A preliminary hearing was held in Trigg District Court Tuesday for James Gentry, the man charged with murder in connection with the November shooting death of Keith Joey Hayes.
Kentucky State Police Detective Cory Hamby provided what details exist in the case now, with Gentry often shaking his head from where he sat with his attorney, Michael Thompson. Hamby says Hayes’ body was found in a barn at a location on Buffalo Road in Trigg County, which is where evidence determined he had been shot to death.
Hamby says Hayes had informed three witnesses that he would be meeting with Gentry on the morning of November 27 around 11 a.m. to sell a diamond ring and to receive money for his part in planning an alleged crime.
He says there is video footage of Gentry and Hayes meeting at a gas station in Hopkinsville at around 11:30 a.m. that day.
It was later determined that Gentry pawned the diamond ring at a pawn shop in Russellville for $900. Hamby says Gentry told multiple stories before saying that he and Gentry had met with two men for a drug deal that resulted in Hayes’ death.
Hamby says KSP has been unable to identify one of those men due to Gentry only knowing a nickname, but the other suspect is in custody and is cooperating with investigators, with no evidence putting him at the scene. No one else has been charged with murder for Hayes’ death at this time.
He described the multiple gunshots that killed Hayes, most of which were reportedly from behind.
District Judge Jamus Redd determined there was probable cause that a crime had been committed and sent the case on to the grand jury for review.