After race protest prosecution, Fayette County Attorney faces opponent’s call for change

Facing criticism for the way he’s prosecuted cases generated by the racial protests of 2020, Fayette County Attorney Larry Roberts says he’s been equitable and competent in running his office for more than 14 years.

Angela Evans, a former public defender and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman, is challenging Roberts in the Democratic primary on May 17.

Roberts, a former Fayette Commonwealth Attorney, was first elected to the Fayette County Attorney’s office in 2006. This is the first challenge he’s had to the office since then. There is no Republican in the race.

The County Attorney’s office handles criminal and traffic prosecution and child support collection among several other duties, has 100 employees and an annual $4 million budget.

Roberts, 78, said he provides the best service in the court system to the citizens in Lexington. Prosecutors are on time, know how to prosecute the case and make fair offers, he said.

He said he has innovative specialty courts for child support, heroin and other addictions, and school programs for gang intervention. Roberts thinks his teen defense driving school might be unique in the nation. It operates on private money and Roberts said he donates his time to the proactive program that saves lives.

Evans is running on a platform of reducing recidivism, and promoting transparency and equity. She said data should be transparent on the plea offers made to defendants and whether race is playing a part in who is entering diversion programs.

“I already have developed relationships with elected officials on all levels of government, community leaders and other stakeholders who will be necessary in accomplishing these goals,” she said. “I will continue to foster these relationships and new ones, finding common ground and ways we can work together to improve safety for everyone and ensure equality for all who come in contact with the County Attorney’s office.”

Protest arrests

A major issue in the race has been Roberts’ handling of the more than 20 racial justice protesters who were arrested in the summer of 2020.

“I’ve had felony cases that took a shorter time to resolve than these cases,” said Evans.

None of those charges were dropped, but about nine of those defendants received diversion, Roberts said.

Many protesters who were charged with minor offenses have already pleaded guilty to time served or diversion, Roberts said. In the case involving April Taylor and her sister Sarah Williams, the women went around barriers in front of the police department. Roberts said police told the women to lay down on the sidewalks instead of behind the police barrier but they chose to lay down in front of the barrier and were arrested.

Taylor, a prominent protest organizer in Lexington, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a riot in February, according to court records. She was given probation.

Roberts has received repeated requests from Lexington Black Faith leaders and the NAACP to drop the charges against Williams, which include inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and disregarding traffic regulations, according to court records.

Roberts said he supported people’s right to protest peacefully. But he said he doesn’t support people who intentionally broke the law during the protests.

Transparency of office

Evans, 46, said she will promote equity and transparency within the County Attorney’s office.

Roberts said there are no disparities in how people are treated by his office and he has been unfair to no one.

Transparency is extremely important to rebuild the trust in the judicial system and government as a whole, Evans said. Collecting data on the outcomes of criminal cases and how the office utilizes revenue collected will reveal how effective and efficiently the office operates. With that knowledge, a strategic and effective plan to produce better outcomes can then be created and implemented, she said.

Roberts responded, “There’s no problem with transparency. None.”

The County Attorney’s Office must also become an active participant in reducing the amount of people who come back through the criminal system, Evans said. She said it is time to analyze how the office is contributing to recidivism, and consider new ways to prevent people from reoffending.

Evans said she has been practicing for 21 years. She began her career as a public defender in Lexington, which entailed representing adults charged with felonies, misdemeanors, juveniles and those facing involuntary commitment to a mental health facility.

Evans said she understands the social inequities and other issues that lead individuals to commit crimes. She was an Assistant Attorney General under Jack Conway for 8 years, prosecuting licensees on behalf of licensing boards, ensuring consumers were protected from unethical professionals, she said.

Evans served as 6th District Councilmember for six years and said she understands how to prioritize the needs of a government. She said she earned her Master in Public Policy from Princeton University in May 2021.

One way she plans to achieve transparency is to provide an annual report to the public that includes basic statistics on most common charges, overall outcomes of cases to inform the community of how cases are being resolved, and the general demographics of participants.

Additionally, it would include the amount of money collected by the office through restitution, child support and property taxes.

“Everything we do is open to the public,” Roberts said in response. “Every single offer that we make in a criminal case is open to the public. Every judge knows what the offer is. The clerks know what it is. The defense lawyers know what the offer is. There’s no secret about it. Nobody gets an offer under the table. There’s no issue about transparency.”

“She wants us to start keeping records of the people who go through our programs, are they Black or white?,” said Roberts. “We don’t do that. I don’t know anybody in the world who does that. But you can get those records of the clerk’s office of the court. I don’t write down on files if a person is Black or white or Jewish or a woman. Nobody does that,” he said. He said the state Administrative Office of the Courts has that data.

With 99% of all criminal cases starting in the county attorney’s office, Evans said, there is a lot of discretion on what remains a felony and what is not prosecuted at all.

She maintains that flaws in the criminal justice system have long-lasting impacts on victims, defendants and entire communities. She said she is dedicated to finding better solutions to the inequities within the system for the benefit of crime victims, criminal defendants and Fayette County.

Roberts’ background

Roberts noted in a February article in The Lane Report that his office worked on behalf of the county’s property valuation administrator regarding the process by which a property’s tax value is calculated under commercial relationships. He said a Walgreens lawsuit had a statewide impact that already has been worth millions to Kentucky public schools.

Since his taking office, the Fayette County attorney’s office has collected $60 million in delinquent taxes, Roberts said. There also have been at least 42,150 cold-check cases in Fayette County. He said he had collected at least $5,084,019 for the checks and $1,058,798 for merchants.

Fayette County has 18,000 active child support cases and many of them have high arrearages that Roberts is attempting to collect.

Roberts said he began the Child Support Specialty Court in 2010, which moves people owing child support into jobs, into substance abuse treatment, and to dismiss and expunge charges for people who succeed.

From 1969 to 1972, he was a public defender with Fayette County Legal Aid. He was selected to become the first full-time prosecutor in Kentucky and served as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney from 1972-77. He was appointed Commonwealth’s Attorney in 1977 and served until 1984. In 1985, he entered private practice and was there until becoming County Attorney.

Roberts was sworn in as Fayette County Attorney on August 15, 2006, and was elected to the position later that year for a four-year term.

What kind of experience do the candidates have?

Roberts said both he and Evans are good people.

“But she doesn’t have the experience that I do in managing people. She’s never had to manage an office,” he said, ”or a budget of any size, but I have.”

“We’ve been audited every single year and there’s been no allegation of wrongdoing or mismanagement of the money at all, ever,” said Roberts. “She hasn’t tried any cases in jury trials of any significance except maybe when she was with the public defenders office. But I have.”

He said experience is a huge issue because lawyers in the county attorney’s office have to be trained. He said Evans could have good ideas and innovative programs, but a county attorney must know how to run a program and how to discipline people and make sure they do their jobs.

In response, Evans said she had five years experience as a public defender, with 100 cases on her books practically every day. She said she had tried felony cases and misdemeanor cases, and said she litigated different types of cases in the state attorney general’s office. She managed staff and a budget on the Urban County Council and managed her own budget with her law practice, she added.

Evans said she understands government and the needs of Lexington much more than Roberts and he doesn’t understand the concept of being forthcoming rather than having citizens search for information.

“It’s time for a new way of looking at things,” she said.

According to the latest report from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, Roberts has raised $65,020.00 and spent $30,582.51, leaving $34,437.49.

Evans has raised $39,663 and spent $15,455.19, leaving $24,207.81.

Angela Evans

Age: 46

Previous work experience: Legal Aid Society (Public Defender), General Counsel to KY Secretary of State, Asst. KY Attorney General, McBrayer Firm (Associate), Angela C. Evans, PLLC (owner).

Any offices currently or previously held: LFUCG Council Member, 6th District.

Family: Single

Larry Roberts

Age: 78

Previous work experience: Private practice attorney, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, public defender, special prosecutor.

Any offices currently or previously held: Fayette County Attorney; Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Family: Wife, Kathy Winkel Roberts; two children.

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.