I would have loved to hear the rationale of the jurors on this one. She threatened to kill him and somehow the jury believed the self-defense and warning shot explanation.
“This has been the worst experience of my life, but I’m grateful that I had it, because it has changed me so dramatically to the core,” Quackenbush said at her sentencing. “Sometimes hard lessons are the best lessons.”
On Aug. 26, 2017, Melton, then age 54, was sleeping on a sidewalk in Music Row when he was awakened by loud music and exhaust fumes coming from Quackenbush’s Porsche SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Melton and Quackenbush got into a heated argument, during which the woman allegedly asked the man if he “wanted to die tonight.”
Melton testified in court that he was walking away when Quackenbush exited her car and fired two shots, striking him in the abdomen.
Quackenbush then got back in her Porsche and drove with a passenger to a Taco Bell before heading home. Neither she nor her companion initially reported the shooting to the police.
Melton survived the shooting but required three surgeries, prosecutors said.
Quackenbush was arrested and indicted on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
At her trial in April, a jury found Quackenbush guilty of the lesser charge of reckless endangerment — a misdemeanor — after she testified that she fired the gun in self-defense to scare Melton.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter also brought up Quackenbush’s disturbing history of making threats against others. In one instance, the woman admitted to threatening to hit a baby with a brick.
In another case, Quackenbush poured water on a woman in a restaurant.
“This has been the worst experience of my life, but I’m grateful that I had it, because it has changed me so dramatically to the core,” Quackenbush said at her sentencing. “Sometimes hard lessons are the best lessons.”
On Aug. 26, 2017, Melton, then age 54, was sleeping on a sidewalk in Music Row when he was awakened by loud music and exhaust fumes coming from Quackenbush’s Porsche SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Melton and Quackenbush got into a heated argument, during which the woman allegedly asked the man if he “wanted to die tonight.”
Melton testified in court that he was walking away when Quackenbush exited her car and fired two shots, striking him in the abdomen.
Quackenbush then got back in her Porsche and drove with a passenger to a Taco Bell before heading home. Neither she nor her companion initially reported the shooting to the police.
Melton survived the shooting but required three surgeries, prosecutors said.
Quackenbush was arrested and indicted on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
At her trial in April, a jury found Quackenbush guilty of the lesser charge of reckless endangerment — a misdemeanor — after she testified that she fired the gun in self-defense to scare Melton.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter also brought up Quackenbush’s disturbing history of making threats against others. In one instance, the woman admitted to threatening to hit a baby with a brick.
In another case, Quackenbush poured water on a woman in a restaurant.
Porsche owner avoids jail for shooting homeless man who asked her to move car
Katie Quackenbush, 32, was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of probation on a reckless endangerment conviction, five years after she shot and wounded homeless man Gerald Melton during an argument…
nypost.com