A non-compliant sex offender convicted of molesting two children and a woman wanted on multiple felony charges were arrested in Clarkson after their vehicle ran out of gas.
Thursday morning at approximately 8:05, Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins was dispatched to the 800 block of West Main Street (Hwy 62) in Clarkson on the report of a vehicle containing two sleeping occupants and a dog stopped in the roadway.
Upon arriving at the scene, the male and female inside the vehicle were awakened by the barking dog, Chaffins said. As the sheriff was speaking with the two occupants, a third person, 47-year-old Richard W. May, of Harold (Floyd Co.), walked to the scene with a gallon of gas, as he told the sheriff the vehicle had run out of gas.
May then began vomiting in the middle of the road. The other male subject, later identified as 42-year-old John David Absher, of Louisville, who was previously asleep in the vehicle, “fell face first on the asphalt and began having a seizure,” according to Chaffins.
The female, 34-year-old Casey M. Lester, of Tollesboro (Lewis Co.), told the sheriff that Absher was “an opioid user and believed he had used earlier that morning.”
Chaffins administered three doses of Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal agent, to Absher prior to EMS arriving. Absher was transported by EMS to Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center before being taken to North Children’s Hospital.
Lester, who initially gave police “false identifying information,” was discovered to have arrest warrants for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), promoting contraband, theft by unlawful taking, third-degree burglary, and public intoxication. She was lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center.
Absher was also discovered to have arrest warrants out of Jefferson County for two counts of failure to comply with the sex offender registry, promoting contraband, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), first-degree violation of registered sex offender restrictions, receiving stolen property, and giving an officer a false name and address.
Absher is listed on the Kentucky State Police Sex Offender Registry as a “move-in offender from Indiana.” His convictions include “sexual misconduct with a minor and child molesting (Indiana convictions),” the registry states. His victims, according to the sex registry, were 12- and 15-years-old.
He is listed as non-compliant, with his last known address in Louisville.
Absher, the sheriff said, will be lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center once he is medically cleared.
During a search of the suspects’ vehicle, conducted by Deputy Sean Fentress and K-9 Officer Zeus, police located methamphetamine, resulting in May being charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). He was lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center.
Grayson County Animal Control gained control of the dog and took it to the animal shelter.
(Photo l-r: John D. Absher mugshot from arrest in May 2023 in Jefferson Co., Casey Lester mugshot from her arrest in March 2024 in Pike County)
(No mugshot available for Richard May)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
