B.J. HONEYCUTT Resigns as sheriff

Edmonson County Sheriff B.J. Honeycutt has left his position after taking a medical retirement.

The retirement has nothing to do with criminal charges Honeycutt is facing in Madison County, said Steve Thornton, Honeycutt’s Bowling Green attorney. Honeycutt was eligible for a medical retirement and decided to take it, Thornton said. Honeycutt is charged with 11 counts of misrepresentation of having conducted firearms training courses and four counts of incomplete firearms training.

“He’s been through a lot. This is the best thing for him right now,” Thornton said.

Honeycutt continued in his role as sheriff since being indicted Dec. 20.

Honeycutt, when contacted by phone, stated he was in therapy and could not talk.

Mike Vincent, a former Edmonson County sheriff’s deputy, will take over as sheriff. Vincent had last been chief of the Brownsville Police Department.

Vincent was unavailable for comment this morning.

Magistrate Arthur Wilkerson said he was confident in Vincent’s ability to take over as sheriff. Vincent was sworn in Thursday during an Edmonson Fiscal Court meeting. He will serve until November at which time he would have to run for the seat. By statue in Kentucky, the county judge/executive is responsible for appointing a new sheriff to fill the position until the next election.

The fiscal court had known for some time that Honeycutt intended to retire, Wilkerson said.

“We interviewed six or seven people for the position,” he said.

In the criminal case against Honeycutt, a motion was filed to move the case to Edmonson County from Madison County, Thornton said.

The motion has not been heard but it’s hoped it will be soon, he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get this behind him soon, too,” Thornton said.

All the charges against Honeycutt are class D misdemeanors. If convicted, Honeycutt faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The complaints against Honeycutt were investigated by Kentucky State Police Drug Enforcement-Special Investigations West. A complaint about the concealed carry permit classes in Edmonson County was sent to the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice in Richmond.

The investigation revealed that classes were not being conducted properly, according to a state police report.

It was determined that paperwork has been filed for at least one person indicating he had taken the necessary class for a permit when he did not, according to a report.

Edmonson County Judge-Executive N.E. Reed was in a meeting today and was unavailable for comment.