Juvenile disarms Spencer County jailer enroute to Elizabethtown

STAFF REPORT

SPENCER COUNTY JAILER DARRELL HERNDON

Thursday, March 13, 2014, 4:45 p.m. — Spencer County Jailer Darrell Herndon was disarmed and threatened with his own weapon by a juvenile prisoner he was transporting to Elizabethtown on the Blue Grass Parkway Wednesday afternoon.

During the trip to Lincoln Village Detention Center in Elizabethtown, the juvenile slipped free from his restraints and got through the safety screen separating the front and back of the vehicle. The juvenile began choking Herndon, and he pulled his vehicle into the parkway median at 4:35 p.m.

An eastbound truck driver saw the incident and stopped to help Herndon. As the driver approached the jailer’s vehicle, Herndon and the juvenile exited the vehicle. The juvenile took the jailer’s gun and threatened to kill both men.

The juvenile was unfamiliar with Herndon’s weapon and despite several attempts he was unable to fire the weapon. The truck driver tackled the juvenile and took the gun away from him. The jailer and truck driver held the juvenile until Nelson County law enforcement officers arrived shortly thereafter.

The juvenile will face a number of charges, including attempted murder.

Nelson County sheriff’s deputies were assisted by Bardstown Police officers, the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife. Deputy Dennis Wells of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office is in charge of the investigation.

-30-