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Husband arrested in his wife's kidnapping

A saga that started in Pasco County comes to an end in Pinellas. The man shot at a Tarpon Springs officer, police say, but no one was hurt.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published August 28, 2005

TARPON SPRINGS - A kidnapping that began in Pasco County ended peacefully in this north Pinellas city, but not before at least five shots were fired at a police officer.

The officer was uninjured and the kidnap victim, Melony Malone Kinard, was released unharmed.

Police arrested her estranged husband, Roy David Kinard III.

Kinard was charged with multiple crimes, including kidnapping, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, felon in possession of a firearm, five counts of shooting within an occupied vehicle, aggravated fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and violation of a domestic violence injunction, according to Tarpon Springs police. According to Pinellas County sheriff's and police reports, the saga began about 8 a.m. Saturday when the Pasco Sheriff's Office received a call from a concerned co-worker of Mrs. Kinard's who said she had not been at work for two days. A deputy went to check on her, found her car missing and entered the home, Pasco sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.

A few minutes before 10 a.m., Mrs. Kinard's brother, who is a police officer in Indiana, called the Pasco sheriff and said he had talked with Roy Kinard on a cell phone. Kinard had indicated to the brother that he was holding Mrs. Kinard at gunpoint and was driving to Tarpon Springs, perhaps to buy drugs.

Authorities gave the following account of how events unfolded after that:

Tarpon Springs police saw Mrs. Kinard's 2005 blue Hyundai in Fred Howard Park. Officers could see Mrs. Kinard in the back seat gesturing to them, and they followed the Hyundai as it drove at a normal speed through neighborhood streets.

As Kinard turned right onto Peninsula Avenue, he fired at least five shots from a Barsa Thunder .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun at Officer Bill Peters, but missed both the officer and his car.

Kinard took off, leading officers on a high-speed chase down several residential streets until he entered the west end of the 1500 block of Garden Street, a dead end. He left the road and stopped in the bushes and driveway of 1506 Garden Ave.

Police surrounded the Hyundai, and Sgt. Michael Trill spoke with him for five or 10 minutes.

At that point, Kinard handed his wife the gun, and she threw it out the window. Kinard surrendered, and Mrs. Kinard, who had her ankles bound with a telephone cord, was released.

Tobin, the Pasco sheriff's spokesman, said Mrs. Kinard was in the process of separating from her husband and had obtained a restraining order against him.

Tobin said Pasco authorities were still investigating Saturday afternoon and more charges are expected.

[Last modified August 28, 2005, 01:11:05]