Former Christian County sheriff’s deputy Stevie Tucker is denying claims made in a court filing by Dayton Jones that Tucker had contact with Jones regarding Jones’ sexual assault case.
Jones pleaded guilty in November of 2016 to charges of first-degree sodomy, first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with evidence. The deal came with a recommended 15-year sentence and he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
His co-defendants—Tyler Perry, Colton Cavanaugh and Samual Miller—also accepted plea deals on various charges related to the sexual assault of a 15-year old male at a party in October of 2014.
Jones wants to represent himself in a motion to vacate his sentence and a hearing Wednesday in Christian Circuit Court could formally relieve attorney Michael Goodwin of his duties to represent Jones. Goodwin filed a motion on April 26 to withdraw from the case, saying Jones no longer desires his services.
Jones wants the court to compel his original attorney, Bill Deatherage, to turn over his legal file for the case. In that motion, Jones alleges that Tucker told him that deputies tampered with and destroyed evidence in the case. Tucker contacted WHOP News Monday night to say he doesn’t even know Jones and had no involvement in the case.
Tucker says he doesn’t know what motivated Jones to bring him up in the case.
Jones claims he received ineffective counsel from Deatherage; that he was not in the proper frame of mind to understand his guilty plea due to depression, anxiety and a number of other factors and that he didn’t understand his status as a lifetime sex offender designee.
The Attorney General’s Office responds in a January 17 filing by noting Jones told Judge John Atkins multiple times he was thinking clearly when he entered his plea, that issues with evidence were thoroughly litigated and that terms relating to the sex offender registry were clearly specified in the plea deal.