A Cerulean man charged in connection with a murder in Tennessee had a trial scheduled in Christian County Wednesday for local insurance fraud charges.
An indictment against 39-year old Christopher Robinson of Cerulean allege that in September of 2017, he set fire to a 2014 Nissan vehicle and that he then made a fraudulent insurance claim with Kentucky Farm Bureau and received almost $19,000.
A separate indictment alleges that in July of 2021, Robinson intentionally set fire to a boat that was insured by Progressive and that he tampered with evidence at the fire scene before filing a fraudulent claim that he did not receive payment on.
He’s indicted for two counts of burning personal property to defraud insurer, theft by deception (over $10,000), attempted theft by deception (over $10,000) and tampering with evidence.
Defense Attorney David Broderick represents Robinson and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Wednesday morning.
Robinson and 30-year old Christopher Lee White of Hopkinsville are charged with murder in connection with the July, 2020 death of 45-year old Erick Bixler in Rutherford County, Tennessee.
Judge John Atkins set the local trial for November 21, but Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling says Tennessee has stated its intention to try Robinson first.
Boling said he turned all of the evidence in the case over to Broderick’s office Tuesday, so the judge deferred ruling on a motion for discovery until Broderick has a chance to look over what he has and see if it’s sufficient.