Bond reduction, work release, and contempt of court: What we know about the Amber Spradlin hearing

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — The three men charged in the death of Amber Spradlin appeared in court on Monday morning.

The hearing comes just five days after a new indictment accused the three of concealing and procuring fake evidence on the scene.

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Michael K. McKinney III, 24, has been arrested and charged with murder. A grand jury also returned indictments against his father, 56-year-old Michael K. McKinney II, and 23-year-old Josh Mullins. All three men now face eight counts of complicity to tampering with evidence.

Joshua Mullins’s bond reduced

On July 31, Mullins’s bond was set to $100,000, and in the event he’s released, Mullins would be subject to home incarceration with GSP monitoring. On Aug. 6, Whitney Rowe, Mullins’s attorney, filed a motion to reduce the bond by 5%.

The motion claims that his bond was set at $100,000 in an effort to make the payment needed “large enough to make it hurt.” According to Rowe, punishing her client via bond would be unconstitutional.

Rowe also cited that Mullins is a low-risk client who has no felony criminal history, failure to appear, and “humble financial resources of his own.”

The motion also reveals that Mullins has lived with the McKinney family since he was 16 years old and is also employed at McKinney’s dentist office, Floyd County Smiles. The Commonwealth defended the bond decision, claiming that he should have access to enough resources to post the $100,000 bond due to McKinney’s support.

According to the Floyd County Clerk, the court ruled that Mullins’s bond would be reduced to $50,000 and must be paid in cash.

Michael McKinney II can return to work

On Aug. 1 , Dr. Michael McKinney was released and ordered to home incarceration with GPS monitoring after posting a $250,000 bond.

Then, on Aug. 15, attorney Terry Jacobs filed a motion requesting that McKinney be able to return to work at Floyd County Smiles while he awaits trial. After his arrest, McKinney’s dentistry license was temporarily suspended, according to a letter from the Kentucky Board of Dentistry.

The motion cites that although he isn’t able to practice dentistry, his presence and oversight are “essential” to maintaining business.

“You are still able to be at your office and manage the business affairs of the practice. In short, you can act in the same capacity as any other citizen without a dental license,” the Kentucky Board of Dentistry said. “However, in doing so, please take care to not involve yourself in patient care in any way.”

The Commonwealth’s response claims that the motion exaggerated McKinney’s involvement at Floyd County Smiles.

“It doesn’t seem reasonable that the defendant would need to spend more hours per week at the office when he can’t even see patients than he did when he was a licensed dentist seeing patients and performing complex procedures,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner said.

On Monday, a Floyd County judge approved McKinney’s request to return to work but ordered that he must be home by 5 p.m.

Michael “MK” McKinney III’s attorney found in contempt of court

On Aug. 5, attorney Randy Martin O’Neal filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against his client, claiming that the indictment was not returned in open court or filed with the Circuit Clerk before the indictment warrant was issued or served.

O’Neal wrote that this would breach the secrecy of the grand jury” and “prejudices the defendant by undermining the integrity of the grand jury process.”

However, on Aug. 9, a Show Cause Order claims that the court could not find three citations referenced in a footnote on the third page of O’Neal’s motion . The court then ordered O’Neal to provide copies of the referenced cases or correct the citations of such cases.

In a 39-page reply, O’Neal wrote, “I admit that I made a completely unintentional mistake.”

The Commonwealth called O’Neal’s conduct “a breach of his duty to be candid with the court.”

On Monday, the Floyd County Clerk told FOX 56 that O’Neal was found in contempt of court and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

The three men’s next court date has been set for Oct. 24, per the Floyd County Clerk.

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