By Abigail Roberts
Kentucky State Police (KSP) has assigned a detective – who is not from this area – to conduct a criminal investigation concerning Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Luster.
That’s according to Lincoln County Sheriff Shawn Hines.
Hines provided additional details Feb. 5, following the announcement that Luster has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an administrative and criminal investigation.
Deputy Ron Luster poses for a photo after winning the 2025 Governors impaired driving enforcement award.
“I have met with the KSP Detective today and he also interviewed two employees of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office while in Stanford,” Hines said Thursday.
The KSP Detective is from the KSP Drug Enforcement Special Investigations Unit — East, Hines said.
The KSP Detective is currently setting up additional interviews with other witnesses concerning the matter and he expects the investigation to last four or five weeks, Hines said.
“He stated in order to conduct a thorough investigation it would take at least that amount of time to complete and present his case to the Commonwealth Attorney,” he said.
Hines said he is aware that some cases have been affected by this investigation and if individuals have been contacted by either the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office or the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, they will need to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office so the case can be reassigned.
Several individuals have already done so, Hines said.
“I would like to remind folks that during this criminal and administrative investigation that Deputy Luster is presumed innocent and once these investigations are complete then facts of the case will be shared,” he said.
