NASHVILLE — An aspiring nation artist residing in Nashville will get no jail time after capturing a person experiencing homelessness twice 5 years in the past.
Earlier than Katie Layne Quackenbush opened fireplace within the early morning hours of Aug. 26, 2017, she was arguing with Gerald Melton. He had been woke up by exhaust fumes and music from Quackenbush’s Porsche SUV, in response to the Metro Nashville Police Division.
Melton later testified that Quackenbush requested him if he “needed to die tonight.”
Melton stated he was strolling away from Quackenbush’s automobile when she drew a gun from her purse, exited the SUV and fired two photographs. Quackenbush then drove with a passenger to a Taco Bell earlier than returning house.
Neither Quackenbush nor her passenger initially reported the capturing, police stated. As an alternative, an individual who discovered Melton known as for assist.
Melton, who was 54 on the time, survived however underwent a minimum of three surgical procedures as a result of his accidents.
“This has been the worst expertise of my life, however I am grateful that I had it, as a result of it has modified me so dramatically to the core,” Quackenbush, now 32, stated Thursday.
After a two-day trial in April, Quackenbush was convicted of reckless endangerment, which is a misdemeanor.
A choose sentenced her to 11 months and 29 days of probation Thursday morning, ending the controversial yearslong case.
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Quackenbush grew emotional as she made a press release throughout her listening to Thursday, repeatedly expressing remorse for her actions and apologizing to Melton and others affected by the capturing.
Quackenbush additionally stated she has already been punished, in some methods, for what occurred.
She stated her mugshot went viral on-line after her arrest. Quackenbush additionally stated she endured public ridicule, was spit on and acquired dying threats. She additionally discovered it tough to seek out work and get accepted into faculty. She described it as having “one foot in purgatory and the opposite in actual life.”
“For 5 years, I have been having to dwell with this … social punishment. Even in spite of everything of that is over, Google is all the time going to be there. This can observe me for the remainder of my life.”
Quackenbush spoke about her need to be there for her 4 younger kids, whom she feared could be cut up up if she went to jail as a result of all of them have completely different fathers.
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“This has impressed me to do higher,” she stated. “It impressed me to assist individuals who have been in my footwear.”
How the case unfolded
Quackenbush was arrested after the capturing and later indicted on costs of tried first-degree homicide and aggravated assault with a lethal weapon.
Her lawyer, Peter J. Strianse, argued Quackenbush was afraid of Melton and was attempting to scare him away. She was finally convicted of the lesser cost of reckless endangerment after a two-day trial in April. Quackenbush was free on a $25,000 bond earlier than her Thursday’s sentencing.
Throughout the listening to, Strianse stated Quackenbush has labored to raised herself within the years for the reason that capturing. She enrolled in faculty with plans to earn a level in political science and work her means up at her father’s regulation agency as a paralegal. .
He requested Choose Angelita Blackshear Dalton to think about a probation sentence, versus jail time.
He additionally requested the choose to think about a judicial diversion. In Tennessee, the measure permits costs to be diverted for an agreed upon period of time as soon as the defendant pleads responsible and agrees to circumstances set by the choose. Expenses might be expunged after the time and circumstances are met.
Dalton denied the diversion request.
In the course of the sentencing listening to, Assistant District Legal professional Amy Hunter emphasised the details of the case and the seriousness of the capturing, regardless of the absence of a weapons cost in Quackenbush’s convicted offense.
“She used that weapon to shoot an unarmed man who had solely used phrases in opposition to her,” Hunter stated.
Hunter additionally requested Dalton to think about the severity of Melton’s accidents and Quackenbush’s response to their argument.
The phrases of Quackenbush’s probation work round her residency in Amarillo, Texas, Dalton stated. She is going to periodically report just about, and her felony file will even be monitored, a spokesperson for the DA stated.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund
Discover reporter Rachel Wegner at rawegner@tennessean.com.
