Grand jury set to probe jail next month

A special prosecutor will ask the Whitley County Grand Jury next month to look into allegations of possible wrongdoing by Whitley County Jailer Jerry Taylor and members of his jail staff.
A spokesperson for Pulaski Commonwealth’s Attorney Eddie Montgomery confirmed Tuesday morning that Attorney General Greg Stumbo had appointed Montgomery as special prosecutor in the case.
Montgomery will start presenting evidence to the grand jury at 1 p.m. on Sept. 6, concerning allegations involving the jail, the jailer, and other individuals that worked at the jail, his office said.
The presentation will be made to the regular grand jury, and not a special called grand jury, which could be impaneled to hear only this case.
Officials with the Kentucky State Police Special Investigations Division have been investigating the case, and Montgomery’s office has been in contact with Department of Corrections officials, who closed the jail on July 23.
State officials cited an “unwillingness to change the status quo” by Taylor and his staff as part of the reason for filing suit last month in Frankfort to close the Whitley County Jail.
“Taylor’s malfeasance in office and disregard of Department of Corrections directives, applicable law and regulations poses an imminent threat to the safety of inmates, staff and the public at large, so that immediate, irreparable injury will be sustained if the Whitley County Detention Center is permitted to remain open,” correction’s officials wrote in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit referenced complaints made during jail inspections ranging from male and female inmates being housed in adjacent, unlocked dormitories with little or no supervision and control panels and security doors being inoperable and malfunctioning to allegations that a female inmate had become pregnant by another inmate.
The grand jury presentation is expected to be lengthy, and may require more than one day to present. If that happens, it would be up to the grand jury to decide whether more information would be presented the following day, or the following month.
Grand jury subpoenas are expected to be issued later this month, and may include state police investigators, private citizens, and people, who worked at the jail, Montgomery’s office said.
Taylor’s attorney, Randy Jewell, has contacted Montgomery’s office about possibly presenting evidence to the grand jury, but it will be up to grand jurors to decide whether they want to hear that evidence, or from Taylor if he wishes to testify, Montgomery’s office said.
By press time, Jewell had not returned a phone message left at his office seeking comment on the case.
Montgomery’s spokesperson said that Whitley Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble had requested that a special prosecutor be appointed in the case, which is a fairly common procedure in cases involving elected officials.
The last time a Whitley County Grand Jury looked into allegations involving Taylor was in 1995, the year after he lost a bid to be re-elected judge-executive.
The grand jury heard from nearly 20 witnesses over two full days of testimony spanning two months in the fall of 1995 before deciding to issue no indictments.
Allegations reportedly presented to the grand jury involved county bridges that were allegedly built on private property by county officials during Taylor’s administration.
Among the witnesses who appeared before the grand jury in 1995 was Gary Taylor, one of Jerry Taylor’s sons, who called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
The 1995 grand jury did issue the following statement that was part of their report:
“The Grand Jury further reports its belief that the procedures for expenditures of money for county roads set forth in KRS Chapter 178 must be followed to the letter of the law, that no short cuts should be permitted, and that where practical all expenditures for bridge construction should be disbursed only upon prior approval of the fiscal court.
“The Grand Jury further reports its belief that any future declaration of a road into the county road system or any future abandonment of a road from the county road system must be accomplished strictly in the manner provided for by statute.”