Two more defendants indicted in bourbon theft case plead not guilty

FRANKFORT — Two more defendants indicted in the bourbon theft case pleaded not guilty Friday in Franklin Circuit Court.

Mark Searcy, 49, of Lawrenceburg, and Dusty Adkins, 42, of Georgetown, had been indicted on one count each of engaging in an organized criminal syndicate.

They were among nine people indicted in April who are accused of stealing more than $100,000 in bourbon from the Wild Turkey distillery in Anderson County and Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. The stolen bourbon included bottles of expensive Pappy Van Winkle and Eagle Rare from Buffalo Trace.

Some defendants also face charges of trafficking in anabolic steroids.

Gilbert "Toby" Curtsinger, his wife, Julie Curtsinger, Christopher L. Preston, Joshua Preston and Robert M. McKinney, all of Frankfort, pleaded not guilty last week.

Earlier this month, Ronnie Lee Hubbard of Georgetown and Shaun Ballard of Richmond pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to receive stolen property, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

Under their plea deals, Hubbard and Ballard have agreed to testify truthfully at trials of other co-defendants.

A 10th co-defendant, Leslie Wright of Frankfort, is scheduled to be arraigned June 5 in Franklin Circuit Court.

Wright, a former Buffalo Trace security guard, was indicted in May for her alleged role in looking the other way when Gilbert Curtsinger and another man took stainless steel barrels of bourbon from Buffalo Trace. She was allegedly paid $800 to look the other way on two occasions.

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Two more defendants indicted in bourbon theft case plead not guilty."