By R.G. Dunlop
Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting
The case of Adam Horine, the mentally ill Kentucky man removed from jail and put on a bus to Florida by Carrollton police earlier this year, continues to grow in complexity.
He now faces a criminal charge of groping a woman at St. Elizabeth hospital in Florence. click here to view charge
Since his banishment from Carroll County Horine has been on a circuitous voyage through the criminal justice and mental health systems. His case prompted a Kentucky Attorney General’s investigation into alleged police misconduct and sparked sharp criticism of the state’s mental health services.
Carrollton police jailed Horine last April on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and making threats. Following his court appearance, officers defied a judge’s order that Horine, who has an array of physical and mental illnesses, be hospitalized for psychiatric care. Instead, an officer drove him to Louisville and shipped him to Florida.
Adam Horine is escorted from jail by Officer Ron Dickow in this image from jail surveillance video.
Horine was brought back to Kentucky in May on a felony warrant charging him with escape, and hospitalized for psychiatric care at Eastern State Hospital in Lexington — where District Judge Elizabeth Chandler had ordered him sent in the first place.
Since then, Horine reportedly has bounced around several different facilities.
One of those was St. Elizabeth Hospital, where on June 27, Horine allegedly groped a patient. The patient, according to the complaint, was “incapable of consent” and “completely incapacitated.”
Authorities have since returned Horine to Eastern State, according to two sources close to the case.
It’s unclear why Horine left Eastern State in the first place, how or when he arrived at St. Elizabeth Hospital, and what’s next regarding his new misdemeanor sexual abuse charge.
Florence police said they could not discuss the case because the criminal summons had not been served. A spokeswoman for Eastern State said federal law prohibited her from discussing anything related to Horine, including whether he is or has been a patient there.
Horine’s attorney, Edward Bourne of Owenton, also declined to discuss issues related to Horine except to say that he is “receiving treatment.” And Horine’s stepmother, Charlotte Horine, said she knew nothing about him leaving Eastern State, or about his criminal case in Florence.
This much is known: Carrollton Police Chief Mike Willhoite, who allegedly directed that Horine be banished to Florida, and Officer Ron Dickow, who released Horine from jail, are the focus of the pending criminal investigation by the attorney general’s office, as well as contempt of court charges for violating Chandler’s order.
In the meantime, prosecutors, judges and the Carroll County circuit court clerk all have stepped aside, citing actual or potential conflicts of interest.
District Judge Karen Thomas
As a result of the potential conflicts, Campbell County District Judge Karen Thomas was assigned to oversee Horine’s case.
While a jailer and deputy jailer are no longer at risk of contempt, Thomas intends to proceed on possible contempt charges against Willhoite and Dickow.
At a July 2 hearing, Thomas said she was appalled that Horine was put on a bus to anywhere, which she believes potentially put him and everyone else on the bus in jeopardy.
“This fella has cerebral palsy, he was catheterized, he’s mentally ill, episodic – he’s schizophrenic,” Thomas said. “He’s so sick that Eastern (State Hospital) kept him for four or five weeks when they finally got him back. He’s got (hepatitis C) and he’s got some other mental issues as well…and this is a guy that you put on a bus by himself.”
Thomas also criticized the state’s mental health system and made it clear that there will be no leniency if the officers come before her facing contempt charges.
Click here to see video of July, 2 hearing
“If I find contempt of the judge’s order, (and) I have to be honest with you guys, this sure as heck appears like it, then it is 179 days to serve in jail – no good time – and I’m not changing my mind,” Thomas said. “If we go through with the contempt hearing that’s what will happen if I find anybody in contempt.”
A Carroll County grand jury is tentatively scheduled to consider evidence against Willhoite and Dickow next month, the sources said.
A hearing is set for later in August in connection with Horine’s earlier criminal charges, as well as the contempt case against the two police officers.
<R.G. Dunlop is an award-winning investigative reporter whose work has exposed government corruption and resulted in numerous reforms. In a 35-year career at the Courier-Journal in Louisville, he served as Eastern Kentucky bureau chief, legal affairs reporter, city editor, and state enterprise reporter. Dunlop is a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and was twice a member of teams that won George Polk Awards.
<a href=”http://www.http://kycir.org/”>The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting</a> is a nonprofit newsroom based in Louisville. It is a product of Louisville Public Media and 89.3 WFPL News.>
The Northern Kentucky Tribune contributed to this story
