SALYERSVILLE – Earlier this month a Salyersville man was sentenced to one year in jail, to be probated for two years, after taking a plea deal in what was originally a forgery case.
Gregory Scott Phipps, 39, of Bloomington Rd., in Salyersville, was indicted on October 17, 2024, and charged with one count of second-degree forgery, a Class D felony. According to the indictment, on or about May 21 through 24, 2024, Phipps allegedly, with the intent to defraud, deceive or injure another, he falsely made, completed or altered a written instrument officially issued or created by a deceased person’s estate. Phipps was arrested on the indictment warrant on October 22, 2024, and released the next day on a $2,000 cash bond.
Phipps appeared in Magoffin County Circuit Court on May 1, with his counsel Don McFarland, and withdrew his not guilty plea and entered a plea of guilty to the following amended charge: theft by deception, greater than $500 but less than $1,000, a Class A misdemeanor, admitting to committing the offense on May 21 last year when he was 38 years old.
According to court records, he appeared in court, again, on May 15, agreeing to the factual contents of the presentence investigation, prepared by the Division of Probation and Parole, and the court accepted his guilty plea to the amended charge and sentenced Phipps to 365 days in jail, to be probated for a period of 24 months.
According to the judgment and sentence report filed on June 5 and signed by Magoffin County Circuit Judge Kimberley Childers, Phipps is ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,228.57 at sentencing, and he is additionally responsible for $130 in court costs, $25 per month supervision fee, and $10 per drug test. During probation Phipps is ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and to follow through with all recommendations.
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.
