Newark police found 20-year-old Peyton J. Anderson, of Columbus, with a single gunshot wound to his chest. He later was pronounced dead at Licking Memorial Hospital from his injuries, sustained when a Newark man attempted to clear a jammed gun, police said.

NEWARK — A Columbus man was shot and killed when a Newark man was attempting to clear a jammed gun, court records indicate.

Newark police and fire responded around 3:23 a.m. Saturday to an apartment in the first block of Weston Road on a report of a man down.

In a 911 call recording obtained by The Advocate, a woman who identified herself as Danielle told a dispatcher she needed an ambulance because "somebody just ran in here with a wound and I don't know what it is."

The woman told the dispatcher she'd just woken up to a "loud thump" and found someone she referred to as one of her adopted kids lying on the floor between her kitchen and dining room. She told the dispatcher she couldn't find the wound and didn't know where he was bleeding from.

Upon arrival, police found 20-year-old Peyton J. Anderson, of Columbus, with a single gunshot wound to his chest. Although medics attended to Anderson, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at Licking Memorial Hospital.

In the hours following the shooting, police arrested Kenneth Hall, 24, and Danielle Stewart, 44, both of Newark.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Licking County Common Pleas Court, police said Hall admitted to shooting Anderson in the chest with a .22-caliber pistol while they were sitting on the couch in Stewart's apartment.

"The defendant indicated the gun had jammed and in the process of clearing the weapon, he pulled the trigger and shot the victim," the complaint stated, adding Hall admitted to disposing of the weapon in a wooded area near the intersection of Cherry Valley and Reddington roads.

Hall was charged with one count of reckless homicide, a third-degree felony.

Court records indicate Stewart initially told police she was sleeping, didn't hear a gunshot and had no idea what happened to Anderson.

"In a subsequent interview, she admitted she had lied to protect Kenneth Hall," a criminal complaint stated. "She acknowledged that she and Kenneth Hall had conspired to create a false story to mislead police in regards to how the victim was injured."

Stewart was charged with one count of obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony.

Licking County court records do not contain any criminal history for Stewart or Hall.

During a bond hearing Monday afternoon, Stewart asked to be released on her own recognizance, telling the magistrate she wasn't a troublemaker.

Magistrate Mattie Klein set bond at $50,000 for Stewart and $500,000 for Hall.