Charged with second-degree manslaughter after causing the December 2023 traffic death of 34-year-old Adrian Martez Tucker, of Hopkinsville, Jaden Johnson pleaded guilty before Judge John Atkins Friday afternoon in Christian County Circuit Court.
Working through a plea agreement between Defense Attorney Eric Bearden and Special Prosecutor Richie Kemp, Johnson was sentenced to five years in prison — and must serve at least 80% of the time before being parole eligible because of his felony offense.
Separate sentencing and a pre-sentence investigation were waived, and Kemp asked the court for a new hearing for victim impact statements.
Bearden and Kemp discussed the level of importance for victim impact statements in this matter.
Atkins acquiesced, and asked for all parties to reconvene in person for oral presentations at 1 PM November 7.
A trial date was originally set for November 6.
According to Hopkinsville Police, Johnson was operating a vehicle near 90 miles an hour in a 35-mile-an-hour zone along Bill Bryan Boulevard, when he struck another vehicle driven by Tucker.
Tucker had to be extricated by emergency personnel, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 2008 graduate of Hopkinsville High School, Tucker went on to study at Western Kentucky and later graduated from Hopkinsville Community College with an associate’s in science for machine mechanics in 2019. While serving as a maintenance technician at Metalsa, he was an ambassador for HCC’s HOPFAME program — where he encouraged high school and college students to join the manufacturing industry.
Meanwhile, in February 2024, Johnson was also charged with third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree assault – domestic violence, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking – firearm, after assaulting a family member on Pembroke Road over use of a cellphone.
Christian County Sheriff’s deputies reported that Johnson had taken his great-grandmother’s phone and threw it, then later threw a rock and hit an undisclosed family member in the head. Further investigation revealed he had stolen two of his grandfather’s firearms and sold them for cash and narcotics.
