EVANSVILLE — Former Evansville school board member Amy Word was sentenced to nine months of probation by a judge Monday, after a jury found Word guilty of maintaining a common nuisance.
Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely issued the sentence during a 2 p.m. hearing. He reduced the crime to a misdemeanor during sentencing.
Word, 48, formerly owned the popular Lamasco Bar & Grill on Franklin Street, which in 2022 became entangled in a wide-ranging narcotics investigation and later the subject of her criminal trial.
According to state guidelines, Level 6 felonies such as maintaining a common nuisance can carry a sentence of between six months to two-and-a-half years in jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. However, first-time offenders such as Word often avoid prison time in low-level felony cases.
Word was arrested and charged with maintaining a common nuisance in July 2022 after detectives alleged that she knew about drug use and dealing at Lamasco Bar & Grill. Word pleaded not guilty and publicly proclaimed her innocence.
According to Word’s defense attorney, Bob Canada, Word turned down a plea agreement offered by prosecutors that would have placed Word in a pretrial diversion program that could have seen the case against her dismissed.
Word stood trial in June at the Sullivan County Courthouse, a venue chosen due to extensive media coverage of the case in Evansville and heated discussion of her arrest on social media, according to legal filings. Kiely presided over the proceedings.
Vanderburgh County Deputy Prosecutor James Doyle and Canada painted starkly different portraits of Word during the three-day trial.
Canada repeatedly took aim at the credibility of state witnesses who claimed that Word had explicit knowledge of drug activity at Lamasco Bar & Grill, including an accused cocaine dealer who was granted a limited form of immunity to testify against Word.
Under questioning from Doyle, the accused dealer, Demario Holman, said under oath that he sold cocaine to Word “a lot” at Lamasco Bar & Grill, telling jurors that he gave her drugs “directly.”
The jury found Word guilty on June 28.
“We disagree with the jury’s verdict, but we accept it,” Canada said at the time. “We had a fair trial. She (Word) feels like it’s time to move on with her life.”
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said the evidence against Word was “overwhelming.”
Amy Word ceased to be a member of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation school board the moment she became a convicted felon, according to the board’s attorney. Word’s District 3 seat is up for grabs in the November election.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Judge sentences Amy Word in common nuisance case
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