Judge passes Dole murder case to grand jury

By BOB WHITE

Jill Pickett

Jermaine Kirkland, left, sat with his attorney Chris McCrary and watched as Radcliff detective Tucker Raifsnider testified that Kirkland was present when Charles Dole was shot at Now Fashions July 21 and handled the assault rifle used in the killing.

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bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com

ELIZABETHTOWN — Radcliff Detective Tucker Raifsnider testified Monday that two men accused of robbing and killing a Radcliff storeowner in July admitted their roles in the theft, but that neither claim pulling the trigger.

During a probable cause hearing for 20-year-olds Jamah Harris and Jermaine Kirkland, Raifsnider testified that both defendants confessed to handling a high-powered rifle used to kill Now Fashions owner Charles Dole during a July 21 robbery.

But neither defendant, according to Raifsnider, would take responsibility for using the Chinese-made 7.62 caliber SKS to fatally shoot Dole in the chest.

The rifle was found with Dole’s stolen cash register. The men were arrested in Knoxville, Tenn., after Kirkland’s Vine Grove girlfriend told police he and Harris had taken her car – a white Oldsmobile with a red door reported by numerous sources to have been seen in Radcliff after the killing.

Both men also were videotaped at a local gas station filling up after the robbery before going to Tennessee, Raifsnider said.

Kirkland and Harris were extradited back to the area within a week of Dole’s killing. They surrendered to police in Tennessee.

Listening to snippets of evidence relating to the cases against Kirkland and Harris, Hardin District Judge John Simcoe passed the case on to a Hardin County grand jury for review and possible indictment.

Both men are charged with murder and robbery. They’re also accused of attempting to burglarize Dole’s store prior to his killing.

Dole’s daughters have reopened Now Fashions. Members of Dole’s family and friends were in court Monday for the preliminary hearing.

Bob White can be reached at (270) 505-1750.