A jury in Logan County decided on a life sentence for a man convicted for his role in a deadly 2015 shooting and a methamphetamine trafficking operation.

Earl Johnson, 63, of Lewisburg, was found guilty last week in Logan Circuit Court following a two-week trial on charges of complicity to murder, engaging in organized crime, four counts of first-degree complicity to trafficking in a controlled substance and first-degree persistent felony offender.

Johnson was determined to have had involvement in the death of Robert Wetton, 65, who was found with a gunshot wound on Aug. 26, 2015, behind a barn at his home on Ellis Road near Lewisburg.

Logan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Neil Kerr said that the evidence at trial showed that Wetton and his wife, Pam Wetton, had met and befriended Johnson, with Johnson drawing them into the underground drug trade.

Eventually, Johnson would direct the couple to travel to Arizona with large sums of money to pay for significant amounts of methamphetamine to be smuggled back into Logan County.

Kerr said Pam Wetton testified at trial about the couple’s involvement in the scheme.

“They were people who didn’t have a criminal history and looked like grandparents just traveling,” Kerr said. “They made four trips to Arizona at least, traveling out there with money provided by the defendant and other people he was working with.”

The Wettons carried almost $90,000 with them to Arizona in July 2015 to pay for about 20 pounds of meth from their supplier, but law enforcement investigating the operation there arrested them during a traffic stop and discovered the drugs.

Kerr said that Bob Wetton ended up getting released from jail on a relatively low bond, and word of the arrest got back to Johnson and others in Kentucky.

“We had some other people testify that leading up to the murder Johnson had told them something to the effect of the people in Arizona called and said (Johnson) better take care of the loose ends or else they’ll come up and take care of everyone,” Kerr said.

The evidence at Johnson’s trial did not establish who ultimately shot Wetton, and the lack of blood spatter or shell casings at the scene suggested that Wetton was shot at another location and his body placed where he was found.

“We told the jury we can’t tell you 100 percent who shot (Wetton), but we can tell you that (Johnson) is the guy that saw to it that it happened, he reached an agreement with other people that this was to happen,” Kerr said. “He was the one that stood to lose the most, they were his drivers that got caught, other people had put in money to buy this large amount (of meth) and he was given this ultimatum by the people out in Arizona to take care of it.”

A number of prosecution witnesses testified as to Johnson’s demeanor around the time of the shooting, and to hearing him take credit for the death.

Kerr said crucial testimony came from a co-defendant, Carolyn Kinder, who was convicted in 2021 of conspiracy to commit murder and is serving a 12-year sentence.

There was evidence of cell tower activity near Wetton’s property that suggested Kinder’s phone was there around the time of the homicide, and Kinder reportedly made detailed admissions to others in jail about the extent of the conspiracy and her involvement in Wetton’s death.

Combined with testimony of other witnesses who detailed the inner workings of the drug conspiracy, the evidence secured Johnson’s conviction.

“By the time you get done with the drug trafficking and organized crime, they go hand in hand (with the murder),” Kerr said. “I feel like for the jury there was enough evidence that this guy was involved.”

The jury returned a life sentence in the murder case, a 50-year term for engaging in organized crime and 20-year sentences on each of the four drug counts, penalties that were enhanced by the finding that Johnson was a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Johnson agreed to be sentenced immediately after trial.

A third co-defendant, Kristen Lee Ann Day, 42, of Russellville, has pleaded guilty to facilitation of murder, accepting a plea agreement recommending five years of probation.

Day, who is set to be sentenced Thursday, was on probation in three other cases when she was indicted in connection with the homicide, and could face up to 13 years in prison on all cases if she violates probation.