Mar. 23—Former Somerset Police Captain Michael Correll saw his first court appearance on Thursday connected to charges stemming from a Kentucky State Police investigation.

Correll, 44, appeared in court for his arraignment with his attorney, Jeremy Bartley. Bartley entered a plea of not guilty on Correll's behalf.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Teresa Whitaker set a pretrial date of April 27.

The retired policeman was indicted by a Pulaski County Grand Jury on March 8 on 22 charges: Abuse of Public Trust, first degree Official Misconduct, one count of first-degree Burglary, 10 counts of third-degree Burglary, four counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence, two counts of Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition — Controlled Substance (Under $10,000), first-degree Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Greater Than or Equal To 2 Grams Methamphetamine), Receiving Stolen Property (Firearm), and first-degree Unlawful Access to a Computer.

Most of the charges came from incidents reportedly taking place between November 1, 2022 and January 13 of this year, with at least one charge listed as taking place on October 16, 2022.

That charge is of Official Misconduct, where the Grand Jury stated Correll conducted a search of the Kentucky Open Portal Solution, the state's database for crime and citation reports, with the intent of obtaining a "benefit upon himself." which was against his official duty.

According to the SPD, Correll officially retired from the force on November 1, 2022. Part of the Grand Jury's charges is that between that date and January Correll kept keys and keycards belonging to the department without returning them as required.

For the burglary charges, the indictment states that Correll entered the city's Energy Center several times after his official retirement "with the intent to commit a crime." On one of those occasions, he was reportedly armed with a deadly weapon, enhancing the charge to first-degree Burglary.

The indictment also alleges Correll committed theft by "stealing controlled substances from the MedReturn Box at the Somerset Energy Center." That box is a drop-off for the public to surrender unneeded or expired prescription medications.

Correll was taken into custody the day the indictment was handed down, but was released from the Pulaski County Detention Center after posting a $100,000 cash bond.

Readers are reminded that a charge is an accusation only and that all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com