Lexington detective who pleaded guilty to child abuse resigns, plus other court updates
Court cases stemming from several deadly incidents in and around Central Kentucky were resolved last month as defendants received their prison sentences.
March’s court developments included a teen sentenced to prison time for the deadly shooting of a 26-year-old, along with the sentencing of a former Lexington Police Department detective who pleaded guilty to child abuse.
Here are some updates on court cases previously covered by the Herald-Leader.
Lexington Police Department detective sentenced for child abuse charge
A former Lexington Police Department detective was sentenced to three years of supervised diversion after he pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of child abuse under the age of 12.
Ryan Raker, 40, was sentenced by Estill County Circuit Judge Michael Dean on March 22. As part of his sentence, he is not allowed to possess military-style firearms, according to court documents.
Raker was charged in February 2023 with abuse of a child under the age of 12 — a class D felony — and pleaded guilty February 23, 2024, according to court documents.
He will be under the supervision of probation and parole until 2027, who will conduct home visits, according to court documents. Raker also is prohibited from possessing or consuming alcohol, will be subjected to random drug tests and is required to continue mental health counseling and a case plan established by the Cabinet of Health and Family Services.
Raker has worked for the Lexington Police Department since 2009, according to a database of city employees previously published by the Herald-Leader. After his arrest, Raker was placed on administrative leave from his job at the LPD.
Raker resigned on March 21, according to Hannah Sloan, spokesperson for the Lexington Police Department.
Man convicted of murder and robbery sentenced
A Fayette County Circuit Court Judge sentenced a man in late March after a jury convicted him of killing an 82-year-old woman during a home invasion.
David Joel Williams, 42, was found guilty of the murder of Hilda Mae Pike, who died in 2018 — two years after Williams entered Pike’s home to rob and violently attack her. A jury also found him guilty of first-degree burglary after nearly seven hours of deliberations, according to Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Katie Schaffer.
On Friday, Williams was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Judge Dianne Minnifield, according to court documents. Minnifield upheld the jury’s sentencing recommendation and ordered a 25 year sentence for the murder charge and 10 years for the robbery charge to be served concurrently, meaning served at the same time.
In August 2016, Williams broke into Pike’s Dogwood Drive home, woke her and demanded money, police said. She told Williams she didn’t have any money, and he allegedly stabbed her more than a dozen times. He took a small amount of cash and ran away.
Pike suffered serious health complications as a result of the attack, and died two years later.
Lexington teen sentenced for 2022 murder
A teen accused of fatally shooting 26-year-old Juan Mondono-Fonesca in September 2022 was sentenced to charges related to the death.
Fredy Mendoza, 18, accepted a guilty plea for second-degree manslaughter and possession of a handgun by a minor in December 2023. He was originally charged with murder and possession of a handgun by a minor.
The murder charge was amended down and Mendoza was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the lesser charge, according to court documents.
On Sept. 2, 2022, officers with the Lexington Police Department were called to the 2200 block of Devonport Drive, near the intersection of Alexandria Drive and Versailles Road, where they located Mondono-Fonesca with a gunshot wound. He later died at a local hospital, police said.
Mendoza was a juvenile at the time of the shooting. He was indicted on both charges in April 2023, according to court documents. It was the third time he was charged with possessing a handgun as a minor. He had prior convictions on that offense in January 2020 and December 2021, according to court documents.
