In Feb. 14-20 issue
By Greg Wells
Times Journal Managing Editor

JAMESTOWN - A break-in at Grider Drugs on Feb. 6 has resulted in more allegations being filed at court by James S. Faller II.

Faller filed a motion for an immediate restraining order against Russell Springs Police Chief Joseph M Irvin and Kentucky Bureau of Investigation Agent John Dudinskie.

In the new filing in the case heard last month by a specially appointed judge, Cletus Miracle, Faller this week alleges that the KBI agent has threatened a witness and that Irvin had violated the courts order by entering Leon Grider's business, preventing Grider from being there during the investigation.

For his part Irvin dismisses the filing.

"He's filing on behalf of other people just as an attorney would," Irvin said, noting that Faller is not an attorney. "It is the same kind of accusations he's been filing for years."

Irvin said he and another officer responded to the alarm call to find the door the alarm company had said was open to be well secured. He explained that the other break-ins at that store in years past had been through the back door and that was where the alarm company had advised the dispatcher that this alarm was coming from.

He added that as he'd driven past the front of the building he was looking through the glass into the building for signs of movement, since he'd been told that the back door was the one that had been entered and he simply didn't notice that one of the front doors had been pried loose.

Faller's filing notes that it was actually a front door that had been pried open with a crowbar, and was still standing ajar. He further contends that Irvin directed other officers to leave the scene early and improperly.
Irvin said he'd established that the door which the alarm company reported open was actually closed and both Faller and a deputy sheriff were on scene.

"About that time the hail was coming down and the tornado siren was going off," Irvin said indicating he had other concerns and believed the alarm was simply caused by the storm.

He added that as he was driving away he noted that Faller was also driving off down Main Street.

In his filing Faller accuses Irvin of, "specifically chose to direct other officers to leave Grider's business with a door open and unprotected…"
Irvin explained, "The problem with that alarm call is the system told the dispatcher that the rear door had been compromised."

He added that once Faller was at the business, assumedly acting in Grider's behalf, and the intensity of the storm reached its peak he had other duties for himself and his officer to attend to but that he did not order the deputy away, since it wouldn't be his place to order a sheriff's deputy to do anything.

As an aside Irvin added that there was another such unsuccessful pharmacy burglary in Columbia that same night, one of several there recently and that the security system at Grider's recorded the burglar leaving the building about four minutes before the alarm company notified the dispatch center that there had been a breakin.

Faller's contention regarding the KBI agent is that the agent, John Dudinskie, went to the home of Kenton Hopper to question him regarding allegations he was charged with investigating, but in doing so spoke with at least one person, who also lives there, who the court had instructed him not to interact with.

According to Faller's filing, "Dudinskie decided to engage Lisa Hopper in such a way that was both in direct violation of the Court order and highly upsetting to Lisa Hopper…"