Earlier today I spoke with a friend of mine who manages a store in Bardstown and is acquaintances with several members of the Bardstown PD. Apparently Bardstown and US Highways 150 and 31E have become a major trafficking route for meth being manufactured in Central and Southeastern Kentucky that is bound for Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago. By taking this route they avoid I-75 and I-64, where the KSP has become quite adept at intercepting shipments.
Officer Ellis was the department's K-9 handler, so he was involved in a number of drug busts in the last couple of years. Apparently the Bardstown PD and State Police are all but positive that this was a revenge killing stemming from one of his drug busts.