A Tennessee woman accused of shooting a homeless who asked her to move her Porsche apparently has a previous criminal record, according to court documents.
The Tennessean reports that authorities arrested aspiring country singer, Katie Layne Quackenbush, 26, on Monday ,after she allegedly shot a homeless man in Nashville on August 26, near Music Row. The victim, 54-year-old Gerald Melton, remains at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition.
According to court documents, the incident began when Melton reportedly “became disturbed by exhaust fumes and loud music coming from a Porsche SUV” at around 3 a.m., while he tried to sleep on a sidewalk close to 901 19th Ave. South. Melton reportedly asked Quackenbush, the owner of the Porsche, to move her vehicle, and the pair got into a heated argument.
Officers said Melton walked away from the argument and tried to go back to sleep, but Quackenbush allegedly pulled out a gun, followed him, and shot him twice in the abdomen. She then fled the scene in her Porsche.
Quackenbush apparently consulted with her attorney father, Jesse Quackenbush, who gave a completely different version of the night in question. According to the lawyer, Melton accosted the victim and threatened to kill her and her friend, after making sexually explicit comments while they sat inside the Porsche. Further, the lawyer said his daughter didn’t try to kill Melton, but instead tried to defend herself after he walked towards her when she got out of her car.
“She didn’t try and kill this guy. He comes up to their window and starts screaming in their window various threats, and something about turning their music down and that he couldn’t sleep….She did say she closed her eyes when she shot both times, but they were warnings, and she thought she pointed away from him.”
Regardless, police said neither Quackenbush or her friend (who witnessed the incident) called the police. According to Metro police spokesman Don Aaron, a third party found Melton with severe gunshot wounds and called 911 for assistance. Authorities said they didn’t hear from Quackenbush at all until her lawyer, Peter Strianse, called the DA’s office the next week.
“She was dealing with somebody that came out of an extremely dark street in the early morning hours who comes out of nowhere and is banging violently on the car window,” Strianse said. Somebody who appears to be either deranged, somebody who may be on some sort of drug, who seems completely unhinged, and that’s why she reacted the way that she did.”
Aaron said authorities are still investigating the incident to determine the exact details.
“There’s no doubt that there was an argument and yelling between both parties,” Aaron told the Tennessean. “The police department has no information that the SUV was being blocked or in any way being prevented from leaving that immediate area.”
Court records indicate that this isn’t the first run-in Quackenbush had with police. Last December, authorities in Potter County, Texas, arrested Quackenbush and charged her with “misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury.”
In October 2013, officers with the Amarillo Police Department arrested Quackenbush and charged her with misdemeanor domestic violence.
Quackenbush, an aspiring singer and mother of a 5-year-old boy, was arrested and held on a $25,000 bond. She’s charged with attempted murder.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: MNPD]
