A theft from a vehicle on West Seventh Street Friday night led to a gun being fired by the victim and the arrest of a man with a long criminal history on multiple charges.
Hopkinsville Police were dispatched to 1415 West Seventh regarding a theft in progress and determined the victim had heard the alarm go off on his vehicle. He went outside and saw 48-year old Billy Sanders of Hopkinsville running down the driveway.
The victim grabbed a handgun and chased after Sanders, and maintained contact with him for several hours, according to an arrest citation, which says he didn’t have a phone with him to call police.
Officers located the victim at about 10 p.m. at Riverside Cemetery and Sanders was running ahead of him. Police say the victim had a lump on his head where Sanders had allegedly struck him with a rock.
The victim said he had fired a single gunshot to stop Sanders’ attack, but no one was shot.
Sanders was arrested at the cemetery and allegedly made threats to retaliate against the victim when he is released or call someone else from the jail to retaliate for him.
He’s charged with theft, second-degree assault and retaliating against a participant in a legal process.
Sanders has been arrested numerous times over several years for thefts from vehicles.