09/26/04
Associated Press
EDDYVILLE -- Lyon County's judge-executive said it "would be
nice" if the county attorney resigned from office after being
indicted in connection with a beer party police say he and his
wife threw for several dozen teenagers.
Judge-Executive Sara Boyd made the comment to The Paducah Sun
on Friday, a day after County Attorney Lindell Choat was
indicted in neighboring Marshall County on 18 charges related to
a party he hosted for his stepson.
Choat and his wife are accused of providing a keg of beer
without supervising who was old enough to drink. Seventy-five to
80 teenagers attended the Feb. 13-14 party at a rented cabin at
Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, the indictments said.
Meanwhile, police arrested Christopher Lee Hollis, 19, of
Princeton on Friday on a charge of attempted rape involving a
girl who attended the party. His bond was set at $25,000.
Choat automatically was suspended from his prosecutorial
duties in Lyon District Court, but there are no provisions to
remove him as the county's chief legal adviser and attorney.
Attorney General Greg Stumbo has appointed McCracken County
Attorney Dan Boaz as special prosecutor in Lyon County. Boaz
said he or someone from his Paducah office will be in Lyon
District Court on Mondays and Fridays.
Attempts by the paper to contact Choat were unsuccessful.
Calls to his home telephone were not answered.
Boyd said she has not heard from Choat since the indictment
was returned. She said he wasn't in his courthouse office
Friday. If the county needs legal assistance, help will be
sought from state officials, Boyd said.
"It would be nice if he did resign, but the decision is his,"
Boyd said. She didn't know if the fiscal court might ask him to
step down. "We'll have to think about that," she said.
Choat is charged with one count of tampering with physical
evidence and two counts of tampering with a witness, which are
felonies. He also faces two counts of first-degree official
misconduct and 13 counts of third-degree unlawful transaction
with a minor, which are misdemeanors.
His wife, Mary Jane Choat, faces one count of tampering with
physical evidence and 13 counts of unlawful transaction with a
minor.
