BARDSTOWN, Ky. (Scripps News Lexington) — On the same day that Steven Lawson was indicted with his first charge in the Crystal Rogers case, a person who lived at the same address was indicted on a count of first-degree perjury.
Steven Lawson was indicted by a grand jury on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. (Harrison County, IN Sheriff’s Dept. via Scripps News Lexington)
Months before Lawson was indicted on conspiracy to commit murder, he was indicted on a count of tampering with physical evidence on May 24, according to court records.
Also on May 24, a woman named Rebecca Greer was indicted on perjury charges. The court records indicate that she and Lawson live at the same address and Lawson’s attorney acknowledged that Lawson’s wife’s name is Rebecca Greer.
The court records in Greer’s case list the FBI agent and special prosecutor handling the Crystal Rogers cases as handling hers as well.
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Both Greer’s case and Lawson’s tampering case were initially sealed. Greer’s case was unsealed in October when the charge against her was dismissed. Lawson’s tampering case was unsealed earlier this month when his complicity to commit murder indictment was filed.
Greer’s indictment states that she was accused of making a “material false statement, which she did not believe in an official proceeding, while under oath required or authorized by law.”
FILE – Crystal Rogers (NamUs)
The court records in Greer’s case are limited and do not give further details on what she was accused of doing. They did show that her bond was initially set at $50,000 cash.
The records also don’t show why prosecutors asked that the charge against her be dismissed.
Lawson’s attorney, Theodore Lavit, said he didn’t know anything about Greer’s case and said that he’s never represented her.
Lavit said that Lawson has denied involvement in Crystal Rogers’ disappearance.
“His words were ‘I didn’t harm that girl, I would never harm that girl,’” Theodore Lavit said.
Lavit also said that his client’s son, Joseph Lawson, is thought to have driven Crystal Rogers’ car to where it was found abandoned in 2015 on the Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown.
Joseph Lawson was the first person arrested in the Rogers case. He is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.
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Lavit said that Joseph Lawson got a flat tire while on the Bluegrass Parkway and that Steven Lawson picked him up there.
This booking photo provided by the Nelson County Detention Center to Scripps News Lexington shows Joseph Lawson. (Nelson County Detention Center)
“My client, Steve Lawson, did what any father would do when his son called and said he had a flat tire, he went out there and picked him up.”
Lavit said he didn’t know why Joseph Lawson was driving the car or where he was taking it when it got the flat tire.
Over the past year, Steven Lawson has cooperated with investigators, and he and Lavit believed he had “transactional immunity” as a result, Lavit said.
“I thought we had and believed that we had, and relied on my belief, and that’s the reason we cooperated,” Lavit said. “I did, and my client cooperated because we had transactional immunity.”
When asked why Steven Lawson didn’t come forward with information sooner, Lavit said, “he wasn’t asked.” He went on to say that his client didn’t have a legal obligation to come forward with the information before being asked and that once he was asked, he cooperated.
Scripps News Lexington attempted to reach Rebecca Greer and special prosecutor Shane Young about the dismissed perjury charge but did not hear back by the end of the day Wednesday.
Steven Lawson is set to be in court next week to be arraigned on his new charges.
