RALEIGH, North Carolina – A North Carolina woman’s life sentence for her role in a kidnapping conspiracy has been upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Shameika Goodall, 32, of Covington, Georgia, was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2017 for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The conviction stemmed from a 2014 plot to kidnap relatives of attorneys who had prosecuted a gang leader.
According to the investigation, Kelvin Melton, the leader of the United Blood Nation gang, ordered the kidnapping of family members of the state prosecutor and defense counsel who had worked on his case. The intended hostages were to be used as leverage to secure the dismissal of Melton’s life sentence, which he received for a 2011 gang-related shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina.
On April 5, 2014, one of the kidnapping teams abducted Frank Janssen, the state prosecutor’s father, from his home in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Janssen was held captive for four days before being rescued by the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team on April 9, 2014.
Goodall was part of the kidnapping team and was instructed by Melton to kill Janssen and bury him before the FBI rescue. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Goodall’s appeal, upholding her conviction and life sentence. The court noted that numerous conspirators involved in the case received lengthy sentences, and Goodall’s life sentence was not disproportionately harsh.
First Assistant United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III, commented on the affirmance of Goodall’s sentence, stating, ‘This crime was monstrously cruel to the victim and his family and a clear attack on our criminal justice system.’
The case was investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI Charlotte, FBI Atlanta, and Wake Forest Police Department. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina handled the prosecution and appeal of the case.
In June 2017, Goodall was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Her sentence has now been upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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