Final two plead not guilty in Bourbon scandal

The two final defendants in the case against a suspected theft ring that pilfered more than US$100,000 from the Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey distilleries have pleaded not guilty.

The two final defendants in a high profile Bourbon theft case have pleaded not guilty

As reported by The Courier-Journal, former Wild Turkey worker Mark Searcy and Dustin Adkins have entered not guilty pleas at the Franklin Circuit Court.

The pair are the last of nine defendants to make their first court appearance in the high profile case.

In April this year the group was charged with involvement in the theft of more than US$100,000 worth of Bourbon over several years.

Police uncovered the syndicate, reportedly formed by people who knew each other through softball, after five stolen barrels of Wild Turkey Bourbon worth US$30,000 were discovered in the backyard of Buffalo Trace worker Gilbert Curtsinger.

This theft was then linked to US$26,000 worth of rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon that was lifted from the Buffalo Trace in 2013.

Curtsinger – accused of acting as the “ring leader” for the suspected criminal syndicate – pleaded not guilty last week, along with his wife Julie, her father, Robert McKinney; Christopher Preston; and Joshua Preston.

Two members of the accused group, Michael Shaun Ballard and Ronnie Lee Hubbard, have already pleaded guilty to amended charges in exchange for co-operating with investigators.

The case continues.