Trial has been vacated once again for former Christian County High School football coach and athletics director Steve Lovelace, as the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office looks to appoint a special prosecutor.
In Christian Circuit Court Wednesday morning, Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Bolen says she expects a special prosecutor to be appointed by next week and they are aware of the trial date set for July 24—but defense attorney David Bundrick expressed doubt that person would be able to go to trial immediately. Bolen had previously stated that Lovelace had been a coach for several members of her staff.
Bundrick says he understands that conflicts happen, but this trial has been delayed numerous times and at this point, he may look into filing a motion to request having it dismissed.
When asked about the possibility of resolving it outside of trial, Bolen says she knows there was a potential agreement reached with the prior Commonwealth’s Attorney, but Lovelace had been reluctant to accept due to possible impacts that could have on his retirement.
Bundrick says they remain unsure how an agreement would affect Lovelace’s teaching certificate. Judge John Atkins did ultimately vacate the current trial date, setting a pretrial hearing for July 24.
As previously reported, a Christian County Grand Jury indictment was returned against Lovelace for charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of property (over $10,000) and theft by failure to make required disposition of property (under $10,000).
The indictment says that between January 1, 2014 and December 31 of 2020, Lovelace utilized between 500 and $10,000 in funds designated for Christian County High School football for his own use. He’s also accused of using over $10,000 in funds designated for Christian County High School for his own personal use.