{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Lawsuit accuses former Knox County sheriff of framing man for murder &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"35EuYrsR7j\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/lawsuit-accuses-former-knox-county-sheriff-framing-man-murder\/\">Lawsuit accuses former Knox County sheriff of framing man for murder<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/lawsuit-accuses-former-knox-county-sheriff-framing-man-murder\/embed\/#?secret=35EuYrsR7j\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Lawsuit accuses former Knox County sheriff of framing man for murder&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"35EuYrsR7j\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/court-teaser.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":258,"description":"A former Knox County Sheriff and half a dozen other law enforcement officers have been sued after a man was acquitted of murder charges last year. William \u201cBill Bill\u201d Anderson, 37 of Campbell County, Tennessee., filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in London against former Knox County Sheriff John Pickard, former deputy Derek Eubanks, as well Kentucky State Police officers Jason York, Brian Johnson, Mark Mefford, Jackie Joseph and Tyson Lawson. Anderson alleges officers framed him for the 2011 murder of Bob Wiggins in Bell County. Wiggins\u2019 body had been discovered five years prior in Bell County, where evidence showed his skull was smashed in with a rock, his neck slashed and that he had been stabbed 18 times. Anderson was acquitted of the murder charges by a jury on May 25, 2016. According to a press release from Anderson\u2019s attorneys, Loevy &amp; Loevy Attorneys at Law, the suit alleges \u201cmultiple cases of egregious misconduct by the defendants, ignoring a likely suspect of the November 23, 2011 murder.\u201d According to the lawsuit, Anderson initially cooperated with the investigation, pointing officers to co-defendant James Sizemore, who later pleaded guilty to Wiggins\u2019 murder. Security video from Lowe\u2019s Home Improvement store in Corbin lead to Sizemore\u2019s uncle, Jeffrey Gray, who paid cash for materials allegedly used to bury the body, including a shovel, flashlights and bags of salt and lime. Anderson\u2019s attorneys complained that Knox Sheriff John Pickard was protecting Gray, who was allegedly paying him $1,000 a month for \u201cthe right to conduct criminal activity without fear of prosecution.\u201d In addition to the alleged arrangement with Pickard, Gray is also a relative of Detective York\u2019s wife. The suit alleges Pickard fabricated evidence implicating Anderson and protecting Gray from criminal charges. In an audio recording obtained by The Mountain Advocate from Anderson\u2019s legal team, alibi witness David Fox, who says he was with Anderson at the time of the murder, was interrogated by Detective York and Deputy Eubanks. In the recording, loud vulgarities could be heard, as well as the sound of slapping. The audio clip of the interrogation can be found at mountainadvocate.com. Please be aware that there is graphic, violent language in the audio recording. Anderson\u2019s attorneys allege Detective York and Deputy Eubanks were trying to coerce Fox to change his story about Anderson being with him at the time of the murder. In filing the lawsuit, Anderson is seeking compensatory damages, attorneys\u2019 fees, costs against each defendant, and punitive damages against each of the individual defendants, as well as any other relief the court deems appropriate. Anderson claims that during his four years of incarceration in the county jail, he was \u201cstripped of the various pleasures of basic human experience, from the simplest to the most important, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right. Mr. Anderson missed out on the ability to share holidays, births, funerals, and other life events with loved ones, including his wife and five children (ages 18, 17, 15, 13 and 13), and the fundamental freedom to live one\u2019s life as an autonomous human being.\u201d In April 2017, another lawsuit was brought against Kentucky State Police Detectives Jason York, Brian Johnson, Mark Mefford, Dallas Eubanks, Kelly Farris, Jackie Pickrell, Jason Bunch, former Knox County Sheriff John Pickard and Officer Derek Eubanks, and former Barbourville Police Officer Mike Broughton. Knox County and the City of Barbourville were also named as institutional defendants. That lawsuit, filed by Loevy and Loevy Attorneys at Law for Jonathan Taylor and Amanda Hoskins, alleges they were arrested for the 2010 murder of Catherine Mills of Flat Lick. Both their case were dismissed in 2016 after years of rescheduled trials and an eventual admission from Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney Jackie Steele that \u201cBased on the changes in the testimony of the above witnesses and the unavailability of others, the Commonwealth does not feel as though probable cause of guilt is present anymore.\u201d"}