MARTIN CO. MAN WITH LONG CRIMINAL HISTORY IS FACING MAJOR ASSAULT CHARGE AFTER INJURING JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFF DURING VIOLENT ARREST ALTERCATION
INCIDENT ON JANUARY 4, 2024 STARTED AS SIMPLE TRESPASSING AND PUBLIC INTOXICATION CALL COMPLAINT, COULD HAD BEEN FATAL FOR BOTH THE SHERIFF AND THE SUSPECT
JANUARY 14, 2024 – written by WADE QUEEN
REPEAT…AND REPEAT AGAIN VIOLENT OFFENDER: CASEY J. SPENCE, 25, OF INEZ, KY., WAS ARRESTED ON JANUARY 4, ON A CHARGE OF SECOND-DEGREE ASSAULT OF A POLICE OFFICER AFTER HE INJURED THE SHERIFF OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KY., SCOTT HAZELETTE, DURING AN ARREST FOR MISDEMEANORS OF PUBLIC INTOXICATION AND TRESPASSING, THAT WENT UNEXPECTEDLY VIOLENT.
Johnson County Sheriff Scott Hazelette was injured when a routine arrest turned violent, and came very close to potentially a fatal conclusion for both the sheriff and the suspect.
The altercation took place on Thursday afternoon, January 4, when Sheriff Scott Hazelette and his deputies were dispatched to Hilltop Road over a complaint about a man who appeared to be under the influence and was trespassing on several properties. When they got there, they found Casey J. Spence, 25, of Gordon Maynard Drive, of Inez, KY.
As Sheriff Hazelette was placing Casey Spence under arrest, the police arrest report stated that Casey Spence suddenly turned and hit Sheriff Hazelette on his head several times. That caused both Sheriff Hazelette and Casey Spence to fall to the ground, and then Casey Spence allegedly got on top of Sheriff Hazelette, while holding a black object in his hand that appeared to be a knife. Sheriff Hazelette then used his pepper spray to get Casey Spence off of him, the arrest citation said, at which point Casey Spence fled to a nearby garage, where he was caught by Sheriff Hazlette, who placed him under arrest without further incident.
According to the arrest citation report, Sheriff Hazlette had a “gash on the right side of his head and blood running down the side of his head and covering his uniform”. Sheriff Hazellette drove himself to Paintsville Appalachian-Regional-Hospital for treatment and to be medically cleared.
Casey Spence was taken into custody by deputy Zach Stapleton, and was charged with the following:
- ASSAULT, 2ND DEGREE – POLICE OFFICER,
- FLEEING OR EVADING POLICE, 1ST DEGREE (ON FOOT),
- RESISTING ARREST,
- CRIMINAL TRESPASSING-3RD DEGREE,
- CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 3RD DEGREE
Casey Spence was transported to and was lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville; and had his first court hearing set for Wednesday, January 10. Casey Spence remains in the BSRDC as of Sunday evening, January 14.
This latest arrest of Casey Spence now makes the 26th time Casey Spence has been arrested since April 2016, shortly after he turned 18 years old, in several Big Sandy area counties, on 75 felonies, misdemeanors, & motor traffic offenses; including multiple first degree assault & second degree assault arrests on civilian and police officers; several resisting arrests, and double digit number of theft arrests, among others; and he served a two year sentence in state prison from 2020 to 2022, before being paroled.
