Prosecutor: No plea offer in Allen murder case

SCOTTSVILLE — No plea bargain will be extended to an Allen County man accused of murdering someone whose body was found in a burn pit.

Allen County Commonwealth’s Attorney Corey Morgan filed notice Monday that he will decline to make a plea offer to Glen Snook, 68, of Adolphus.

Snook is charged with murder, second-degree arson, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and second-degree persistent felony offender in connection with the death of Johnny “J.L.” Crawford, 31, of Bethpage, Tennessee.

Snook appeared briefly Tuesday in Allen Circuit Court with his court-appointed attorney, Kayla Fugate of the Department of Public Advocacy.

During that hearing, Morgan informed the court that he is awaiting production of some evidence gathered by police during the investigation that would then be provided to Snook’s defense team.

Allen Circuit Judge Mark Thurmond continued the discovery conference to July 30.

The indictment against Snook accuses him of killing Crawford on March 11. He was arrested 10 days later by Kentucky State Police.

Snook is alleged to have shot Crawford and placed his body in a red dumpster, moving it to a burn pit and strewing debris over the corpse.

Snook is also accused of setting Crawford’s truck on fire on Blankenship Road and hiding the rifle believed to have been used in the slaying in a wooded area behind his home.

KSP became involved in the investigation on March 20 after being contacted by the Allen County Sheriff’s Office to assist in what was at that point a missing persons investigation.

According to an arrest citation, Crawford’s mother informed authorities she had not been in contact with her son for several days and that she and her husband went to her son’s last known residence on McDonald Road, where he stayed with his girlfriend, and found a boot belonging to Crawford near a burn pit in the backyard.

Police called to the residence found Crawford’s body in the burn pit, and detectives eventually learned that Snook had threatened “on several different occasions” to kill Crawford, according to court records.

“A witness also advised that they had observed video surveillance from this residence showing Lenny moving a large red trash can and that after they inspected it, they observed what appeared to be large amounts of blood inside the trash can,” Snook’s arrest citation said.

Detectives viewed video footage that reportedly linked Snook to the burn pit, and then obtained a search warrant for Snook’s home on Blankenship Road.

Snook was taken into custody after police found him hiding in his residence, his citation said, and he was interviewed at the Scottsville Police Department.

“When asked why he believed he was there, Snook stated, ‘because I killed that man,’ ” Snook’s arrest citation said.

Snook reportedly told police he had gone to the house on March 11 after being asked by Crawford’s girlfriend to make Crawford leave the property.

Snook related that he encountered Crawford next to a fence and got into a verbal altercation with him, leading Snook to warn Crawford that he would shoot if he came closer, records show.

Then, Snook claimed to have fired two warning shots over Crawford’s head and another three shots as Crawford crossed the fence, causing his death.

During his police interview, Snook claimed that Crawford brandished a switchblade knife and threatened Snook with it, according to Snook’s arrest citation.

Snook is being held in Allen County Detention Center under a $1 million cash bond.