Trucker wants to rescind plea that puts him in jail for five years

By SUSAN SHARP

JACKSBORO, TN. (WLAF) – After entering a guilty plea that netted him five years in prison, Keith Kugel wants to take it back.

Last month, he agreed he was guilty of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. The charges stem from a 2024 road rage incident where he used his 2019 Freightliner 18-wheeler in the attack, according to court records.

Kugel’s case has twisted its way through the judicial system for the last 18 months. He wanted to represent himself, asked for a jury trial, changed his mind on both of those and  harassed the district attorney and circuit court clerk’s staff.

Kugel was eventually represented by the Eighth Judicial District Public Defender’s  Office.

Shortly after his plea Kugel filed self-drafted motions asking for the court’s judgment be vacated.

He alleged the public defender’s office failed to effectively represent him and pressured him into accepting the plea.

The plea Kugel accepted was “a misunderstanding as to its effect or through fear,” he wrote in his motion. He did not think he would be sentenced to prison. Throughout the motion Kugel claims he was told by his attorney he would receive probation.

His harassment was not something he thought would be presented to the court, he wrote. Kugel should have been told the “2,000 plus emails” he sent to court staff “were going to be used against him,” he said in his filing.

His June 10, 2024, call to the district attorney’s office also came to light. A “volatile phone conversation ensued” on that day, court records said. After that he was told to only contact the office via email going forward. His response was to call the office 54 times in 28 minutes the next day. Law enforcement had to intervene to stop the calls, court records said.

Throughout the filings Kugel referenced needing to retrieve his phone for police custody but not being allowed to. In his eyes, video on that phone would have exonerated him.

Kugel’s next court date is Dec. 8. He remains housed in the Campbell County Jail.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 11/11/2025-6AM)