Frankie Covington v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

── Frankie Covington v. Commonwealth of Kentucky ── Court: Court of Appeals of Kentucky Date: May 22, 2026 Author: Caldwell Category: General RENDERED: MAY 22, 2026; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals NO. 2023-CA-0311-MR FRANKIE COVINGTON APPELLANT APPEAL FROM BOURBON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE MICHAEL DEAN, SPECIAL JUDGE ACTION NO. 06-CR-00062 COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE AND NO. 2023-CA-0339-MR FRANKIE COVINGTON APPELLANT APPEAL FROM BOURBON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE MICHAEL DEAN, SPECIAL JUDGE ACTION NO. 06-CR-00062 COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE OPINION AFFIRMING ** ** ** ** ** BEFORE: CALDWELL, EASTON, AND MCNEILL, JUDGES. CALDWELL, JUDGE: Frankie Covington (“Covington”) appeals from the denial, without an evidentiary hearing, of his CR1 60.02 motion to vacate his conviction and sentence. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 7, 2006, attorney Sharon Muse (“Muse”)2 encountered Covington, a former client, as she left her office in Georgetown for the day. Covington got in Muse’s car. According to Muse, Covington had a knife and forced her to drive to a remote area in Bourbon County as he made threats, touched her in a sexual manner, and tried to hurt her. In September 2006, Covington was indicted for allegedly kidnapping Muse. He was also indicted on charges of sexual abuse, resisting arrest, and being a Persistent Felony Offender (“PFO”) in the first degree. In 2007, Covington pleaded guilty but then filed a motion to withdraw this plea. The Bourbon Circuit Court denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and sentenced Covington to life in prison. Covington appealed. 1 Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure. 2 Muse has since married and apparently goes by the name of Sharon Muse Johnson based on court documents filed by her counsel. For the sake of simplicity, we refer to her as “Muse” throughout this Opinion. However, some quotations and citations to court opinions refer to Muse as “Muse Johnson” or “Muse-Johnson.” -2-  Our Supreme Court reversed Covington’s conviction and sentence. Covington v. Commonwealth, 295 S.W.3d 814 (Ky. 2009). It held the circuit court erred in not allowing Covington to withdraw his guilty plea since the circuit court elected not to apply the negotiated sentence of twenty years. Id. at 816-17. Upon remand to the circuit court, this case proceeded to a jury trial in early 2011. The jury heard testimony from Muse, including cross-examination about inconsistencies in her pretrial statements and trial testimony. The jury also heard testimony from three witnesses who encountered Muse and Covington after Muse got out of her car. Two witnesses recounted seeing Muse exit the car while Covington grabbed onto her shirt. All three witnesses said Muse told them Covington had a knife and was threatening her and trying to hurt her. The bystander witnesses also testified to Covington’s having a knife despite Covington’s initially denying having one. The jury found Covington not guilty of sexual abuse and of resisting arrest. However, the jury found Covington guilty of kidnapping and of being a first-degree PFO. After the jury found Covington to be a first-degree PFO, the court instructed the jury it could sentence Covington to twenty to fifty years to life imprisonment. The jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment, and the circuit court followed this recommendation upon final sentencing. -3-  Covington appealed. Our Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentenc