‘We’re disappointed’: Family, officials surprised by guilty plea for KCK cop killer

Family members, police and city officials said they were surprised by Thursday’s guilty plea in the 2016 killing of Kansas City, Kan., Police Captain Robert David Melton.

Jamaal Lewis, 22, who was scheduled to go to trial Nov. 5 on a charge of capital murder, pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of first-degree felony murder.

The guilty plea to the lesser murder charge, which will see Lewis eligible for parole after serving 25 years, came with no plea agreement.

Still, it led to an exchange of criticism between Wyandotte County’s mayor and the district attorney. Some of Melton’s relatives also said they were displeased.

Melton’s family members and Kansas City, Kan., police said they had not been informed beforehand that Lewis would be entering a plea Thursday.

Lewis’ scheduled court appearance Thursday morning was for a hearing on a pre-trial motion.

Instead, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. That carries a life sentence with a chance for parole after serving 25 years. If Lewis had gone to trial and was convicted of capital murder, he would have been sentenced to life with no chance of parole.

Lewis also pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and shooting into an unoccupied dwelling.

Melton’s brother, John Melton, said he was at the courthouse for that hearing when he was informed that Lewis would be entering a plea. The news came five minutes before the hearing was scheduled to start.

He said he was not satisfied with the plea, which will allow the possibility of Lewis going free after 25 years.

“I don’t think he should ever walk out,” John Melton said. “I think it’s just wrong.”

Zeta Bates, who was engaged to Robert Melton at the time he was killed, said it had not been discussed with the family in advance.

“We’re disappointed that the DA’s office didn’t feel the need to keep us in the loop and that the standard is being set that criminals who kill cops can plead to first-degree murder and face a sentence of 25 years to life in prison,” she said in a written statement. “We were prepared to see this through to trial and hoped for a guilty verdict for capital murder with the sentence of life without parole.”

David Alvey, mayor/ceo of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., said in a written statement that he was “disturbed” that the police and the family had no prior knowledge of the plea taking place.

Alvey said he was “deeply concerned” that the crime Lewis pleaded guilty to “does not match the exceptionally serious nature of this capital crime.”

He called it a “de facto devaluation of victims’ rights and the daily sacrifices of our law enforcement community.”

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree issued a statement criticizing Alvey for making public statements about the case without communicating with the district attorney’s office.

Dupree said there was no plea agreement and that Lewis had the legal ability to plead guilty to the alternative charge if he so chose.

“The Victim’s Bill of Rights was followed in this case, as it pertains to the family,” Dupree said.

Melton, 46, was fatally shot in July 2016 while searching for suspects in a drive-by shooting.

Spotting Lewis on foot near 22nd Street and Georgia Avenue, Melton tried to block him with his patrol vehicle.

Lewis then pulled out a handgun and fired several shots through the passenger-side window of the police vehicle. Melton was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Lewis was arrested nearby a short time later and has been in custody since then.

The original capital murder charge carried a potential death sentence. But in June, Wyandotte County prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

In exchange, attorneys for Lewis agreed to not pursue a mental illness defense.

Sentencing for Lewis is scheduled for Nov. 30 in in Wyandotte County District Court.

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 5:07 PM.