Brownsville man involved in theft & murder of Shepherdsville man reaches plea deal

A Brownsville man has reached a plea deal after being charged with the murder of a man he and another man were stealing a trailer and race car from.

Bradlee E. Simmons, 23, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to theft and being a persistent felony offender, according to a report by WDRB.com He was given 10 years on the theft charge and two years for being a persistent felony offender.

The murder charge was dropped when Simmons pled guilty last month. At that court hearing, he was required to make a statement regarding the actions of 39-year-old Richard K. Reno, his co-defendant, during the January 22, 2022, theft and murder.

Theft and murder

The incident began when Simmons and Reno stole a trailer containing a race car that the victim, 42-year-old Kevin Watts, of Shepherdsville, had built with his two young children. The theft occurred on Woodsdale Road, about 10 miles southeast of Shepherdsville.

Watts chased Simmons and Reno in a vehicle, as the two suspects crashed a 1999 Dodge Ram truck, which was pulling the trailer, into a tree on Cedar Grove Road. Simmons and Reno then fled the scene on foot but not before one of the suspects — presumably Reno — shot Watts in the upper leg.

The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.

During the investigation, Bullitt County deputies found that the Dodge Ram truck the suspects were driving was reported stolen out of Casey County just days before the theft of the trailer and race car. The license plate on the truck had been stolen off a Dodge Dakota in Jefferson County on January 12, 10 days before the theft and murder.

Investigators also found Simmons’ cell phone at the scene of the crash. The phone contained conversations between the two suspects regarding stealing trailers and other items in the region.

Simmons was arrested on February 2, 2022, after being shot in the leg by 44-year-old Stanley E. Watts Jr., of Shepherdsville, Kevin Watts’ brother. That shooting took place in the parking lot of Pic-Pac in the 6600 block of Southside Drive in Louisville.

Richard Reno was arrested on January 31, 2022. His case has yet to be adjudicated.

Simmons arrested in Grayson Co.

Simmons was arrested by the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office during the early morning hours of September 20, 2020, after being found walking alongside the Western Kentucky Parkway near his wrecked Saturn passenger car.

During a search of the vehicle, police found an open alcohol container as well as a firearm. The plates on the Saturn did not match the vehicle.

He was charged with DUI, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle, along with multiple non-moving violations.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com