LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man who held a Louisville woman at knifepoint last week as he drove her and her kids to a St. Matthews bank to demand $20,000 in cash was released on shock probation less than three years into a 14-year prison sentence.
Armond Langford was sentenced in 2024 on burglary and robbery charges but ultimately released after several state agencies deemed him a low risk for recidivism and ineligible for a court-ordered mental health program.
Jennifer Strong, the Louisville mother who was stabbed as she drove Langford to the bank with her terrified kids in the backseat, said she doesn't know if she'll ever sleep soundly again.
So why did a Jefferson County judge let him out early?
Court records shows Langford pleaded guilty early last year, admitting to robbing several Louisville ATMs in 2021. Prosecutors argued against probation.
"Mr. Langford terrorized our community for several months," prosecutor Milja Zgonjanin said at Langford's shock probation hearing July 10, 2024.
Langford was in custody for several years while the case played out, serving time in the jail in downtown Louisville. He also spent time in the Roederer Correctional Complex in Oldham County, where the state deemed his risk level low enough that he was moved to a halfway house.
Before Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Jessica Green granted Langford shock probation, she routinely asked those facilities to report his behavior, according to court records.
And both facilities sent letters to Green saying Langford was a model inmate with no disciplinary violations.
Court records show Langford has a history of mental illness and a traumatic brain injury.
"I really need to see if you are going to be accepted into mental health court," Green said at Langford's shock probation hearing. "I'm hopeful that you will be because I believe that that's the structure that you need."
Some current and former judges told WDRB News on Tuesday that Green appeared to go beyond normal practice by checking in on Langford to ensure he wasn't a danger at the time. The judges requested anonymity to speak freely saying they feared for their safety given the threats Green has received because of this case.
Ultimately, Langford was denied admittance to the mental health court program because a state assessment found he wasn't eligible due to a low risk of recidivism.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin, who runs that program, noted Green was doing "everything possible" to keep Langford on the right track, according to an email in the court file.
Judge McKay Chauvin, the retired Jefferson County chief court administrator, said judges face difficult decisions in cases like Langford's.
"Every judge knows that every sentencing decision they make, regardless of how thoughtfully and responsibly they make it, still has the potential to end badly," Chauvin said. "Judges also know that if and when that happens, people will be angry and may not recognize or be interested in the difference between a bad decision and a bad result."
Shock probation is meant for first-time offenders and, often, those charged with non-violent offenses. Technically this was Langford's first felony offense, though it was considered violent.
But Green granted Langford five years of shock probation with several conditions, including getting mental health treatment and staying on his medication.
"I don't believe that mentally ill people, just by virtue of your mental illness, need to be in custody," Green said at Langford's shock probation hearing. "But what I do believe is that we all owe it to the community to keep people safe, and if we can keep the community safe while giving you the support that you need, I'm all for it. but you got to do your part, OK? I'll be checking up on you. I'll be checking in."
With that, Langford got a second chance Strong believes he didn't deserve.
"He's a monster," she said.
Kentucky legislators have harshly criticized Green for her shock probation sentence, with at least one calling for her impeachment.
Langford's attorney, Matt Farra, who asked for shock probation, issued the following statement about the case:
"It’s horrible that Judge Green, a former prosecutor, is being attacked by lawmakers who are capitalizing on one horrific event to justify expensive and barbaric sentencing laws that remove considerations like mental health, and a person’s criminal history (or more importantly lack thereof) when they are the ones in the best position to make a decision.
"Judges, not legislators, should be responsible in determining a criminal defendant’s sentence. It’s easy to second guess a decision with a tragedy like this, but expanding our prison system isn’t going stop mental illness."
'Terror'
After breaking into their home, Strong said Langford ordered her, her 11-year-old son, and her 7-year-old son into a car. With a knife pressed to Strong’s throat, Langford demanded she drive to the PNC Bank on Shelbyville Road near Oxmoor Center.
"My oldest son he had his arms around my neck, and he was begging the guy in the backseat not to kill me," Strong said. "I asked him if I could reach around and hold my youngest son's hand, and he said yes."
Strong, a true crime enthusiast, said she tried to gain Langford’s trust by sharing personal information.
"I told the guy my oldest son was autistic, to please not hurt us, that my youngest son was very scared," she said. "If this is gonna happen fighting him isn't the right way to do it — he has a knife, and I have nothing."
Jennifer Strong was making breakfast for her children Friday morning, August 8, 2025, when a man entered her home and kidnapped her and her two children, taking them to a bank so he could rob it. (WDRB image)
At the bank, Strong knocked on the window as Langford threatened the teller.
"I need $20,000, or I will kill her now," Strong recounted Langford’s threat.
The bank tellers spread $20,000 on the ground. Langford grabbed the cash and fled.
Strong was taken to the hospital with stab wounds that came within centimeters of her lung. She was released Friday and reunited with her family.
"It was the best moment of life," she said. "It will stay the best moment of my life."
Langford was arrested just after 4:30 p.m. Friday near Best Buy, about 1 mile from the bank. He's being held on a $1 million bond and faces multiple charges, including five counts of robbery, one count of kidnapping an adult, two counts of kidnapping a minor, and one count of assault.
"He deserves the same terror that he inflicted on us," Strong said.
Langford is scheduled to be back in court Aug. 19. But Strong is still left wondering how so many in the court system let Langford back out.
"I want to know how they’re sleeping at night right now," she said.
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