CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston man facing charges in connection with an Ohio murder of a former West Virginia football standout appeared in court Thursday.
Keontae Nelson, 20, appeared in front of Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers for a Fugitive From Justice hearing. Nelson waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and will remain at the South Central Regional Jail. Nelson will then be picked up by Meigs County, Ohio authorities and extradited.
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Nelson was charged last week with conspiracy to commit murder and complicity to murder, in the death of former University of Charleston and Wahama High School football player Kane Roush.
Allegedly, Nelson was with Jaquan Hall, 22, also of Charleston, when Roush was killed on April 4, 2021.
Roush, 25, was shot multiple times in the early morning hours. According to investigators, he managed to crawl to another nearby apartment building from his home to get somebody to call for help. Deputies arrived to find him on the ground and still alive. He was able to communicate with Meigs County deputies when they arrived.
“We weren’t just standing over top of him, I don’t want people to think we were doing that, but there were opportunities to talk to him and he spoke to us and that’s kind of crucial to what we’re working on,” Meigs County Sheriff Keith Wood previously told MetroNews.
Roush died a short time later after being transported to a nearby hospital.
Hall, who waived extradition back to Ohio last July, was scheduled to go on trial Monday in Meigs County but the trial was continued in a Friday afternoon hearing following Nelson’s arrest earlier Friday in Charleston.
Hall’s trial has been reset for September.
Roush was first team all-state when he played football at Wahama. He led the White Falcons to the 2012 Class A championship. He then played for the University of Charleston.