Shamieka Goodall, a/k/a Donna Diva, 30, was found guilty on January 23, 2017, of Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping and a substantive count of Kidnapping in connection with the brutal abduction of Frank Janssen, the father of a North Carolina state prosecutor. The jury verdict in Raleigh closes a harrowing chapter in a gang-driven plot that reached from a maximum-security prison in Butner to a quiet home in Wake Forest.
The scheme originated behind bars. Kelvin Melton, a founding member of the United Blood Nation, was serving a life sentence at Polk Correctional Institution after a 2012 conviction for a gang-related Raleigh shooting. From prison, Melton orchestrated a plan to extort his release by kidnapping a relative of the prosecutor who sent him away. His target: Frank Janssen, an innocent 70-year-old retired man with no ties to law enforcement beyond his daughter’s career.
On April 5, 2014, the operation kicked off at Goodall’s home in Covington, Georgia. That morning, Melton held a conference call with low-ranking gang members gathered at her residence. Goodall, acting as a key facilitator, provided funds to the team and helped coordinate logistics. The group traveled to Wake Forest, where they tricked Janssen into opening his door by posing as mail carriers—then pistol-whipped and tased him before dragging him from his home.
Janssen was driven back to Georgia and held captive in a closet in a Southeast Atlanta apartment from the evening of April 5 through April 9, 2014. Bound to a chair, starved, and terrorized, he remained at the mercy of his captors. Hours before rescue, Melton called the team—including a member recruited by Goodall—and ordered them to find a burial site and execute Janssen. The hit was thwarted only by a massive interagency operation.
At 11:55 p.m. on April 9, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team stormed the Atlanta apartment and freed Janssen just in time. The investigation, led by FBI Charlotte and FBI Atlanta, involved the Wake Forest Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Durham County Sheriff’s Office, Raleigh PD, Durham PD, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, Garner PD, and the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Coordination across jurisdictions proved critical in stopping a murder.
Goodall now faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce condemned the crime as “monstrously cruel” and a direct assault on the justice system. FBI Special Agent in Charge John Strong called the conviction the “final chapter” in holding the gang accountable. The message, he said, is clear: no one, not even from a prison cell, is beyond reach.
Related Federal Cases
- Kidnapping Kingpin Charged in Wake Forest Conspiracy · North Carolina
- Kelvin Melton Gets Life for Kidnapping Plot · North Carolina
- Kidnapping Plot Foiled, Woman Found Guilty · North Carolina
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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