Lewis Co. kidnapping case bound over to grand jury

LEWIS COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ)- The cases against three Vanceburg residents charged with kidnapping for reportedly taking two children and traveling to Mexico have been bound over to the Lewis County Grand Jury.

According to the Lewis County Herald, Victor Carrington, 39, Kristy Carrington, 30, and Jay Thompson, 28, have each been charged with two counts of kidnapping, a minor (class B felony).

The trio has been lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center without bond since they were returned on March 4.

The newspaper says that described as husband, wife and boyfriend by Vanceburg Police, they left Vanceburg on Sunday, February 3, and traveled to Mexico in a rented vehicle with two children who are related to the Carringtons.

Gilbert appeared as a witness before Lewis District Judge Brian McCloud in a preliminary hearing last week.

The defendants sat with public defender Leslie Brown as she and Lewis County Attorney Benjamin Harrison questioned Gilbert about the alleged incidents surrounding the case.

Gilbert testified he received a report from Shirley McClurg on Monday, February 4, that two grandchildren in her custody did not get off the school bus that afternoon.

McClurg is Victor Carrington’s mother and lives in Vanceburg. She had been granted temporary custody of the two juveniles since his earlier conviction for first-degree sexual abuse.

Victor Carrington had been released from jail on $75,000 bond pending sentencing on those charges. He failed to appear in Lewis Circuit Court for sentencing on February 6.

Gilbert said he contacted Child Protective Services to verify McClurg could file the missing person complaint and was told she had temporary custody of the children.

He said through his initial investigation he determined the defendants and children, ages eight and 15, had actually left Vanceburg together on Sunday, February 3, a day prior to the juveniles being reported missing by McClurg.

Gilbert said he attempted calling the cellular telephones of the defendants but did not get an answer.

He next contacted the cellular service provider and was able to track the movements of the defendants through Louisiana and then to Laredo, Texas, where they crossed the border into Mexico.

Gilbert said he provided information on the rental vehicle, a 2018 Toyota Camry, to US Customs and Border Patrol and determined the vehicle had crossed into Mexico at 10:00 p.m. Monday, February 4.

He said Kristy Carrington and Thompson were taken into custody on kidnapping charges at the border in Maverick County, Texas, on Tuesday, February 12, as they attempted to cross back into the United States in the Camry.

Gilbert said Victor Carrington was taken into custody near the same location on Saturday, February 16.

The children, whom Gilbert said were with Victor Carrington, were placed into protective custody and later returned to Kentucky where they were placed into foster care.

Gilbert said the defendants waived extradition proceedings and were brought back to Vanceburg on Monday, March 4, where they were lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center.

Gilbert said the sexual abuse charges against Victor Carrington stem from a 2017 case in which he was indicted and subsequently pled guilty.

Victor Carrington failed to appear in Lewis Circuit Court for sentencing and sex offender assessment on February 6 resulting in a bench warrant being issued.

Gilbert said a forged instrument charge against Victor Carrington is the result of a falsified bank check allegedly presented to a Lewis County business in exchange for goods.

Victor Carrington appeared before Judge Robert Conley in Lewis Circuit Court on Wednesday, March 6, for a status hearing on the bench warrant for his failure to appear on February 6.

Sentencing on the sexual abuse charges was reset for April 3 in Lewis Circuit Court.

Lewis County Jailer Jeff Lykins said Victor Carrington has been taken to an area hospital twice for medical issues since his latest incarceration.

All three defendants remain lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center without bond.

Carrington’s sexual abuse charges stem from reported incidents between March 1, 2016, and July 4, 2016, involving a child less than 16 years-of-age.

Gilbert is continuing the investigation into the incidents and asks for anyone who may have additional information related to the alleged kidnappings to contact him at the Vanceburg Police Department.

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Information and pictures attributed to Lewis County Herald