New charges filed against Carrollton man in 2007 motorcycle crash

Bernard Kalep King was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on charges of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree fetal homicide, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants and first-degree persistent felony offender on Nov. 18, 2009, according to Steve Tedder, communications director for the Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. A $50,000 cash bond has also been set in connection with these charges.

King, 26, has a pre-trial conference on Jan. 5, 2010 in Jefferson County Circuit Court in front of Judge Brian Edwards, according to the circuit court’s office.

These charges stem from a motorcycle crash on July 2, 2007 in which King’s bike crashed along Interstate 264, just inside the Shively city limits in Jefferson County, killing his passenger, Chadwell, 25, and her unborn baby, according to a July 2008 News-Democrat article.

Initially, King pled guilty to charges of operating without a motorcycle license and failure of non-owner operator to maintain required insurance on July 2, 2008. He was sentenced to two years conditionally discharged and a $500 fine plus court costs.

Shively Police Chief Ralph Miller Jr. said the department is not releasing any new details on the case. The Shively Police Department performed the initial investigation on the incident.

In October 2007, King was charged in a separate incident in Jefferson County with trafficking a controlled substance, fleeing or evading police, tampering with evidence, menacing and disregarding a traffic controlled device, Tedder said. He pleaded guilty to the charges on April 17, 2009 and was sentenced to a five-year sentence to run concurrently in state custody on May 28, 2009.

King has been a state inmate at the Hart County Jail since June 17, 2009, according to the jail. As of Dec. 10, King has served six months and 18 days of his sentence. He has three years and 26 days remaining, with parole eligibility in May 2010.