On his 25th birthday, May 13, 2015, a White/Caucasian male named Roy E. 'Hooch' Combs was fatally shot in a rock quarry in Clark County, Kentucky. The events that culminated in his death began with an alleged dispute between Combs' cousin, Billy Combs, and an associate of the eventual perpetrator. This altercation set in motion a plan for retaliation, orchestrated by Kirk Garrett, a 48-year-old man from Richmond, Kentucky.
Garrett, along with three accomplices, Don Attaway, Kristi Mattingly, and Christopher Coleman, devised a scheme to lure Roy and Billy Combs to the secluded quarry under the false pretense of a drug deal. While Garrett picked up the Combs cousins in Madison County, his co-conspirators traveled to the location separately. Upon their arrival at the quarry, Garrett led the cousins to an isolated area where he shot Roy Combs in the face with a handgun at point-blank range. During the ensuing chaos, Billy Combs was also shot but managed to escape and call for help.
Following an investigation, law enforcement arrested all four individuals involved in the murder plot. Kirk Garrett ultimately pleaded guilty to murder and second-degree assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He later claimed in a court appearance that he only intended to 'pistol-whip' Combs and that the gun discharged accidentally during a struggle, a claim the court did not accept in altering his sentence.
His three accomplices also faced justice for their roles in the crime. Don Attaway, Kristi Mattingly, and Christopher Coleman all pleaded guilty to facilitation to commit murder and attempted murder. Attaway was sentenced to 15 years, Coleman to 17 years, and Mattingly to 18 years in prison for their involvement in the ambush that ended the life of Roy Combs on the day he turned 25.
