16-year-old girl shot in the head after refusing to pick up marijuana bag, KY cops say

A 16-year-old girl was fatally shot in a Kentucky home over her refusal to pick up a bag of marijuana dropped on the floor, Kentucky cops say.

Scarlett Tucker was pronounced dead at the scene following the shooting, which took place on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at a home in Burlington, about 20 miles southwest of Cincinnati.

The Burlington Police Department said three other teenagers witnessed the shooting. Their statements led to the arrest of 18-year-old Demarkus Hedges.

“According to witness statements, a bag of marijuana fell on the bedroom floor and Hedges demanded that Tucker pick it up,” police said. “Tucker rebuffed him. Hedges then pointed his handgun at Tucker’s head and fired one shot.”

It’s believed Scarlett and Hedges were friends, Boone County Sheriff’s Maj. Phillip Ridgell told WXIX.

Hedges, from Cincinnati, fled the home and later turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals Service in Covington, Kentucky, police said. He was charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and unlawful transaction with a minor.

Family members told WXIX that Scarlett had a “bright future she was excited about.”

Her aunt, Rebekah Williams, told WCPO “she really embodied the whole ‘Scarlett’ persona.”

“I think we’re all kind of in a state of shock at this point,” Williams said. “I think we hurt for everybody involved. I mean, he was 18, still a young kid in our eyes.”

Hedges is being held in the Boone County jail on a $1 million bond, police said.

This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 11:40 AM with the headline "16-year-old girl shot in the head after refusing to pick up marijuana bag, KY cops say."