Cortez Hairston, Jr.A pretrial conference for a Hopkinsville man charged in connection to the murder of Adrian Acree was continued until later this month after a special prosecutor was assigned to the case.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Zac Greenwell of the 5th Judicial Circuit has been assigned to the murder cases of Cortez Hairston, Jr., Jaila Sherrod and Dekorian Daniel, all of Hopkinsville, who are all charged in the death of Acree in October of 2021.
At the Wednesday morning pretrial conference for Hairston, Jr. in Christian County Circuit Court, Judge John Atkins heard from attorneys Ted Shouse and Rob Baker, representing Hairston, as well as from special prosecutor Greenwell via Zoom. Greenwell informed the judge that he had yet to receive any documentation related to the cases from Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Bolen, who was recused.
After some discussion, Shouse asked for a short pretrial conference with Judge Atkins continuing all three murder cases until 8:30 a.m. on April 26th.
click to download audioJudge Atkins said that if an agreement could not be made with the prosecutor regarding a bond motion that has been filed, it could be addressed in court on the same date along with a trial date.
Hairston, Jr. was the third person charged in Acree’s murder after a shooting on Jones Street, near the intersection of Sharpe Street on October 23, 2021. Police said they were contacted around 1:00 that morning about reports of a man assaulted and a body in the roadway.
Sherrod and Daniel were arrested on April 5, 2022 and charged with complicity to murder as reported planners of Acree’s death. On April 14, 2022, Hairston, Jr. turned himself in to the police and was charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
