ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Nelson County Sheriff's lieutenant is suspended with pay after police say he and his fiance stole several 6-foot-tall nutcrackers and an igloo cooler from an Elizabethtown business.
According to the Elizabethtown Police Department, Kaelen Matthews and his fiance, Lora Armstrong, went inside Fast Track It's warehouse and left with the nutcrackers and cooler without paying. Fast Track It is an online auction company that allows customers to bid on items online. Once the bid is won, customers pay for and pick the item up at the warehouse. Police say Matthews and Armstrong did neither.
"In this case, they hadn't placed any bids," Elizabethtown Police Spokesman Chris Denham said. "They just removed the items and carried them out, loaded them in the truck they arrived in and departed without paying for them."
The Sept. 16 incident resulted in an investigation that turned into the identification and arrest of Matthews and Armstrong. The two were arrested by Nelson County Sheriff's deputies and placed in the Nelson County Jail last Friday.
"This isn't a law enforcement officer who commits an offense like this," Denham said. "This is a criminal."
Kaelen Matthews and Lora Armstrong
But Matthews and his better half claim they didn't steal anything. In a statement to WDRB News, Matthews' attorney Keith Sparks of McCoy & Sparks PLLC said:
"The Lieutenant voluntarily explained to investigators that while there, he and Lora agreed to help a woman that told them that she had purchased the statues, along with a cooler. She told the couple that she didn’t have a truck to take them home, and that her husband (or boyfriend), who did, was at work."
The statement went on to describe Matthews' spotless record and 17 years of experience in law enforcement. The attorney argued that Matthews' explanation is much more realistic than the allegations. To read the full statement, click here.
However, Nelson County Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa said he immediately suspended Matthews with pay. He declined to comment further.
Tthe investigation is ongoing. The department said it won't tolerate that kind of behavior.
"A law enforcement officer must be held to a higher standard," Denham said. "As productive members of society, we all have rules we have to follow, and an officer isn't exempt from that."
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
