A Fayette County grand jury has decided to indict a Nicholasville man on a murder charge despite a judge’s previous decision to downgrade the offense.
Corry Jackson, 37, was indicted Tuesday on charges of murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun by the grand jury, according to court documents. He was originally charged with murder, assault and possession of a gun as a felon.
On May 1, Fayette District Judge Denotra Spruill Gunther reduced his murder charge to manslaughter after she claimed a Lexington police detective’s initial testimony did not provide enough evidence to support the murder charge. She dropped the assault charge.
During the preliminary hearing on May 1, Detective Jeremy Adkins admitted that only witness statements prompted Jackson’s arrest. Jackson was not found with a weapon, and Adkins shared there was a separate suspect they were pursuing entirely who had not been charged.
Adkins also said investigators were waiting on gunshot residue testing to be done by Kentucky State Police — which has a backlogged evidence lab.
Daniel Whitley, Jackson’s attorney, said the residue evidence could exonerate his client. Whitley also said that if his client was involved at all, he could have been defending one of the victims in the incident, which left two people dead.
Jackson was arrested after the shooting in the 400 block of Chestnut Street on April 20. Lakeisha Hill, 32, and Timonte Harris, 43, both died as a result of the shooting. Jackson was arrested one block away from the scene of the shooting, and a witness later identified him as the shooter, according to court documents.
Testimony from Adkins revealed police believed Hill was actually killed by Harris, who Whitley said his client could have come to defend.
Neither Whitley nor the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office was immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
Jackson is scheduled to make his next court appearance June 30.