Kevin Gentry

GLASGOW — A man accused of attempting to set up a murder-for-hire in Barren County did so to get out from under criminal charges in Metcalfe County, according to the prosecutor of both cases.

Kevin Scott Gentry, 49, of Greensburg, appeared Tuesday in Barren Circuit Court for a hearing in which Barren Circuit Judge John Alexander heard a pair of competing bond motions.

Gentry is currently in Barren County Corrections Center under a $250,000 bond for solicitation of murder. He was arrested March 28 after reportedly giving $2,500 in cash to an undercover detective outside the K-Mart in Glasgow to have James M. Darnell killed.

Darnell’s address and a photo of him were provided by Gentry to the detective along with the money, according to the Kentucky State Police Drug Enforcement/Special Investigations West Unit.

Barren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Gardner filed a motion to have Gentry’s bond in the Metcalfe County criminal case revoked.

Gentry is charged in Metcalfe County with two counts of convicted felon in possession of a handgun, two counts of receiving stolen property valued at greater than $500 but less than $10,000 and one count each of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and controlled substance prescription not in original container.

Gardner said in court Tuesday that he believes the Barren and Metcalfe County cases are related to one another.

“(Gentry) was hoping to have the Metcalfe County charges taken care of if he had this person killed,” Gardner said.

Detective Ricky Brooks of KSP DE/SI West testified about how Gentry came to the attention of law enforcement.

According to Brooks, a man contacted Nashville Metro Police on March 26 and said that Gentry had spoken with him that day about whether “he could have somebody taken care of.”

Nashville Metro Police relayed the information to Kentucky State Police Post 15 in Columbia, which then enlisted the involvement of DE/SI West, based in Bowling Green.

Brooks said he was contacted about the case March 28 and met with the man, who had agreed to become a confidential informant. From there, a telephone conversation with Gentry occurred in which Gentry proposed meeting at the Glasgow K-Mart.

Two undercover detectives and the informant met with Gentry outside the store, and Gentry remained inside his vehicle while talking with a detective about the plot against Darnell, Brooks said.

The conversation was recorded on audio and video, according to Brooks.

Gentry’s attorney, Danny Butler of Greensburg, moved to have the bond in the Barren County case reduced, arguing that Gentry lacked the financial ability to post $250,000 in cash for his release before trial.

“That’s the same as no bond as far as Mr. Gentry is concerned,” Butler said. “He simply cannot make that bond.”

Butler said that Gentry’s mother owns some properties in Metcalfe County that are tended to by Gentry, who operates a business on some of the land.

Gentry’s mother, Betty Gentry, testified that she has terminal cancer and is unable to manage the properties herself.

“He needs to be where he can take care of the real estate and his personal property and sell it,” said Butler, who also argued that Gentry would comply with other conditions set by Alexander if he were to be released on a $25,000 bond.

Gardner countered that Gentry’s criminal record and the allegations in the Barren and Metcalfe cases show that he poses a danger if released.

Alexander said he would review the motions and rule on them in the near future.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.