Former BSN owner indicted on theft charge

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

LOUISA — A Nov. 19 pretrial conference is scheduled in Bath Circuit Court for former Big Sandy News co-owner and publisher Melissa Mitchell, who was indicted in July on a theft charge involving the newspaper.Mitchell, 52, of Carlisle, was indicted July 16 on a charge of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 but less than $1 million and pleaded not guilty to the charge in August.According to the indictment, between June 25, 2019, and Aug. 28, 2019, Mitchell deposited money in her bank account at The Citizen’s Bank in Sharpsburg that was made out to The Big Sandy News company totaling $17,494.58 after she had sold the company to Henry Mortimer and Timothy Stamper.Multiple checks were deposited into Mitchell’s account during the timeframe indicated in the indictment.Mitchell, along with her husband, Darvin, and Jeremiah Brown, doing business as the Kentucky News Group, announced the purchase of The Big Sandy News in January 2018. They sold the paper to Mortimer and Stamper in May 2019.