Shooter takes a deal

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ANDREW LAMONT EDELEN

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By BOB WHITE bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com HARDIN COUNTY — A man charged with the shooting deaths of a teenager and her unborn child last year during an argument at a Radcliff apartment complex has agreed to a deal that will put him behind bars for 15 years. Andrew Lamont “Country” Edelen, 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and fetal homicide earlier this month in exchange for concurrent 12 and 15-year sentences, according to court documents. He is set to be formally sentenced July 8 in Hardin Circuit Court. After a reported argument between Edelen and 18-year-old Alena Cunningham at an Elmwood Drive apartment complex parking lot May 6, 2007, she was dead from a gunshot wound to the area and Edelen was hiding in a wooded area from police. He was arrested shortly after when his former foster mother told police of his whereabouts. The former foster mother said she turned Edelen in hopes of avoiding any escalation of the situation. Cunningham, mother of a toddler at the time of her death, was living at the Elmwood Drive apartment complex with her boyfriend, Ricky Crump, when she was shot. Friends and family members of Cunningham said she and Edelen had argued in the past, but no one was aware of any relationship between the two that would have given any reason for their argument. After the shooting, Radcliff police charged Edelen with manslaughter. He was indicted two months later by a Hardin County grand jury for the deaths of Cunningham and the fetus. He’s been jailed since the shooting. Reports that Cunningham may have threatened Edelen with a knife prior to the shooting have not been confirmed. Crump said police displayed a kitchen knife to him after the shooting and asked if he’d seen Cunningham go after Edelen with the blade. Crump said in a previous interview he’d not seen the knife until police showed it to him. Crump witnessed the shooting. Last month a memorial vigil was held for Cunningham at the site of the shooting on Elmwood Drive. Church members, police and residents of the area all called for peace in the community. Elmwood Drive has been a scene to other violent acts in recent years. Bob White can be reached at (270) 505-1750.