East 18th Street shooting suspect arraigned in District Court

Arraignment was held Friday morning in Christian District Court for 25-year old Jonathan Amerson of Hopkinsville, the suspect in a shooting incident from Thursday afternoon on East 18th Street.

As previously reported, Amerson allegedly shot a man in the abdomen during a fight about 6:15 p.m. near the intersection with South Virginia Street. The victim was flown by Air Evac to a Nashville hospital and was thought to be in critical condition. An arrest warrant says Amerson hid the handgun in a friend’s apartment and that multiple witnesses identified him as the shooter.

Chrsitian District Judge Foster Cotthoff entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to charges of first-degree assault, tampering with evidence and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 1.

Bond was set originally at $25,000, but Judge Cotthoff upped it to $100,000 based on the nature of the charges.

Hopkinsville police continue to investigate an unrelated shooting incident from about 5:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon at Pembroke Road and the Bypass, where one person in a vehicle was taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center for treatment of gunshot wounds to the hand and leg and a second occupant sustained facial injuries from broken glass.

Anyone with information on that shooting should call HPD at 270-890-1300.