A Jefferson County judge issued another arrest warrant for former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin at a Friday afternoon sentencing hearing, in the latest chapter of his ongoing divorce and child support saga.
Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson sentenced Bevin to 14 days of jail time for not complying with her order to appear at the hearing in person, but said he could avoid jail if he pays a $250 fine.
Bevin claimed via videoconference that he was unable to appear in court because “I have a boulder, very large boulder, through the back of our house.” He said dealing with that required him to remain with his vacation home in Bethel, Maine.
Johnson said she did not consider property damage a sufficient emergency and that he had the means to fly in for the hearing based on the limited financial documents he had provided to the court.
“I would be damaging the trust in the court system if I gave you a pass. I have to vindicate the integrity of the court. Failure to do so means that I'm not doing my job,” Johnson said. “An arrest warrant will be issued for today for your failure to appear in person, sir. I told you to be here.”
Johnson also said that there appear to be “gaps in time” in the financial information that Bevin provided to the court in a 400-plus page binder that afternoon. Johnson said if Bevin fails to produce the financial documents that the lawyers of Bevin’s son, Jonah, say they need to make their case by next week, he will go to jail.
“Failure to do so will result in 60 days to serve and a $500 fine, and that's it. That's the end of it. You will serve the time, sir,” Johnson said.
What started as the divorce settlement between Bevin and his now ex-wife Glenna morphed when their adopted estranged son Jonah Bevin asked to intervene. Jonah, now 19, is seeking financial support, alleging abuse and abandonment while in the Bevins’ care. His parents also sent him to a notoriously abusive Jamaican facility. When the facility was shut down by Jamaican officials, he was placed in child welfare because no relatives immediately agreed to take him.
Bevin said in the hearing that he had not filed a tax return since 2021 and had instead provided attorneys with worksheets prepared by his accountant with estimated taxes. Even with an extension, taxpayers generally have until October 15 of a given year to file their taxes.
Jonah’s attorney John Helmers, Jr. said the documents Bevin had were “woefully inadequate.”
“With any taxpayer, you get your documents from various sources, whether your employer or a 1099 or your bank statements, and then you provide those to your accountant. So all of those documents that we do not have exist,” Helmers said. “Instead he provides this to his accountant, but he doesn't provide it to the court. He never files it with the court, and he doesn't provide it to us.”
Johnson previously issued an arrest warrant for Bevin in March when she found him in contempt for failing to meet a deadline to turn over financial records. A Court of Appeals judge recalled that bench warrant shortly after, before Bevin could be arrested, because of his attempt to have Johnson removed from the case.
The beleaguered former governor asked the state Supreme Court to assign a special judge because he believed Johnson was biased against him and using the media attention surrounding his case to boost her reelection bid — which will not take place until 2030 if Johnson chooses to run again.
Chief Justice Debra Lambert denied him, saying that Bevin has “failed to demonstrate any disqualifying circumstances.” She did not rule that Johnson’s orders were correct, but that she had “reasonable bases” to back them up, not tied to alleged personal interests.
