A Kenton County jury sentenced Curtis Snell to 90 years in prison after convicting him of 1st Degree Assault, four counts of 1st Degree Wanton Endangerment, and 1st Degree Persistent Felony Offender.
Snell
Snell, 34, was arrested in June, 2016 on a warrant obtained by Park Hills Police Lt. Richard Webster.
According to Webster’s affidavit Snell was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Jennifer Konkright on May 19, 2016, when he fired five shots from a handgun at another occupied vehicle. One of the shots went through the vehicle’s door and struck Linsey Kidwell in the abdomen. Kidwell was rushed to University of Cincinnati Medical Center where she underwent lifesaving surgery to repair her wounds.
She has since recovered.
Snell’s trial began January 30, before Kenton Circuit Judge Gregory Bartlett and lasted three days. First Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Casey Burns and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Heather Humble called several witnesses who testified about a wild bar fight at Muggbee’s in Florence that precipitated the shooting.
Florence Police were called to the bar but the combatants had been separated and no one wanted to press charges so no arrests were made. Kidwell testified that Snell and Konkright threatened to shoot up her residence in Park Hills so she and her friends rushed home. When they arrived, the home was unharmed so the group departed in two vehicles but soon came across Snell and Konkright at the intersection of Dixie Highway and St. Joseph Lane.
Konkright began pursuing the group and Snell opened fire, hitting both cars multiple times.
In closing arguments, Burns told the jury Snell obviously intended to cause the victims serious injury or death based on the number of shots fired. The jury agreed and found Snell guilty after only a few hours of deliberations.
Prosecutors pursued the Assault charge rather than Attempted Murder because both crimes carry the same punishment under Kentucky law. After hearing additional testimony about Snell’s two prior felony convictions, the jury also convicted him of being a 1st Degree Persistent Felony Offender and imposed a 90 year sentence.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said, “It’s great to see our Kenton County jurors take violent crime and repeat offenders just as seriously as we do.”
Sanders also complimented the Park Hills Police for the investigations and inter-agency cooperation.
“The investigation involved at least four different agencies, spanned several weeks, and involved the collection of numerous pieces of physical evidence,” said Sanders. “The City of Park Hills has a small department but they’ve wisely invested in experienced officers,” Sanders said, “so while it’s rare for anything like this to happen in such a little, quiet town, it’s good to know their police have all the skills they need to handle such a case.” Both Lt. Webster and Park Hills Police Chief Cody Stanley served over twenty years in the City of Covington’s Police Department before moving to Park Hills.
Formal sentencing before the same trial judge will be scheduled in March. Snell will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 20 years of his sentence.
Kenton Commonwealth Attorney
