Wallace G. Wilkinson - Alleged Kidnapping By Jerome Jernigan

Alleged Kidnapping By Jerome Jernigan

On April 10, 1984, Wilkinson was allegedly kidnapped by a man named Jerome Jernigan. In 1977, Wilkinson had provided Jernigan with start-up money for Jernigan Export Timber, Inc., a company that manufactured and exported wood veneers internationally. The company went defunct around the time of Jernigan's divorce from his wife, the secretary-treasurer of the company, in December 1980. Jernigan's son, Victor, continued to work for Wilkinson in another capacity until 1982. According to Wilkinson, in the months leading up to the alleged kidnapping, Jernigan had come to Wilkinson's office several times demanding money he claimed he was owed from his prior business dealings with Wilkinson. Wilkinson said he had been making the requested payments, but that when he refused Jernigan's request on April 10, Jernigan presented him with a four-page suicide note, then produced a pistol and told Wilkinson, "I'm going to kill you first." Wilkinson further alleged that Jernigan forced him to drive to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Frankfort, a hotel Wilkinson owned, at gunpoint. The two spent the night at the hotel, and sometime during the night, Wilkinson contacted James Aldridge, president of New Farmers National Bank in Glasgow, Kentucky. Wilkinson, who owned an interest in New Farmers National Bank, told Aldridge he needed $500,000 as soon as possible. The next day, Wilkinson and Jernigan flew to Glasgow aboard a plane operated by Wilkinson Flying Service, another company owned by Wilkinson. Wilkinson said Jernigan threatened to kill employees at the company if Wilkinson attempted to alert them. Aldridge met Wilkinson and Jernigan with the money Wilkinson had requested at the Glasgow Municipal Airport. Upon their arrival, Wilkinson paid Jernigan $500,000 and was released unharmed.

After his release, Wilkinson alerted the FBI, and Jernigan was arrested the same day in Lexington. Upon his arrest, he was in possession of two pistols, six sets of handcuffs, and $400,000 in cash. Jernigan told authorities that he and Wilkinson had spent the previous night at the Crowne Plaza negotiating a settlement to their differences stemming from their earlier business relationship. The terms of the settlement, Jernigan maintained, included a $500,000 cash payment from Wilkinson, part of which would finance a new business venture similar to Jernigan's previous veneer export business. Wilkinson would also furnish Jernigan with a car, a furnished apartment in Lexington, and a salary of $5,000 a month. Jernigan said that, after Wilkinson paid the $500,000, he decided to back out of the settlement and portray the encounter as a crime. Wilkinson denied Jernigan's allegations and maintained that the money – which was later recovered – was demanded by Jernigan as a ransom for his release.

Weeks later, Jernigan filed a counter-suit against Wilkinson in Fayette County circuit court. He asked the court to award him $50 million in punitive damages and to determine the profits made by his and Wilkinson's veneer company, of which he would receive half. A judge ordered the case moved to Louisville because the alleged crime was committed in Glasgow, in the state's western district. State charges against Jernigan, which included kidnapping and carrying a concealed deadly weapon, were dropped so that the federal extortion charges could take precedence. Over the objection of his legal counsel, the court ordered Jernigan to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he was insane or mentally incompetent for his own defense. The court-appointed psychiatrist found Jernigan competent to stand trial, and he was released in late May on a $25,000 bond.

After his release on bond, Jernigan returned to the room at the Continental Inn in Lexington where he had been living prior to his arrest. On July 18, 1984, Jernigan's son Randy found him dead in the room. An autopsy showed that Jernigan suffered from coronary atherosclerosis, and heart disease was officially listed as the cause of death. Lexington police determined that there was no evidence to suggest foul play. Jernigan's ex-wife continued to pursue Jernigan's case against Wilkinson, but a Fayette County Circuit Court Judge awarded Wilkinson a summary judgment to dismiss the case in 1986.