FOUR WOMEN INDICTED FOR JULY 2023 GANG ATTACK AT ANTIQUES STORE IN PAINTSVILLE; AS PART OF FIFTEEN INDICTMENTS AGAINST THIRTEEN PEOPLE TOTAL BY JOHNSON COUNTY GRAND JURY FOR MAY 2024 SESSION

FIFTH PERSON IN STORE GANG ASSAULT WAS FEMALE JUVENILE

MAY 28, 2024 – written by WADE QUEEN

SMILING FOR THE CAMERA AFTER BEING INDICTED ON SERIOUS FELONIES: LORA HOPE WILLIAMS, 37, OF KY. 1107, PAINTSVILLE, KY., & REBECCA LYNN FAIRCHILD, 53, OF KY. 1107, WEST VAN LEAR, KY., ARE TWO OF FOUR WOMEN AND A FEMALE JUVENILE WHO WERE INDICTED THIS MONTH FOR THEIR GANG ATTACK ON A WOMAN IN A PAINTSVILLE, KY. ANTIQUES STORE IN JULY 2023.

The Johnson County Grand Jury met in their monthly session, for May 2024, as it led to fifteen (15) indictments against thirteen (13) people for a number of various crimes including assault, burglary, trafficking and theft.

The most important case of action from the May 2024 Johnson County grand jury session was the indictment of four of the five individuals involved in an assault that took place in July of 2023 at an antiques store in Paintsville.

According to the Johnson County court documents, the indictments also list an unnamed minor as having been complicit in the charges, with the female juvenile acting in complicity in which all committed the offense of assault by intentionally assaulting Nannette Robinson causing serious physical injury.

The indictments charge Lora Hope Williams, 37, of KY. 1107, Paintsville, KY., Rebecca Lynn Fairchild, 53, of KY. 1107, West Van Lear, KY., Charlotte Wallen, 57, of Honey Hollow Road, Tutor Key, KY., and Leslie Faith Lyte, 41, of Citation Court, Mason, Ohio; in complicity with one another and the female juvenile on those charges.

The indictment named the offenses against all five individuals, which were second-degree assault, a Class C felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $10,000, and first-degree unlawful imprisonment, a Class D felony which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of no more than $10,000.

Also according to the Johnson County court indictment documents, in addition to those charges, Leslie Lyte is charged with *First-Degree Strangulation, also a Class C felony which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $10,000; when she committed the offense of intentionally and without consent, impedes the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of another by applying pressure to the throat or neck of another or by blocking the nose or mouth of another person.

The bond for all four women was set for $10,025 full cash only for each of the four.

After the indictments were released, Lora Williams and Rebecca Fairchild turned themselves in together to police on early Thursday evening, May 23; and they were both taken together to the BSRDC to be booked and lodged. Both women have both since posted their bonds and have been released from the jail.

Law enforcement are currently looking for Leslie Lyte and Charlotte Wallen. The status of the female juvenile who joined the other four adult women in the assault is unknown

The felony assault charges stem from a police arrest report and subsequent bookings of Lora Williams and Rebecca Fairchild into the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center that took place on August 1, 2023.

In the arrest citation report, former Paintsville Police Department Officer Tyler Cable wrote that Leslie Lyte entered the store and made first contact with Nannette Robinson, pushing her down against a wooden stand, prompting Nannette Robinson to get back up and strike back at Leslie Lyte in self-defense. Leslie Lyte then grabbed Nannette Robinson “by the neck and threw her down on the ground, knocking herself and Charlotte Wallen down,” the police report said.

After this, the report said, Lora Williams got on top of Nannette Robinson, and was holding her down and punching her in the face, while Rebecca Fairchild kicked Nannette Robinson in the head. According to the police report, the individuals also pushed down on Nannette Robinson neck, and the female minor recorded the incident on her personal cell phone.

According to Johnson County court documents, the female minor also joined in the assault of Nannette Robinson.

The police report said the suspects told Nannette Robinson that the “next time they are going to kill her,” and took her phone and the store’s phone away, stating that Nannette Robinson “(wasn’t) calling anybody.”

The names and charges of the other persons who were also indicted in the May session of the Johnson County Grand Jury are listed as the following:

Charles Eugene Hall II, (photo left),51, of Staffordsville, KY., and Danny L. Vanhoose, (photo right),42, of Thelma, KY., were indicted on charges of:

Second-Degree Burglary (Complicity),
First-Degree Persistent Felony Offender,
Second-Degree Fleeing/Evading (On Foot) and
Resisting Arrest.

The indictment states that on December 20, 2023, both Charles Hall and Danny Vanhoose, acting in complicity, committed the offense of burglary by unlawfully entering and remaining in a dwelling located on Cactus Drive in Paintsville, KY., that was owned by James Skaggs, with the intent to commit the crime of theft.

Both Charles Hall and Danny Vanhoose are accused of disregarding signals and commands to stop given by Kentucky State Police Troopers Ryan Hale and Matt Smith.

They are also accused of intentionally and unlawfully attempting to prevent officers from effecting an arrest by using, or threatening to use physical force against officers.

Danny Vanhoose had an additional charge of: *Possession of Burglary Tools when he was allegedly found to be in possession of tools, instruments or other items commonly used to commit forcible entry into premises. Bonds for both men were set for $10,025.

John Franklin King Jr., 29, of Paintsville, KY., was indicted on the charges of:

First-Degree Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine),
Possession or Use of Drug Paraphernalia and
Public Intoxication when on April 9, 2024, he allegedly committed the offense of unlawfully being in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

John King was also said to be manifestly intoxicated to the degree he may endanger himself or other persons, property or reasonably annoy others in the vicinity. John King’s bond was set at $5,025. However, John King has been held since the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center since Sunday, May 12, after he was arrested once again for Possession of Methamphetamine and Public Intoxication, but he was charged with Probation Violation For a Felony Offense

Michael E. Meeks, 47, of Flat Gap, KY., was indicted on the charges of:

First-Degree possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) Third Offense,
Operating a Motor Vehicle Under The Influence, Third Offense,
Rear License Not Illuminated, Inadequate Silencer, and
Failure to Wear Seatbelt. Michael Meeks was accused of committing these offenses on December 20, 2023. His bond was set at $5,025.

John L. Strong, 35, of Paintsville, KY., was indicted on the charges of:

Theft by Unlawful Taking $10,000 or More,
*Receiving Stolen Property Under $1,000, and *Operating on Suspended or Revoked Operators License.

The indictment stated that on November 22, 2023, John Strong committed the offense of unlawfully taking a 2023 Can-Am brand ATV from Lowe’s of Paintsville with a value of $11,778.00.

John Strong was also accused of being in possession and the contents of the wallet stolen from the family of the late Ronald K. Belhasen. Bond for John Strong was set at $10,025.

Michael L. Ferguson, 43, of Flat Gap, KY., was indicted on the charges of: *First-Degree Possession of Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine),

Operating on a Suspended Revoked Operators License,
No Registration Plate,
No Kentucky Registration receipts,
Improper Display of Registration Plates.

Michael Ferguson is accused of committing the offenses on October, 25, 2023. His bond was set for $5,025.

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE:

Joshua Stephen Cass, 23, of Flat Gap, KY., was indicted on a charge of

Theft by Unlawful Taking Over $10,000; when he committed the offense of unlawfully taking $10,951.51 in cash money from Shaleigh Walker and exercising control with the intent to deprive the victim of the money.

Jeremy Ray Burchett, 48, of Paintsville, KY., was indicted on the charges of

Trafficking a Controlled Substance Within 1,000 feet of a School,
First-Degree Persistent Felony Offender, and
Second-Degree Possession of Controlled Substance.

The indictment stated that on November 10, 2023, Jeremy Burchett committed the offense of being in possession of approximately 14 grams of Methamphetamine, digital scales, and $121 in cash money with the intent to traffic within 1,000 yards of Johnson Central Elementary School. Jeremy Burchett also is accused of being in possession of a schedule III controlled substance (Suboxone). His bond was set at $5,025.

Jeremy Ray Burchett has been incarcerated at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center since Saturday, May 18, after he was arrested on a separate unrelated charge of:

TRAFFICKING IN CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, 2ND DEGREE, 2ND OFFENSE – (> OR=20 D.U. DRUG UNSPECIFIED SCHEDULE 3). Not only that, Jeremy Ray Burchett has also been arrested two other times between November 10, 2023 and May 18, 2024, which were on December 25, 20233 & March 1, 2024; on an additional combined fourteen (14) charges, involving felonies, misdemeanors and motor traffic violations.