Pasco
Despite victim's plea, man gets life in Pasco kidnapping
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Published: July 13, 2011
Updated: 07/14/2011 02:05 pm
NEW PORT RICHEY - Crime victims often use sentencing hearings to unleash pent-up wrath on defendants.
Melony Malone used her ex-husband's sentencing for quite a different reason. It was leniency she was after.
The 44-year-old licensed practical nurse was one of two women Roy David Kinard held against their will and terrorized in May 2009.
Last month, a jury convicted him of seven charges, including aggravated battery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and armed burglary.
Malone returned to court for Kinard's sentencing today.
"The media made David Kinard sound like a monster," she told Senior Judge Robert Beach. "I'm here to tell you he's not."
And later, "The problem, your honor, is that David is a drug addict. Period."
Beach, however, was bound by law to send Kinard to prison for life. To judge from his statement before imposing sentence, Beach wasn't inclined to show much leniency anyway.
"What has affected me in this case is that there was little showing of remorse by Mr. Kinard after his arrest as demonstrated by the jailhouse telephone calls to the victim," Beach said. "This clearly showed to me how manipulative he was of the victim."
The recorded phone calls were played for the jury at trial. On them, Kinard could be heard trying to persuade Malone to change her statement to prosecutors to make him seem less culpable. He showered her with promises of getting sober, remarrying her and moving to Tennessee.
"This is my last chance at freedom and hope," Kinard said on the recordings.
Malone testified Kinard appeared at her Port Richey home on May 2, 2009. She was living with her son, A.J. Baker, his girlfriend, Tanisha Hanshew, and their 2-year-old son, Jacob.
Once inside, Kinard began yelling and pointing a gun at Malone. He did the same to Hanshew, who was home with Jacob while Baker was at work.
Malone said Kinard injected himself with drugs and lay on the couch with his legs wrapped around her. When he passed out, Malone told Hanshew to get a knife from the kitchen.
"I thought he was going to kill us," Malone testified.
She said she tried to plunge the knife into Kinard's chest. He awoke and grabbed the knife. Authorities said Kinard struck Malone in the head with the gun several times, breaking fingers on the hand she used to protect herself.
Malone said Kinard used tape to restrain her, Hanshew and Jacob, then took the knife and threatened to cut her throat and toes before chopping off part of her hair.
Malone said Kinard eventually apologized and untied them. She called authorities a week later at the urging of a co-worker and Kinard was arrested.
The incident wasn't the first in which Kinard victimized Malone. In 2005, he kidnapped her using a box cutter, tied her up and drove her from west Pasco County to Tarpon Springs, where he fired shots at police before being captured.
Kinard pleaded no contest in that case and spent nearly three years in prison.
In a statement to the court today, Kinard attributed his actions to drug addiction and apologized to Malone.
"I'm not here to ask for a lesser sentence but to ask for forgiveness for all the pain, hurt and embarrassment I caused you and our families," he said. "I give you my sincerest apology from the bottom of my heart and I love you always."
tleskanic@tampatrib.com (813) 731-8098
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