A Kentucky judge has denied a motion to suppress evidence that led to a distillery worker being accused of masterminding a long-running whiskey theft ring in bourbon country.
The ruling by Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate in Frankfort was the latest twist in the two-year-old case. An attorney for Gilbert "Toby" Curtsinger, the alleged ringleader, tried to suppress evidence that included barrels of Wild Turkey bourbon found on Curtsinger's property.
Wingate ruled Tuesday that Curtsinger's privacy rights weren't violated because authorities saw the barrels from a wooded area. They were close enough that they could smell a "strong odor" of bourbon coming from the barrels, stored under plastic tarps behind an outbuilding.
Prosecutor Zachary Becker says he was pleased with the ruling.
Curtsinger's attorney, Whitney True Lawson, says she's reviewing the order.
