Three men arrested for being intoxicated after trip to pain clinic

Williamsburg police charged three Kentucky men, who were passengers in a vehicle returning from a visit to a Florida pain clinic, with public intoxication Wednesday morning, and one of the men was later charged with promoting contraband at the Whitley County Detention Center.

Ronnie S. Gevedon, 29, of Hazel Green, Robert M. Howard, 40, and Roy Risner Jr., 37, both of Salyersville, pleaded guilty to public intoxication charges during their arraignment Thursday morning in Whitley District Court.

Judge Cathy Prewitt fined all three men $100, and ordered them to pay $163 in court costs.

Williamsburg Public Affairs Officer Shawn Jackson and Chief Wayne Bird arrested the men shortly after 10 a.m. following a traffic stop on I-75 near the 12-mile marker in the northbound lane.

Both Jackson and Bird had received complaints about a possible drunk driver after the group stopped at McDonald’s and the passengers got out and appeared to be under the influence.

All three passengers in the 1996 black Ford Explorer were returning from a Florida pain clinic, and had slurred speech, according to their arrest citations.

Gevedon appeared to be over medicated. Risner told police he had taken Alprazolam and Roxicet. Howard told police he had taken his Roxicet, according to arrest citations.

Jackson said that police found prescriptions for Oxycodone and Alprazolam on the men in amounts that were consistent with what they had been prescribed.

In the past three months, Williamsburg police have arrested numerous individuals for public intoxication and other charges returning from visits to Florida pain clinics.

Jackson said he couldn’t remember the name of the pain clinic that the three men in this case visited, but that it wasn’t Executive or American, which have been favorites among people that police have stopped recently. Both Executive and American have been shut down.

Jackson said that the driver was not under the influence, hadn’t seen a doctor, didn’t have any prescriptions, and wasn’t charged.

"The driver stated that they offered to pay for his gas if he would just drive them to Florida," Jackson said. "He stated that he wasn’t going to put himself in the middle of that once again."

Gevedon and Howard were both allowed to be released from custody following their arraignments Thursday.

Risner is still being held in the Whitley County Detention Center in lieu of a $7,500 cash bond in connection with two felony first-degree promoting contraband charges.

Prewitt entered a not guilty plea on Risner’s behalf on the charges Thursday, and appointed the public advocate’s office to represent him. She scheduled an April 5 preliminary hearing in the case.

The contraband charges stem from a complaint filed by deputy jailers about 1:08 p.m. Wednesday.

Deputy Jailer Harold Hensley woke up Risner to check on him.

While Hensley was talking to Risner, Deputy Jailer Greg Rhodes checked his front pocket and found two round blue pills. Rhodes also found six more round blue pills in Risner’s socks, according to the arrest citation.

"I asked inmate Roy Risner three verbal times if he had anything, and he said, ‘No,’" Rhodes wrote.

In addition, Rhodes found three rolled up papers that Risner allegedly used to snort the pills, the citation stated.

Deputy Jailer Charles Kersey assisted with the contraband investigation.