The perjury trial against former Hopkinsville Police Officer Jefferson Alexander continued Wednesday with the third day of testimony in Christian County Circuit Court focusing on the style of questioning by former prosecutor Lynn Pryor.
Alexander was charged with providing misleading or false testimony to a grand jury that eventually led to the indictment of former Hopkinsville City Councilwoman Ann Cherry in 2012.
As a result of the testimony by Alexander and questioning by Pryor, Cherry was charged with tampering with a witness, tampering with public records, and official misconduct.
The charges stem from the police department allegations that Cherry had interfered with their investigation of the “Southside Prowler” case.
Police said Cherry had shown neighbors a mug shot of a Black man as a suspect when investigators had said the suspect was white. Michael McLendon, a white man, was later sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection to the case.
Police also said she coerced a witness to tell investigators the suspect was a Black man when the witness stated he was white.
Before her trial, Cherry reached a settlement with the Commonwealth to drop the charges as long as Cherry agreed to resign her seat on the city council and not run again for public office in Hopkinsville.
She later filed an abuse of process lawsuit in 2014 against the city, former Police Chief Guy Howie, Alexander, and the police department. The city’s insurance company paid Cherry $150,000 in 2017. Both sides have denied any wrongdoing.
Eric Eaton, Alexander’s defense attorney, has argued that Pryor asked compound questions during the grand jury testimony and that Alexander’s answer to part of the question and not the question as a whole is what led to the perjury charge. On Wednesday, he asked Chief Circuit Judge John Atkins for a directed verdict or acquittal
click to download audioEaton went on to say the Commonwealth had not presented a single scintilla of evidence against his client.
click to download audioSpecial prosecutor James Lesousky argued that Alexander did indeed give false testimony to the grand jury and failed to correct it when given the chance. Judge Atkins denied the motion but said the defense could revisit the motion later.
click to download audioDuring the afternoon testimony, Pryor took the stand to answer questions about the grand jury testimony that led to Cherry’s indictment. Pryor, who now works for the Department of Justice as the director of the white-collar crime division in the U.S. Virgin Islands, couldn’t recall the actual line of questioning but said she didn’t read from a script.
click to download audioPryor’s line of questioning has been the key point of contention of the defense, while the prosecution has countered with an alleged police department vendetta against Cherry as a reason for Alexander to provide false or misleading testimony. The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday in Christian County Circuit Court.
