Edmonson sheriff pleads not guilty

Edmonson County Sheriff Billy Joe Honeycutt pleaded not guilty Thursday to new Madison County charges in Clark County Circuit Court.

A superseding indictment was returned by a Madison grand jury earlier this month, charging Honeycutt with 11 new counts of misrepresentation of having conducted training courses and three new counts of providing incomplete firearms training. Honeycutt had previously been indicted for one count each of misrepresentation and incomplete training in December by a former grand jury.

Honeycutt, 47, of Park City, was charged in Madison County because the Department of Criminal Justice Training is the complaining witness. His case was moved Thursday to Clark County as a convenience for Honeycutt’s attorney, Steven Thornton, Madison Commonwealh’s Attorney David Smith said previously. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for May 15 in Madison Circuit Court.

Honeycutt committed the offense of misrepresentation when he allegedly “represented to the Department of Criminal Justice Training that he provided firearms training to Gregory R. Vincent and Carolyn Ann Vincent on July 24, 2004, when, in fact, he provided no training,” the original indictment stated.

In December 2006, Honeycutt also allegedly told DOCJT that he “provided firearms training required by statute and regulation to an applicant training course conducted in Bee Springs, Ky., ... when in fact he failed to provide the required training,” the indictment stated.

All 17 charges against Honeycutt are Class D felonies, punishable upon conviction by one to five years in prison for each count.

Also Thursday in Madison Circuit Court, Swan Halstead, 25, of Berea, was scheduled for a pre-trial conference, but the hearing was continued. Halstead’s attorney, public defender Steve West, asked for more time to work on the case because of the vast amount of evidence presented as discovery by the prosecution in the case.

Halstead was indicted in December on one count of exploitation of an adult, a Class C felony punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

In a December 2006 preliminary hearing in the case, Kentucky State Police Trooper Scott King testified that Halstead was living with his grandmother, who was found to suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. During a six-month period, Halstead allegedly financially exploited his grandmother, for whom he was the caretaker, for about $36,000, King said.

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694. Fred Petke of the Winchester Sun contributed to this story.