KY - Gregory Sawyers, 34, murder witness, found slain, Louisville, 13 July 2013

I searched to see if there was anything on here about this apparently complicated case and could find nothing. It has do do with the killing of a witness to a murder.

I will post more details about the (at least two) murders involved later on. There's fairly decent coverage, now that I know what was being covered.



A local news story grabbed my attention and slammed my "annoyance button" this afternoon...

Suspect charged with murder, but whose? (WAVE-3 [NBC], Louisville, Ky, 9/24/2014)

Louisville Metro Police have arrested a man and charged him with murder, but details about the crime he's charged with have not been released.

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...only says Gilmore shot the victim and the crime occurred in Jefferson County. The date of the murder and the name of the victim were not given.

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More information is expected to be released later in the day.

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There is now a new related story up, but wouldn't that get on your nerves if you clicked the above link expecting some actual INFORMATION?
Absolutely nothing but a big ole tease...

Man charged in 2013 Smoketown murder of federal trial witness ((WAVE-3 [NBC], Louisville, Ky, 9/24/2014)

Out of all the stories I've found thus far, the one below has the simplest summary of the case(s) that I've found.

It all started with the 2005 murder of Lajuante Jackson.
This shows how slow and tedious our legal system(s) can work, as it involved at least one local case (maybe 9?) and a Federal case.

They can't even keep witnesses alive for the trial for the first murder!
I said that with my tongue firmly in cheek because the witness was killed before the trial.
He was killed EIGHT YEARS after the murder he was to testify about.



New evidence surfaces for Ricky Kelly murder case (WHAS-11 [ABC], Louisville, Ky, 8/1/1014)

In July 2013, Greg Sawyers was shot to death one year before he could testify against accused killer Ricky Kelly.

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Kelly was once charged with 8 murders in state court, but in federal court, Kelly is only accused of killing Lajuante Jackson in 2005. Court records show Sawyers was an eye-witness.

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http://www.whas11.com/story/news/crime/2014/12/18/ricky-kelly-death-penalty/20586013/

His case is one that police have been investigating since 2005.

"Mr. Kelly was paid in a sum of money or drugs to commit this murder," assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Leland Hulbert said.

Now almost 10 years later the Commonwealth's Attorney says it's time this case moves to the next level. Prosecutors are going after the death penalty for Ricky Kelly.

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And we wonder why people don't want to come forward under the auspices of "government protection."

From September:

http://www.wlky.com/news/man-escape...ge-by-testifying-against-codefendant/35184672

A man implicated in the 2013 death of a federal murder trial witness testified against his co-defendant Wednesday.

Orlando Gilmore and Odell Robinson were both charged with complicity to commit murder in the fatal shooting of Gregory Sawyers...

Prosecutors agreed to amend Robinson's murder charge to misdemeanor drug trafficking and recommended he be set free.

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http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...s-orlando-gilmore-not-guilty-murder/72026822/

Jurors returned a not guilty verdict in the Orlando Gilmore murder trial Thursday after little more than an hour of deliberation...

The prosecution relied largely on multiple witness accounts of the murder that pointed police in the same direction. Those witnesses told police it was Gilmore who shot Sawyers on a Smoketown street in exchange for cash and heroin from Kelly's brother...

Jones Brown, also the prosecutor in the pending Ricky Kelly murder trial in Jefferson Circuit Court, said she does not believe Thursday's verdict will have any impact on the case.

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*Related*

A court hearing is set Monday morning for a man police say was behind an 11-year-old murder in Louisville.

Ricky Kelly is awaiting trial in connection with the death of Lajuante Jackson.

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His trial is scheduled for next February.

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http://m.wlky.com/news/rick-kelly-due-in-court-monday-for-hearing/39677648

Louisville, KY News, Weather and Sports - WLKY Channel 32
Trial was to begin in April 2017 and the judge would not take the death penalty off the table.

Louisville News, Louisville Sports | Courier-Journal
Ricky Kelly pleads guilty to manslaughter charge of killing Lajuanta Jackson, 2017. This case is the one in which Gregory Lawyers was to be a witness. Rick Kelly is suspected in other murders.