ASHLAND, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Boyd County man was sentenced to life in federal prison today.
41-year-old Johnathan Lee Smithers pleaded guilty in September to kidnapping a woman and later shooting a responding officer.
The woman escaped Smithers and was later found by police. The officer who was shot survived life-threatening injuries.
The full story can be found here.
“Today’s sentence ensures that an incredibly violent offender has been removed from the streets and will no longer be a threat to society. Mr. Smithers not only tragically kidnapped his trusted partner and led her on a series of terrorizing demands, but he then seriously wounded a local police officer,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, KSP, Ashland Police Department, and Flatwoods Police Department.
