Whitley County man charged with attempted murder of a police officer

A Whitley County man allegedly struck a Kentucky State Police trooper with his vehicle late Tuesday evening, was subsequently shot by the officer, and had to be flown to the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, according to a Kentucky State Police press release Thursday morning.

Randy Sullivan, 21, was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, felon in possession of a handgun, and multiple traffic violations, according to the release.

His sole passenger, Linda Adams, 42, of Williamsburg, was charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (methamphetamine), and is currently being detained in the Whitley County Detention Center.

She is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Whitley District Court, according to the detention center’s website.

The incident happened on the evening of May 12 while Kentucky State Police Post 11 troopers were attempting to locate a fugitive in connection to an officer involved shooting that occurred in Knox County.

A trooper conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in the Poplar Creek community of Whitley County.

“Upon approaching the vehicle, the trooper observed drugs in plain view and asked the driver to exit the vehicle, which the suspect refused. The suspect attempted to flee the scene striking the trooper and dragging him with the vehicle. As a result, shots were fired by a trooper and the male subject was injured,” the release stated.

The trooper, who was not identified in the release, did not sustain any serious injuries nor require medical treatment, according to the release.

The suspect in the Knox County case is still at large.

According to Adams arrest citation, the incident happened about 11:31 p.m. on May 12, and she was arrested at 12:45 a.m. on May 13.

Both the incident and the arrest occurred on Louden Road about 12 miles east of Williamsburg, according to the arrest citation.

Police located a firearm, a large amount of use currency and a crystallized substance believed to be methamphetamine inside the 2000 Toyota Celica, the arrest citation stated.

KSP Trooper Dackery Larkey is the case officer for the drug trafficking investigation.

The ongoing shooting investigation is being led by the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team and officers from Post 11.