FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ill. (WJPF) – A former Franklin County mine manager has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration in relation to an underground fire in August 2021. Prosecutors say Timothy Brandon Parsons, 38, of Louisa, Kentucky, and co-conspirators agreed not to evacuate miners over the course of three shifts or notify MSHA, even though gas detectors alarmed for the presence of more than 10 parts per million of carbon monoxide. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.
