A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 27 years for fatally shooting 21-year-old Kaelan Amerson during an alleged drug deal near an elementary school in Jefferson Township. Nicko Matthews-Cooper was convicted last month of murder, felonious assault, discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and tampering with evidence, though a jury acquitted him of the more serious charges of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery.
According to NBC4 WCMH-TV, officers said the shooting was tied to an alleged drug deal and that Matthews-Cooper pulled out a gun and shot at the vehicle occupied by Amerson and two others before attempting to rob him. Two other passengers in the vehicle suffered minor injuries during the gunfire, while Amerson was struck multiple times in the upper body. The shooting happened around 2 a.m. on December 15, 2024, near Licking Heights West Elementary School.
The case first drew attention when Amerson, wounded and still behind the wheel, tried to drive away from the scene before losing control of the vehicle. As WBNS-TV reported at the time, the initial gunfire erupted on the 1400 block of Climbing Fig Drive, and Amerson ultimately crashed one block away in the front yard of a residence on Narrow Leaf Drive. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, where he was pronounced dead.
A Two-Day Manhunt Ends in Grove City
Matthews-Cooper evaded capture for over two days following the shooting, according to court records. Franklin County Sheriff's Office deputies eventually tracked him down and arrested him around 9 p.m. on December 16, 2024, at a residence on Keller Place West in Grove City, per the same WBNS-TV report.
Investigators said Amerson and two other people were inside the vehicle for what deputies described as a roadside drug transaction just before shots rang out. That detail, combined with the neighborhood's proximity to Licking Heights West Elementary School, underscored the danger the shooting posed to a residential area built around a school, according to the report from WBNS-TV.
What the Split Verdict Means for Sentencing
Matthews-Cooper was tried by a jury that ultimately delivered a mixed outcome: guilty on murder, felonious assault, firearm discharge, and evidence tampering, but not guilty on aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. That split reflects the jury's different verdicts on the charges.
Ohio Revised Code 2903.02 addresses murder, according to James D. Owen Law. Matthews-Cooper's sentence includes a 27-year minimum before he becomes eligible for parole.
Local Law Enforcement and Countywide Crime Trends
Jefferson Township, in eastern Franklin County, is the setting of the homicide described here.
The shooting occurred in 2024. Columbus itself reported 122 homicides in 2024, its lowest total in five years, according to data compiled by All Columbus Data, representing a roughly 17 percent drop in Columbus homicides between 2023 and 2024.
Even against that broader downward trend, Amerson's death stands as a reminder that gun violence tied to drug transactions remains a persistent driver of homicides in Central Ohio. Matthews-Cooper is now connected to a case that took nearly two years to move from arrest to final sentencing, closing a chapter that began with a late-night shooting just steps from where elementary school students walk to class.
