Allegations of heroin trafficking, domestic violence and other new details were revealed during a hearing Monday morning for the five suspects in jail for the murder of Jerry Robertson last month on State Line Road near Allensville.
Forty-one-year-old Douglas Cropper, 31-year old Daniel Westbrook, 26-year old Brandi Scruggs, 22-year old Faith Martin and 36-year old Timmie Latham all appeared in Todd District Court with lawyers and Kentucky State Police Detective Jacob Fortney testified about the events that led up to Robertson being shot to death.
He said Robertson and Scruggs had previously been in a dating relationship and that Robertson had used a fake account on Facebook to post photos of her using heroin. Robertson also alleged in the post that she and Westbrook transported heroin from Louisville to Bowling Green for sale and personal use—information that Fortney said Scruggs admitted was true.
The plan was for Scruggs to offer Robertson heroin in exchange for taking the post down and she picked him up in a rental car at his home in Guthrie to drive to a cemetery. The other four suspects were in a pickup that passed them on State Line Road and then came to a stop.
Cropper allegedly pulled a gun from under the seat and handed it to Westbrook and gunfire was exchanged between him and Robertson.
Robertson was shot three times—in the upper neck, elbow and torso—and he later died at the scene. Investigation showed Robertson had fired two shots from a handgun he had on his person during the altercation, with at least one of the bullets shattering a window on the pickup.
Cropper gave a written statement to police saying it was his belief the plan was to assault Robertson for alleged abuse of Scruggs while they had been dating.
Westbrook and Scruggs had been dating for approximately two weeks on the day of the shooting.
Scruggs told police that she yelled for Westbrook to not kill Robertson during the incident.
Many of the defense attorneys questioned whether anyone other than Cropper and Westbrook knew there was a gun in the pickup before embarking on the plan.
The pickup was owned by Martin and police say she hid it in a garage at her grandfather’s home in Edmonson County after the incident. KSP also alleges it was Martin who tossed the gun out of the pickup’s window into a field, with the weapon later recovered.
Judge Ken Williams decided after hearing testimony there’s enough evidence that a crime was committed to send the case to be considered by a Todd County grand jury.
Westbrook is charged with murder and the other four with complicity to murder and tampering with evidence.