'I made horrible decisions.' NKY lawyer gets jail for trespassing in ex's apartment

A Northern Kentucky attorney convicted of trespassing into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment will now spend the next six months in jail.

Chase Cox, 31, a Covington-based lawyer, appeared Tuesday for sentencing in Campbell County Circuit Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward’s courtroom, where Cox has argued cases in the past.

The hearing came a week after Cox was found guilty of misdemeanor criminal trespass and criminal mischief. He was acquitted of felony burglary, the most serious charge he faced, as well as theft by unlawful taking and another criminal mischief count.

Jurors recommended he serve 6 months in the Campbell County Detention Center for one count and 90 days for the other – a recommendation the judge agreed with.

He was also ordered to pay a $500 fine.

In October 2023, Cox broke into the apartment of a woman he was in a relationship with, stole her iPad, tracked the woman down by reading through her text messages and broke the iPad screen, prosecutors said.

Reinhardt Ward said Cox kicked down the woman’s door and broke the door frame. He also took a laptop for over 24 hours and denied having it or being in the apartment.

Cox previously said that he paid restitution for damage to the woman's door and to replace the iPad.

“I made horrible decisions, said terrible things to someone I loved and cared about, and those are consequences I will have to live with for the rest of my life,” Cox wrote in a letter to the court.

Cox dated the woman for several years, his attorneys wrote in court filings, adding that the pair had lived together and even considered getting engaged.

“I mean, he’s got some real issues here to deal with,” said Cox’s attorney, Harry Hellings Jr. “He has to stay away from her forever.”

While Cox and his family pleaded with the judge to spare him from jail time, prosecutors said Cox could’ve accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty to a felony in exchange for probation, but chose to go to trial instead.

“I will show you that I can be successful in the community because I know I can,” Cox told the judge.

However, Cox testified at trial to violating the conditions of his bond by calling and texting his ex-girlfriend, court records show. Reinhardt Ward found him in contempt of court and placed him on 30 days of home incarceration with an ankle monitor.

The judge said she would have to recuse herself from future cases Cox might have in her courtroom, adding that he’s lost credibility.

Hellings said Cox is facing additional possible sanctions from the Kentucky Bar Association. At the end of Tuesday's hearing, Cox was led away by court security officers to be taken to jail.

“I do think you need to know there’s consequences to your behavior and those consequences can result not only in losing your law license but being incarcerated,” Reinhardt Ward told Cox. “It has to sink into you.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'I made horrible decisions.' NKY lawyer gets jail for trespassing in ex's apartment