MIDDLE FORK – A couple of hunters alerted a police officer on patrol late Sunday night to an incident occurring on KY Rt. 30, with a homeowner holding a gun on a man on his property.
According to an arrest citation, Magoffin County Sheriff Deputy N. Watson was patrolling the Rt. 30 area just after midnight Sunday night/Monday morning when he was approached by two individuals who were coon hunting, telling him there was an “incident going on with a man in a trailblazer and another man across the road holding a handgun, as well as two more people walking down the road in that same area.
The officer went to the residence in question, finding a man standing in his driveway with a sidearm at his side, watching another man staggering around the back end of a blue Trailblazer, reportedly doing something to the headliner toward the rear end of the vehicle, according to the police report.
Deputy Watson pulled in next to the Trailblazer and exited his patrol car, asking the homeowner why he had a sidearm, to which he replied by pointing to the Trailblazer and telling police he had heard “a racket” coming from the vehicle when it pulled in and was worried the occupant was trying to rob him. He indicated that the property across the road where the SUV and the man were belonged to him, noting he had been robbed before, according to the citation.
Watson approached the man, later identified as Brian Benton, 47, of Salyersville, with the officer noting in the citation he could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Benton, who immediately went to the driver’s side of the vehicle and started closing the rear passenger and driver’s side doors. When asked for his operator’s license, Benton complied, presenting his Kentucky ID only, according to the police report.
Benton allegedly told police he was there because his battery died and he was trying to see if he could get it jumpstarted. Deputy Watson said in the police report that Benton had hooked up a battery charger to the battery installed in the vehicle, and placed two additional batteries at the front end of the Trailblazer. He had also strung out a 120-volt extension cord and the homeowner stated that Benton had walked around the mobile home prior to police’s arrival, noting that he appeared to be looking at the bottom of the walls.
Police reported that Benton was staggering, his speech was slurred, and he was acting evasive to questions at first. Once placed into custody, Benton reportedly changed his story several times, from saying his battery died, to telling that his friend and mother were running to town to get some gas. He also told law enforcement he had two gallons of gas in distilled water containers in the vehicle, then said he was only walking down the road and stopped to help a friend.
When further questioned, Benton told police he was a convicted felon, and had been released recently from prison after a 16-year sentence for bank robbery.
Benton was placed in the back of the police car, with police finding a firearm from inside the Trailblazer between the headliner and roof of the vehicle. The handgun did not come back stolen, but police reported that the Trailblazer’s registration had expired in 2011, according to the citation.
Benton told police he would consent to bloodwork to test for impairment, but after leaving the scene, he started complaining of heart pains, becoming belligerent and making threats on the way to the hospital.
After being medically cleared, Benton was taken to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, where he remains at press time, facing the following charges: no registration plates, no registration receipt, failure to register transfer of motor vehicle, no operator’s license, failure to produce insurance card, failure of owner to maintain required insurance/sec. (first offense), operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a substance (first), possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and menacing.
Benton has a preliminary hearing set for November 20 in his felony case.
According to the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup for state inmates, Benton was released from prison in February this year after being convicted in 2006 for a July 2004 robbery in Johnson County. At the time of the 2006 conviction, he had already been found guilty in four other felony-level cases out of Johnson and Magoffin counties.
Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
