LOVELY, Ky. — A Martin County man is in jail on a felony assault charge, after police say he shot another man at a memorial service.
A state trooper was called Tuesday evening to a home on Route 292 at Lovely, where the shooting took place. When the officer arrived, Kenneth Mollette, 30, surrendered without incident.
Mollette reportedly admitted to shooting Jason Fields in the leg, 37, but said he was protecting himself because he believed Fields was going to attack him with a four-foot iron bar. However, he said Fields was more than 30 feet away at the time, and he didn’t shoot until Fields dropped the bar and tried to flee.
But multiple witnesses told police Fields didn’t have a bar and made no threats toward Mollette. The state trooper also wrote in his report that surveillance video showed Mollette advancing as he fired on a fleeing Fields.
Fields was struck in the thigh and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Mollette now faces a charge of first-degree assault, which carries a potential sentence of 10-to-20 years in prison.
