Following an indictment last month, a Princeton man appeared for a Tuesday arraignment in Caldwell County Circuit Court on charges connected to the fatal October shooting on Beverly Lane.
Hector Pena is charged with the murder of 34-year-old Jerrod Cooper and with attempted murder.
On Tuesday morning, Hector Pena and his defense attorney, Ramon McGee of Jefferson County, appeared via Zoom before Chief Circuit Judge Jamus Redd and Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins, where McGee waived formal proceedings and entered a not guilty plea on Pena’s behalf.
Judge Redd then scheduled a pretrial conference for March 3 at 9:00 a.m.
At a preliminary hearing in Caldwell District Court on November 3rd, a Princeton Police detective described the events leading up to the shooting, which occurred around 2:40 in the morning on October 23rd. According to the detective, Pena and another man were walking along Beverly Lane when Cooper pulled up in a vehicle with a passenger, stopped, got out, and took a few steps toward Pena. At that point, according to the detective, Pena began firing at Cooper.
He reported that Cooper sustained two gunshot wounds, one to his pelvic area and another to his head. He added that Cooper was treated by medical personnel on the scene and then flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he died later that morning.
Authorities stated that Pena had left the scene before police arrived, but later that day, he turned himself in to Princeton Police, where he was taken into custody and charged.
Pena remains lodged in the Caldwell County Jail on a $1 million bond.
