Cortez Hairston Jr., the man found guilty by a jury in the murder of Adrian Acree, was formally sentenced to 30-years in prison in Christian Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Proceedings began with resolving other unrelated cases, which came with a recommended sentence of five years on charges of second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and booster seat violations, to run concurrently with his 30-year sentence on the murder charge.
With that wrapped up, they moved to the sentencing, where the Commonwealth’s Victim Advocate read two victim impact statements—one from Acree’s aunt and the other from his sister. His aunt says her family’s lives have been irreparably changed, and they loss they feel will stay with them forever.
In her letter, Acree’s sister prayed for those listening in the courtroom, saying she prays they never have to experience such a loss, and prays that they’ll never know tragedy like her family has.
Then, Circuit Judge John Atkins sentenced Hairston to 30 years in prison and remanded him to the custody of the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
His co-defendant, Dekorian Daniel, received a new attorney in public defender Doug Moore Thursday morning, and his trial that had been set to begin in February was vacated, to allow Moore time to review the evidence and learn the case.
Daniel is charged with complicity to murder in this case.