Eastern Kentucky sheriff arrested after fight at a girls’ high school basketball game
Editor’s Note: In late October 2022, Owsley County Sheriff Brent Lynch was found not guilty in the assault case stemming from an altercation at a girls’ high school basketball game in Perry County.
The Owsley County sheriff was arrested Thursday on a fourth-degree assault charge after getting involved in a fight at a girls’ high school basketball game, according to Kentucky State Police.
Brent Lynch, the elected sheriff in Owsley County, was taken to the Three Forks Regional Jail in Lee County, according to state police. Police had been searching for him since Tuesday when an arrest warrant was issued. The fight happened on Friday during a girls’ basketball game at Perry County Central High School, state police said. Perry County was playing against Owsley County High School.
State Trooper Matthew Gayheart said Lynch, who is also a basketball coach at Owsley County High School, allegedly rushed the floor during a fight between players and struck a Perry County Central player.
Lynch, 47, was booked into the jail just before 10 a.m. Thursday, according to jail records. He was arrested by officials from the Owsley County sheriff’s office, Gayheart said. State police issued a statement Wednesday saying they hadn’t been able to find him after obtaining an arrest warrant on Tuesday.
Owsley County Schools Superintendent Tim Bobrowski said Wednesday that Owsley school officials are “fully complying” with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s recommendations. Lynch was suspended for one game, Bobrowski said.
“Per KHSAA’s recommendations, both teams have suspended four student athletes for two games,” Bobrowski said.
Perry County Superintendent Jonathan Jett told the Herald-Leader Wednesday that officials who were working the game ejected two players. He said he was aware of an investigation but he did not want to comment on the alleged assault.
Owsley County Judge-Executive Cale Turner said Lynch served several years as a Kentucky State Police officer before running for sheriff. Lynch, a Republican, is in his first term as sheriff.
Turner said his experience is that Lynch is a mild-mannered person. The assault allegation doesn’t fit what he knows of Lynch, Turner said.
”That don’t sound good,” Turner said of the charge, “but it’s hard for me to believe he would do that. That seems out of character for him to me.”
The Owsley County sheriff’s office declined to comment.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 12:20 PM.