Kentucky man arrested days after winning $250,000 lottery prize

Mar 7, 2022, 5:25 pm (20 comments)

Kentucky Lottery

Lottery winner's brief victory is short lived

By Kate Northrop

ELSMERE, Ky. — A Kentucky Lottery winner's celebration didn't last very long when he was arrested days after scooping up a $250,000 lottery prize.

Joseph Hellard of Elsmere was arrested right after winning $250,000 on a scratch-off ticket, bringing his emotional rollercoaster to a full stop.

On Feb. 26, Hellard stopped at the Elsmere Mini Mart on Garvey Avenue to buy some lottery tickets. The first few tickets he bought did not amount to anything, but he noticed $10 still sitting in his coat pocket as he was about to leave.

He very well could have saved it for another rainy day and driven off, but his last-minute decision to head back into the store to buy one more $10 ticket landed him a "life-changing" prize.

"I figured no matter what, I would get my money back," Hellard told Lottery officials.

At first, he revealed a $50,000 prize on the "100X" ticket, but as he played the game, he noticed a "100X" symbol.

"My eyes are so bad, I had to look at it several times," he recalled.

Revealing a "100X" symbol in this instant game means that the prize revealed next to it is multiplied by 100. Having uncovered a $1,000 prize, he racked up $100,000 more. The fun didn't end there, though. He scratched off yet another "100X" symbol next to a $1,000 prize, bringing his total winnings to $250,000. He had just won the game's top prize.

"I fell to the ground on my knees," he told the Lottery. "I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Everything we've been through, it's sure going to help."

The Kentucky resident spoke about plans to use the timely winnings to purchase a house and brand-new vehicle.

Unfortunately, his luck did not do much to help him days after the celebration. At about 1:00 am on Mar. 2, Hellard was pulled over on Dixie Highway in Erlanger with an expired registration.

Officers brought in a K-9 unit to search his car, during which they discovered a smoking pipe "containing a white crystal substance" between the driver's seat and center console. Police reports later confirmed that the substance was methamphetamine.

Hellard was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, and driving without registration plates. Jail records indicate he was booked at the Kenton County Detention Center and that he has since bonded out.

According to the Lottery, there are three top prizes remaining in the "100X" game, as well as 28 second-tier prizes of $5,000 and 521 third-tier prizes of $1,000 left to claim. The scratch-off game was released in January of this year.

For selling the winning ticket, Elsmere Mini Mart received a $2,500 bonus commission from the Lottery.

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

When you're hot you're hot.

When you're not you're not.

sully16's avatarsully16

Yikes, the check is dated , "my lucky day" hope he gets his act together.

Stat$talker's avatarStat$talker

Hope he learned a valuable lesson,.. but still not awuphf dat crackpipe?..duzzn't sound tooo promising..

At least He'z got money fa Lawyerz..Thumbs Up

See Ya!  Heey Sully..!!

Bleudog101

Wow, this story reminds me of the MANY cases we heard on the GJ in KY.  Most of our cases with expired registration have no auto insurance as well.  (We had 8 months of hearing cases BTW).

Cassie8620's avatarCassie8620

This remind me somewhat whereas;  the blk lady named Marie, won extreme amount of cash, the hundreds of millions of bucks, only to learn in months, she(was clean no drugs)  Sad but her child's dad, used drugs and hustle drugs guns etc., & he was in and out of prison NC she hired big time lawyers to get him the "least amount of time, he went right back, got out again more lawyers. SMH drug dealin' to using, a big mess, and now Poor Marie, admit she still has a little left, and just crazy, i don't know

but, nothing GOOD come out of a drug habit, so i hope 1 day she will realize it, before she lose it all, and this guy was lucky $$$ to win alot of cash. IDK.(I don't know) but, I got a bad feelin' he will blow most of it(after taxes way less) and he is going to blow alot or most on DRUGS, if the things they found on him, is true and factual. a drug problem, feasibly, so i pray he get his entire act together at 26 mid twenties,

and realize life is short No Nodand DRUGS are not the answer, getting high and drinking alcohol (if he does all this) but, either way, i'm happy he won. . . Congrats!Cheers

PrisonerSix

I guess his money will be going to pay a good lawyer to keep him out of jail.

Bleudog101

She was featured on one of those lottery shows.  Would this be called co-dependency, IDK?

Also you forgot one other factor in her life.   Her church wanted a big chunk of change.  She should've told that 'Pastor' "WWJD?".

No doubt he's labeled as a PFO.

Doesn't her Mom live in WA state?  Time for her to make a clean break from NC and head west young lady.

Verokaht1

Congrats - I think?  😏

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

If the inside of your car is not perfect (contains something that does not belong there)

then the outside better look perfect, including the manner in which it's being driven .

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Hopefully this is a turning point for him to turn his life around.

Speler

Money for?

Good meals? Booze? Drugs? Gambling? Fun? Clinic to kick off? ...

GreyGreen's avatarGreyGreen

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Mar 8, 2022

If the inside of your car is not perfect (contains something that does not belong there)

then the outside better look perfect, including the manner in which it's being driven .

Good advice for the dope-set.

We all know how what he's going to spend his money on Unhappy

JeetKuneDoLotto's avatarJeetKuneDoLotto

This is why Hunter Biden does not do scratchers.  Dont go back...when you are "massaging" the law   Stop

The risk is just ASTRONOMICAL!!!

LISTENTOME

Jeet , I bet you PRAISE Putin as your "wanna-be dictator," who Lost by 7 million votes, for denying Ukraine the $450 million military bill, which would've preventing thousands of Ukranian innocents from being murdered, as well as, prevent  Putin from committing war crimes too ! you just can't fix STUPID !

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