MURRAY – A woman who has worked in the legal field in Calloway County for nearly 30 years made her first appearance as a defendant in Calloway District Court Tuesday. The Murray native faces 25 felony charges for stealing more than $250,000 from an elderly woman in her care.
Leslie Lockhart, 54, was arrested Friday, Feb. 7 and charged with 23 counts of second-degree forgery, a class D felony; one count of theft by unlawful taking ($10,000 to $1 million), a class C felony; and one count of knowingly abusing or neglecting an adult, a class C felony. The following Monday, she was released after posting a $20,000 cash bond.
According to Lockhart’s Facebook page, she worked as a paralegal in multiple local law firms going back to 1997, when she began working for Ricky Lamkin, a local attorney who passed away in 2019. Since 2022, Lockhart has served as Calloway Family Court Judge Stephanie Perlow’s legal administrative assistant and family court case manager.
Court documents show the victim in Lockhart’s case was Perlow’s mother, Maria Judy. At the time of the alleged offenses, Lockhart was also employed as Judy’s at-home caregiver. Among her job duties was to assist Judy with her financial accounts.
After Judy passed away in December 2024, Perlow and her husband David discovered 20 forged checks totaling $177,768. The Perlows contacted the Kentucky State Police (KSP) to report the theft. KSP’s investigation uncovered evidence of eight fraudulent transfers from Judy’s Fidelity and Merrill Lynch accounts. Detectives also found three additional forged checks, which totaled $78,999. Between the two, Lockhart is accused of embezzling $256,768.21.
Lockhart admitted to taking the money in a text conversation with David Perlow in mid-January, according to the complaint warrant. “I confided in her and she wanted to help me. I made a big mistake,” Lockhart allegedly wrote in addition to, “Please don’t put me in jail because my kids are my life and Maria wanted to help me. I will pay everything she gave me back.”
Caldwell District Judge Matthew Schalk was appointed to preside over the district court proceedings as special judge, and, Richie Kemp, assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in McCracken County, was appointed as special prosecutor in the case.
Lockhart, represented by Hopkinsville attorney Jason Holland, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday. She also waived her right to a preliminary hearing in district court as well as grand jury indictment. The case will proceed to Calloway Circuit Court by information.
Before the hearing concluded, Holland asked to address Lockhart’s bond. Lockhart’s surety, Janet Seifert, assigned $10,000 of the $20,000 cash bond to him to cover his attorney fees. Holland advised that the bond assignment had been filed and requested those funds be released to him, with the court retaining the remaining $10,000.
When Schalk asked for his response, Kemp advised the court he was reluctant to release any of the bond out of concern that Lockhart will not be able to pay restitution if found guilty, but he also recognized her right to hire an attorney.
“Judge, I’ll just add that she’s a life-long resident,” Holland interjected. “Her kids (attend school) here. She’s been a pillar of the community. She’s not going anywhere, and she has no criminal record whatsoever.”
“I would definitely dispute ‘pillar of the community,’” Kemp rebutted, “but I’m not worried about her flight risk. I’m worried about her not being able to pay back all the money she stole.”
“Well, that, of course, comes much later in the process,” Holland said. “She’s entitled to counsel.”
Schalk agreed and approved Holland’s request. On the issue of bond, Kemp made his own request – that the bond conditions be amended to stipulate Lockhart cannot sell or transfer any property without court approval. Schalk agreed and amended the conditions as requested.
Lockhart’s next appearance, theoretically, will be her circuit court arraignment, but no date was given as to when that might occur.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story errorneously identified Richie Kemp as the Graves County Commonwealth’s Attorney. Kemp now serves as the McCracken County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney. We apologize for the error.
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