Manslaughter suspect Jaden Johnson will soon have a new prosecutor over his case, and his May trial date was conditionally vacated in Christian Circuit Court Wednesday morning.
Johnson, who is represented by public defender Eric Bearden, appeared alongside him and special prosecutor Clayton Adams, who informed the court that the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office will be reassigning the case to Graves County Commonwealth’s Attorney Richie Kemp. Because of that, and the fact that a key witness in the case will not be available until sometime in September, Adams requested the May 22 trial date be vacated.
Judge John Atkins was reluctant to delay trial but ultimately granted the motion, urging both Adams and Bearden to see if some type of a virtual or recorder testimony from the witness could be gained in the meantime that might allow the trial to proceed as planned.
The judge ruled recently to deny a motion for bond modification, but Bearden said Wednesday that he will likely renew that motion in the event trial is delayed further.
Johnson is charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with a crash on Bill Bryan Boulevard in 2023 that resulted in the death of 34-year-old Adrian Tucker. Investigation at that time determined that the vehicle Tucker was operating had been pulling out of a parking lot onto Bill Bryan Boulevard when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Johnson.
The Hopkinsville Police Department reported to Johnson had been operating the vehicle at speeds of around 90 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour speed zone. Tucker had to be extricated from his vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Johnson himself was also badly injured in the crash, as were two others.