Published: July 09, 2009 08:45 pm      

Man pleads to assault, killing dog

Britton employees arraigned

A Richmond man will serve eight years in prison for beating his wife with a lamp and killing her dog after entering a guilty plea Thursday in Madison Circuit Court.

Samuel Vorhees pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, torture of a dog, theft by failure to make required disposition of property, theft by deception and violating an emergency protective order as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Vorhees, 39, was charged in connection with a Feb. 5 incident at his home in the 400 block of Big Hill Avenue. Police said Vorhees’ wife suffered a broken left arm and numerous bruises after he beat her with a wooden lamp and then fled before returning later to stab her dog to death with a knife.

The theft charges stemmed from the discovery following the incident that Vorhees had pawned a garden tiller and lawn mower belonging to his father-in-law without permission.

As part of the agreement, Vorhees was sentenced to five years in prison for the assault, three years for torture, one year each on the theft charges and 12 months in jail for the protective order violation and will serve eight years in prison.

An evaluation by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in La Grange determined Vorhees suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, his attorney, public defender Sarah Bryant said.

A competency hearing was conducted last month to determine if Vorhees was competent to stand trial in the case.



Britton employees

The four former employees of a defunct Berea car dealership indicted last month on theft charges were arraigned before Madison Circuit Judge Jean C. Logue, and one argued for a reduction in his bond.

Former Britton Chevrolet employees Darian Jones, Don Wilson, Danny Sweet and president Clifford Chambers are charged in connection with the dealership’s alleged failure to pay off liens against vehicles that were traded in, selling vehicles that had liens against them, failure to pay vehicle transfer fees and usage taxes and forging documents showing liens had been terminated against vehicles the dealership sold.

Chambers and his attorneys argued for a reduction in the $10,000 cash bond he was required to post following the indictment. His co-defendants were not required to post a bond because they had cooperated with Berea Police Department investigators looking into the dealership’s failure, Commonwealth’s Attorney David Smith told Logue.

Logue agreed to reduce Chambers’ bond to a 10 percent bond following a discussion between attorneys from both sides.

Smith said additional indictments may be issued in the case regarding non-payment of taxes from several vehicle sales the dealership made.

Britton Chevrolet closed in January 2009 after more than 50 years in business, and several customers reported difficulty with transferring ownership and registering vehicles they had purchased in the months preceding the dealership’s closure.



Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.