Trial date set in East Ninth St. attempted murder case

Trial was set for March 14 Monday morning in the attempted murder case against Jaylynn Cheatham, who is accused of shooting two men at a gas station on East Ninth Street earlier this year.

Cheatham is also facing multiple other charges, including assault, strangulation and wanton endangerment, with some charges related to different incidents that involved female victims.  Defense attorney David Rye says they haven’t been able to resolve the case so it needed to be set for trial, and he also requested a bond modification, saying that Cheatham is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jerod Smith argued against modification, saying Cheatham has an alleged history of violent behavior that would make him a risk to the community.

Christian Circuit Judge Andrew Self denied the motion for bond modification.  Rye informed that court that he has since received the evidence collected in all four of Cheatham’s separate cases. A pretrial conference was set for December 18, with trial expected to last at least two days, with the attempted murder case to be tried first.

As previously reported, Hopkinsville police responded to the Marathon gas station on the evening of March 28 and found 21-year-old Darrius Quarles of Hopkinsville with gunshot wounds and 38-year-old Bryan Jones of Cadiz later arrived at Jennie Stuart Medical Center with a gunshot wound. Quarles would later be transferred to a Nashville hospital for treatment, while Jones sustained less severe injuries.