Todd Co. sheriff pleads guilty to harassment charge from reported incident

LOGAN COUNTY, Ky. – On Tuesday, Todd County sheriff Tracy White pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from a reported incident that occurred in May 2024, court documents state.

According to court documents, White pleaded guilty Tuesday in Logan County District Court to harassment – no physical contact, a charge amended down from an initial charge of harassment – physical contact, no injury.

In addition, court documents state a menacing charge is listed under deferred prosecution for up to two years, with a list of criteria, including but not limited to eight hours of community service, a public apology to the victim, no comments on social media regarding the victim or charges, no contact with the victim or victim’s family (at least 500 feet away) and no disparaging remarks about the victim and victim’s family.

According to an indictment, White was indicted on the original charges of harassment and menacing.

Court records further show a motion in limine was submitted by the defendant and the plaintiff.

According to Cornell Law School’s online Legal Information Institute, motion in limine “is a pretrial motion that seeks the exclusion of specific evidence or arguments from being presented during a trial.”

A motion in limine for the plaintiff requested several forms of evidence to be excluded, including the victim’s prior criminal history, the allegation the victim’s actions relate to a motivation and prior events “between the victim and the defendant’s minor children or other minors.”

The motion in limine for the defendant, White, requested multiple forms of evidence to be excluded as well, included but not limited to “any edited video recording, putting together photographs or depictions of the defendant or any reference thereto,” any argument the defendant “because of his elected office should be held to a higher standard,” and hearsay testimony.

The defendant’s response to the plaintiff’s motion in limine states, “The proof the Commonwealth seeks to exclude involves” the defendant’s “participation in, and potential orchestration of, a months-long feud with a group of children. “The criminal history” of the defendant “in Todd County and the facts concerning the ongoing feud are both directly relevant to the motive behind the actions of Tracy White and the motives and bias of the alleged victim and witness,” the document states.

The document states a past case was brought against the victim “by the Todd County Sheriff’s Office while Tracy White was sheriff.”

The document further states the victim had pleaded “guilty to knowingly possessing marijuana while in possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine” in March 2020.

In addition, the victim had previously “made no claim that he had been set up,” according to the document.

However, the document states the victim stated to detective Michael Cook that he “believes he was set up on the charges of possession of methamphetamine by the Todd County Sheriff’s Office in that case.”

The document additionally states the victim had complained to Logan County sheriff’s deputies less than an hour after White left the victim’s home on May 3, 2024, stating that children, including children of White, had told people the victim had “shot at them and ran his pickup truck into them,” among other claims.

At the end of the document, the defendant’s response stated the court “should deny all of the Commonwealth motions to exclude evidence.”

A review of payment of fines and completion of community service is scheduled for January 6, 2026, according to court records.