Kentucky Indicts Five-Time Convicted Felon From Louisville on Gun and Endangerment Charges
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced on November 12 that a Jefferson County grand jury has indicted Roy Melead, 39, of Louisville on two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, one count of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, one count of first-degree criminal mischief, and one count of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Melead has been convicted five times before, on charges including burglary and theft.
According to the indictment, Melead showed an extreme indifference to human life when he discharged a firearm in September, putting two other people in danger; the bullets also damaged the victims' property, which led to the criminal mischief charge. The Louisville Metro Police Department investigated the case, and Special Counsel Denise Durbin of the Attorney General's Violent Crime Reduction Team presented it to the grand jury on behalf of the Commonwealth.
The Violent Crime Reduction Team was created in October 2024 as a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Attorney General's Office, the Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney, the Louisville mayor's office and other local agencies to combat violent crime in Louisville, and the Attorney General's Office has opened a downtown Louisville location staffed by prosecutors and a dedicated detective. The team has so far secured more than 220 felony indictments and multiple convictions, the office said.
The charges in an indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. (Source: Kentucky Attorney General's Office)
Source: Kentucky Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：肯塔基州议会大厦（Frankfort）。Mhsheikholeslami 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort. Photo by Mhsheikholeslami, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
