A Hopkinsville man charged with murder in connection to the November 2018 fatal shooting of Joey Hayes in Trigg County was indicted by a grand jury Thursday.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins says the Trigg County Grand Jury indicted 43-year old James Gentry on three charges.
A Kentucky State Police arrest warrant stated that Gentry admitted to detectives he was present when Hayes, of Hopkinsville, was shot multiple times on November 27, 2018, and that he also transported Hayes to the location where he was killed. During a preliminary hearing in Trigg District Court in December, Detective Cory Hamby testified that the preliminary autopsy determined Hayes suffered six gunshot wounds.
Authorities had been looking for Hayes after a missing person’s report was filed with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office on November 28, which stated Gentry was the last person to see Hayes on Princeton Road around 2:25 that morning when he was following Gentry to a job site. Hayes body was found around noon that day in a hay barn on a farm located at 412 Buffalo Road in Trigg County. State Police stated that Gentry had lived on the farm in the past and it was owned by a family member.
Gentry remains lodged in the Christian County Jail under a $1 million bond.
