The three year old legal saga of former Hancock County Jailer Mike Axton
ended Friday when Hancock County Circuit Court Judge Ronnie C. Dortch
sentenced him to three years in jail on one count of Abuse of Public Trust
under $10,000. Under alternative sentencing guidelines applied to Axton's
case, he actually serves one year in jail, and receives five years
probation. Dortch also granted Axton work release, meaning he spends nights
and weekends in the Butler County Jail for one year.

"I think under the circumstances of this particular case, a conviction is
probably sufficient punishment for someone who is in Mr. Axton's position,"
Dortch said.

A somber looking Axton appeared somewhat shocked by the sentence. After
Dortch pronounced the sentence, Axton and his attorney Mike Lee huddled at a
table discussing the matter at length. Neither Lee nor Axton wanted to
comment on the case.

Background

Axton's saga traces back to the spring of 2004. At that time, Hancock County
Fiscal Court started scrutinizing expenditures in Axton's jail budget.

Specifically, magistrates questioned him about overtime pay for his
deputies.

Axton reworked the work schedule for his employees, resulting in deputy
jailers working more overtime, causing the department to exceed its budget
by around $13,000. To cope with this shortfall, magistrates asked Axton to
layoff two employes. Axton said doing so violated state regulations, so he
temporarily closed the jail, sending inmates to other facilities.

When Axton closed the jail, then Hancock County Attorney Harold Wayne Newton
filed a motion to remove him from office. In August of 2004, Axton and
Newton resolved the case when Axton agreed to reimburse the county just over
$700 for the additional overtime pay.

After resolving this dispute, relations between Axton and the county quieted
for several months. Then in March of 2005 Kentucky State Police Detective
Joe Woo started investigating Axton for financial mismanagement. Fiscal
court said Axton and his employees failed to turn in monies to the county
collected from inmates.

During the course of his investigation, Woo discovered the Hancock County
Jail operated with at least 13 different receipt books. In addition, Woo
found money possibly collected from prisoners in two different locations in
the jail office. Woo found a large manila envelope in the office desk that
contained smaller white envelopes with money in them. Some of the envelopes
contained names, dates and dollar amounts on the outside. Others were ripped
open, making it impossible to determine how much, if any, money the envelope
contained.

Woo also found a black box under the office desk that also contained a
manila envelope with money inside. It contained cash and checks of an
unknown amount.

During the investigation, Woo discovered the door to the jail office
unlocked, leaving the office accessible. Inside the office he discovered two
high-caliber rifles, one of which contained live rounds. The situation
violated state jail regulations.

In August of 2005, Hancock County closed its jail permanently, choosing to
house its prisoners in the Breckinridge County Jail. Axton continued his
duties until November of that year, then resigned.

In an election in 2006, Roger Estes became the new jailer.

In December of 2005, the Hancock County Grand Jury indicted Axton on
multiple charges including Abuse of Public Trust Greater than $10,000 and
four counts of Promoting Contraband in the first degree.

In January of 2006, spending by the jail during Axton's tenure again
dominated fiscal court. Magistrates questioned items charged to the jail's
account such as uniforms, pants and parkas. Magistrates questioned the
spending due to several different sizes being ordered for one individual.

Fiscal court also questioned a $1,900 bill for sanitary wipes, an extremely
large phone bill and the whereabouts of several department radios.

Given the apparent improprieties, fiscal court conducted a review of all
jail expenditures under Axton's tenure, dating back to 2002. In August of
2006, Axton asked the state to conduct an audit of his department. It
revealed about $10,000 missing from the jail.

The case continued to wind through the court system. In February of this
year, Axton agreed to a plea bargain in which he entered a guilty plea to
one count of Abuse of Public Trust under $10,000. The state dropped the
other charges pending against him.