Puckett pleads guilty

By Myra Hogan, managing editor

April 30, 2008 May 01, 2008 12:25 pm

— Johnny Ray Puckett, 24, agreed to a plea bargain Friday, April 25 in Carter County Circuit Court, and was given a 10-year prison sentence for 1st-degree manslaughter in the death of the late 4th District Carter County Constable Elmer Kiser.
Puckett was originally arrested and indicted for murder after Constable Kiser, 62, died following an attack while stopping a vehicle for reckless driving in Olive Hill in Sept. 2006.
The charge was amended to 1st-degree manslaughter in what court documents state Ôis the charge supported by the evidenceÓ.
The autopsy listed three health conditions as factors in KiserÕs death, including heart conditions and hypertension. Blunt impact of the head was also listed as contributing to his death.
Puckett was also sentenced to five years, to run consecutive with the 10 years, after pleading guilty to previous drug charges of first-degree and second-degree trafficking and cultivation of marijuana.
Puckett has been held without bond in the Carter County Detention Center since his arrest on October 25, 2006.
His final sentencing is set for May 28, 1 p.m. in Carter Circuit Court.

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