Robbery Plot Ends in Felony Murder Conviction

The District Attorney’s Office secured convictions today against Melvin Robert King, 24, the last of five co-defendants responsible for a robbery that turned into a homicide in June 2014. Following a five-day trial, King was convicted of First Degree Felony Murder, Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, Attempted Especially Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Reckless Aggravated Assault, and Aggravated Animal Cruelty. Judge Steve Sword set a separate sentencing hearing for December 3.

Braylen Nicholas Bennett, 22, Rodrick Curtis, 21, Charles Louis Byrd, 24, and Dwaine Anthony Love, 21, were co-defendants in the case, but last month, they each received a forty-year sentence after pleading guilty to Facilitation of Felony Murder, Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, Attempted Especially Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Aggravated Assault, and Aggravated Animal Cruelty.

At trial, Assistant District Attorney TaKisha Fitzgerald explained to the jury that on June 26, 2014, King and his co-defendants knocked on the door at 2837 Valley View Drive. When the door was opened, they forced their way into the residence, holding the occupants at gunpoint, and searching for cash and drugs. During the home invasion, King fatally shot victim John Huddleston and also shot a second victim Sydney Smith who survived. Knoxville Police Department Investigator Clayton Madison led the investigation that ultimately resulted in the arrest of the Defendants. When King and the other Defendants were arrested, King was overheard in the jail intake center bragging about how he planned the robbery and how he shot the victims.

“A young man’s life was cut short because five individuals planned a robbery to steal a thousand dollars and a pound of marijuana,” said DA Charme Allen.”If you have so little regard for human life, you deserve to be locked up for as long as possible.”

First Degree Felony Murder carries a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole after the Defendant serves fifty-one years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, the District Attorney’s Office will seek enhanced sentences for the other crimes for which King was convicted to ensure this dangerous offender remains in prison.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.