In the early morning hours of December 15, 2024, Kaelan Amerson, a 21-year-old male, was shot and killed in Jefferson Township, a community near Columbus, Ohio. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office reported that the shooting occurred just after 2:00 a.m. on the 1400 block of Climbing Fig Drive, in the vicinity of Licking Heights West Elementary School. Investigators stated that Amerson and two other people were in a vehicle for what appeared to be a drug transaction.
During the encounter, a man identified as 23-year-old Nicko Matthews-Cooper allegedly attempted to rob Amerson. Authorities said Matthews-Cooper pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots into the car Amerson was driving, striking him in the upper body. The two passengers in the vehicle were also hit by gunfire but suffered only minor injuries.
Though critically wounded, Amerson tried to drive away from the scene to escape.
He lost control of the car, which veered off the road and crashed into the yard of a home on Narrow Leaf Drive. Emergency responders transported Amerson to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Matthews-Cooper fled after the shooting, prompting a search by law enforcement. Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office located and arrested him on the evening of December 16, 2024, at a residence on Keller Place West in Grove City.
In August 2026, Nicko Matthews-Cooper, then 24, was tried by a jury. He was found guilty of murder, felonious assault, discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and tampering with evidence. The jury acquitted him on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. The following month, in September 2026, a judge sentenced Matthews-Cooper to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 27 years.
