded “PokeStop” location to rob unsuspecting game players. Players should be cautious as pedestrians and obey all traffic laws, and drivers should be on the lookout for children who may be distracted by the game. The app also drains phone batteries, so users should be careful not to get stranded far from home.

Infringement: PokeStops are supposed to all be on public property (or cooperative private sites), but some homeowners report that players have appeared on their property (perhaps mistaking it as a “PokeStop.”) Players should be respectful of others’ private property. Future commercial opportunities are anticipated, where stores can offer rare or unique characters to add to the game.

Kentucky State Police confirm that a 16-year-old girl was killed in a Washington County collision Monday.

KSP says that 42-year-old Holly Horton, of Harrodsburg, was driving a Hyundai westbound on KY 1754.  They say she failed to stop at an intersection and pulled into the path of a northbound Nissan driven by  42-year-old Christopher Mattingly, of Shelbyville. Mattingly’s vehicle collided with the rear driver side of the Hyundai.

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KSP says that Horton was not wearing a seatbelt and was flown to UK Medical Center where she is in stable condition. Makenzie Horton, 15, was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.

Sixteen-year-old Ople White, of Willisburg, who was also a passenger in Horton’s car, was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mattingly was not injured.

An account has been set up with Springfield State Bank to help with funeral expenses. LEX 18 will add more information to this developing story as information is received.

Golf tournament insurance scammer and convicted felon Kevin Kolenda is wanted on a national extradition warrant after he failed to appear in Snohomish County Superior Court in Washington July 7 to face one felony charge for selling insurance without a license.

The warrant stipulates that he will be extradited to Snohomish County if he’s apprehended and sets bail at $50,000.

Kolenda, 59, of Norwalk, Conn., is listed among Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s insurance fraud most wanted.

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In June 2015, Kolenda was extradited from Norwalk to Seattle, where the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office charged him with selling insurance without a license through his golf tournament marketing website, hole-in-won.com.

According to the charging documents, Kolenda sold at least six illegal policies between February 2014 and March 2015. In addition to the charge in Snohomish County, he faces six felony charges in Spokane and King counties for first-degree theft and engaging in unauthorized insurance transactions. He’s scheduled to appear in Spokane County Superior Court in August and for trial in King County in October.

Kevin Kolenda

This is the second time Kreidler has pursued criminal charges against Kolenda for defrauding Washington tournaments and golfers. In 2012, Kolenda was extradited from Connecticut to Washington to face charges of selling insurance without a license. He pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court in October 2013 to three felony charges for selling insurance without a license and theft for failure to pay golfers hole-in-one awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.

In February 2014, a King County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 86 days in jail with credit for time served and ordered him to pay $15,000 restitution. Kolenda resumed selling insurance without a license four days after his sentencing.

Kolenda reportedly has a long history of defrauding people through hole-in-one insurance scams. He’s been in business since 1995 and has been investigated or prosecuted in 12 states. In some of the Washington state cases, charities had to come up with the prize money that Kolenda refused to pay.

Kolenda violated a 2004 order from Kreidler to cease and desist from selling insurance without a license and was fined $125,000 in 2008 for continuing the practice.

Friends and family of Robert Jones and Crystal Warner continued to search for the missing couple’s bodies Monday.

Craig Pennington is accused of shooting and killing the couple. His bond was set at $2 million during a court appearance on Monday.

Jones and Warner owned the Washington County property that Pennington was renting. Family members tell LEX 18 that Warner and Jones planned on evicting Pennington.

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More than a week ago, Jones and Warner visited the cabin to talk to Pennington on their way home from visiting family in Letcher County. Last week, the couple’s car was found off I-75 near a Georgetown gas station.

On Monday, more than a dozen people searched the cabin and the surrounding areas to look for the bodies. No law enforcement agencies were involved in the search.

Family members say that with each passing day, the frustration has been mounting, but they would rather be actively searching than waiting around for answers.

“All our concerns right now are trying to find our family and give them rest, then we can rest too. That’s what my goal is and I think that’s everybody’s goal around here,” said Warner’s cousin Pam Warner.

Family members are asking people who own land between Washington County and Scott County to check their properties and see if they notice anything out of the ordinary.