ELSMERE, Ky. — A Cincinnati man could face more than 20 years in prison after a string of robberies in 2021.
Security footage from August 2021 shows someone walking into Kratom Direct on Dixie Highway in Elsmere. He knocks the female clerk unconscious, robs the store and walks out.
Just one week later, security cameras at a Lawrenceburg store capture that same man stabbing a clerk multiple times before trying to rip the register from the counter.
"It's very obviously the same person," Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sander said.
Sanders said it wasn't until Clinton Husley's then-wife recognized him from the footage and turned him into police that the violence ended.
"Obviously his violence was escalating. The damage he was doing to crime victims was escalating," Sanders said. "We're really lucky that police, thanks to his ex-wife, put a stop to this before anyone was killed."
Newly released video from his police interrogation shows Husley telling investigators that despite recognizing himself in the footage, he has no memory of either robbery. Husley blamed meth benders on the gaps in his memory.
"I'm not making excuses," Husley said. "I just, there's a lot of lapses, and, like I said, this last lapse was a huge lapse because here I am, and I don't remember that incident at all."
Husley told police drugs had dug into him and he needed help.
"I just know that I just need help," Husley said. "You know, I'm not a bad person, you know? You know? I'm not."
Sanders said Husley's drug use is not an excuse, noting that this story could serve others. He said Northern Kentucky has several resources for people to get help, and users should seek them out before any personal problems impact others.
"That second chance stops when you make a crime victim out of an innocent citizen," Sanders said. "So abusing your body, hurting yourself by using drugs, that's one thing. That's bad enough. We'll try to get you some help, but if you cross that line and you hurt someone else, all bets are off, and we're going to put you in prison for as long as we can."
Husley is serving 14 years behind bars for the Lawrenceburg robbery. A Kenton County jury in April 2023 recommended 10 years for the Elsmere robbery. He also faces charges for a robbery in Hamilton County.
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