Photo courtesy of Hoover Police Department
Ledarius Jaquad Peterson
Ledarius Jaquad Peterson
A 23-year-old Hoover man, who in 2017 was charged with killing his roommate with a hammer, was killed by another inmate in the Jefferson County Jail Wednesday night, the sheriff's office said.
Ledarius Jaquad Peterson reportedly was fighting with another inmate in a cell at 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, and when deputies arrived, they found one inmate on top of Peterson, assaulting him, according to a statement from Capt. David Agee.
“The deputies stopped the assault and removed that inmate from the cell, while the other inmate was left motionless on the floor,” Agee said.
Deputies and medical staff began efforts to revive Peterson, and he was taken to the hospital but did not survive, Agee said.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the death and will determine if there are any charges filed against the other inmate, Agee said.
Peterson in June 2017 was charged with murder after authorities said he attacked and killed his roommate, 26-year-old Shunoah Seantel Turner, with a hammer on June 5 of that year in the 5000 building of The Renaissance at Galleria apartment complex off John Hawkins Parkway and Galleria Woods Drive.
A woman who was visiting the apartment and present when the attack began said Peterson, then 21, attacked Turner and then left in Turner’s vehicle, police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said then. Police said they found Turner dead in the bedroom of his apartment with severe injuries to his face, head and torso. Next to his body, they found a hammer which apparently had been used in the attack, Czeskleba said.
Hoover police issued an alert for the stolen vehicle to surrounding law enforcement agencies, and Bessemer police stopped Peterson in the vehicle on Academy Drive at 12:15 a.m. on June 6, less than two hours after the attack was reported. Peterson had blood on his clothing and was taken into custody without incident, police said.
