Lexington grand jury declines to indict man charged with murder, plus other court updates
Court cases stemming from several homicides in Central Kentucky moved through the court system in January as defendants pleaded guilty to crimes or had them dismissed altogether.
Developments included Lexington men pleading guilty to a lesser charge for a 2021 homicide, and a jury declining to indict a 19-year-old for murder.
Here are updates on court cases previously covered by the Herald-Leader.
Grand jury declines to indict man charged with murder
A Fayette County grand jury declined to indict a 19-year-old on a murder charge.
Jon’Tay Mattingly, 19, was charged with killing 17-year-old Kenlon Johnson in March 2024. Mattingly was arrested seven months later, and police said he was one of four people involved in a set-up that resulted in the death.
Surveillance footage from the residential neighborhood showed five people, including Kenlon and Mattingly, arriving at the scene in a stolen vehicle.
Detective Hunter Wilks said only four people left, as Johnson was shot and left behind.
Surveillance footage did not show the actual shooting. Wilks didn’t definitively say who pulled the trigger when questioned by Mattingly’s lawyer, Brooklyn Alcorn.
A grand jury dismissed the indictment following the presentation on Jan. 8.
Two men accept Alford pleas to lesser crimes
Two men who were charged in a March 2021 fatal shooting pleaded guilty to lesser crimes, according to court documents.
Michael Roland, 22, and Larry Stevenson III, 20, were charged with murder and robbery in the death of 18-year-old Montaye Mullins, according to police.
Mullins was shot early March 11, 2021, and found by police at the intersection of Augusta Drive and Raleigh Road. Roland and Stevenson were picked up in a car near where the homicide took place by police. Multiple guns were found in the car, along with bags of marijuana, according to court records.
Roland — who was 18 at the time of the shooting — entered an Alford plea for charges of second-degree complicity to manslaughter on Jan. 17.
Stevenson was 17 when he was charged. He entered an Alford plea for second-degree complicity to manslaughter on Jan. 10.
An Alford plea means defendants do not admit guilt but acknowledge prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them. The robbery charges were dismissed as part of their plea deal, according to court documents.
Both face six years in prison for the charge. Roland faces an additional two years of imprisonment for a separate theft charge in Fayette County.
Their sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Man faces 10 years for manslaughter plea
A man accused of killing an 80-year-old inside his home in Sept. 2023 pleaded guilty to a lesser charge as part of a plea deal.
James Bradburn, 60, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter on Jan. 9, according to court documents.
He was charged with murder in the death of 80-year-old Arliss Stewart. Lexington police began their homicide investigation at a residence at the 600 block of Marshall Lane.
Bradburn refused to leave the home when police arrived. When police were able to enter, Stewart was dead at the scene.
Bradburn faces a sentence of 10 years. A hearing is scheduled for March 13.
