Preliminary hearing held for 2024 Oak Grove shooting suspect in district court

The man charged in connection with a shooting that happened in Oak Grove in 2024 appeared in Christian District Court, where they held a preliminary hearing.

Robert Torian III was taken into custody on June 16, after being sought a warrant since 2024 on the charges of first-degree assault, first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, menacing and numerous traffic violations. The shooting itself took place on November 11, 2024 on Wassom Court and Oak Grove Police Detective James Carter says two different witnesses identified Torian as the shooter.

Carter says the circumstances behind what led to the shooting are unclear, but investigation determined that Torian and the victim may have been ‘play fighting’ when things went too far, causing Torian to briefly black out. After he regained consciousness, he reportedly became visibly upset and that’s when the shooting occurred.

The 20-year-old victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head that required him to be flown to a Nashville hospital for treatment.

Hopkinsville Police Officer Ryan Bufford also presented some details on the pursuit that occurred when they attempted to take Torian into custody roughly a week after the shooting. He says that pursuit reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour, and they ultimately canceled that pursuit when it reached the state line out of concern for public safety.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Lindsey Adams found there was enough probable cause to send the cases onto the grand jury for consideration of indictment. Torian remains lodged in the Christian County Jail.

Torian had just recently gotten out of jail custody at the time of the shooting in 2024, after having pleaded guilty to a second-degree manslaughter charge for his role in the 2019 fatal shooting death of Terrill Moore on McHenry Street. He had received a seven year sentence, but received credit for time served, having been in jail since 2019 while awaiting trial.