In the early morning hours of February 11, 2015, the life of James Kevin Pratt, a 37-year-old male from Pikeville, Kentucky, was tragically cut short. Police responded to a 911 call about a shooting at a Jay Street apartment in Pikeville around 2:30 a.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered Pratt with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to Pikeville Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation into the shooting led police to a residence on Mount Martha Drive, where
they located and arrested Robert Adkins, who was also 37 and from Pikeville. Adkins was subsequently charged with murder in connection with Pratt's death and was held in the Pike County jail.
The motive behind the fatal shooting was reportedly an altercation over a very small amount of money, estimated to be between $2 and $4, and half of a Klonopin pill that Adkins alleged Pratt had stolen. In November 2015, a jury found Robert Adkins guilty of a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of James Kevin Pratt. Before the jury recommended the maximum sentence, Adkins offered an apology to Pratt's family in court.
