East First Street shooting suspect arraigned

Arraignment was held Monday afternoon in Christian District Court for the suspect accused in the Sunday afternoon shooting of a man on East First Street.

Defense Attorney Sands Chewning represented 52-year old Kenneth Quarles of Hopkinsville in the courtroom of District Judge Foster Cotthoff and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to charges of first-degree assault, wanton endangerment, tampering with evidence and intimidating a participant in a legal process.

A Hopkinsville Police Department arrest citation says Quarles confronted 49-year old Marque Fricks of Hopkinsville in the 700 block of East First, shot him in the upper-torso with a 9 mm handgun and then pointed the gun at a woman who was nearby, telling her it was something she didn’t want to get involved in.

He fled in a pickup that was located behind apartments on McHenry Street and police say he emerged from the apartments when officers arrived and claimed he shot Fricks because Fricks reached for a gun while the two were talking.

Fricks was flown by Air Evac to Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition.