Oran police- Voices told man to kill someone

ORAN, Mo. -- On Memorial Day something was wrong at 507 Missouri St. in Oran.

At 10:30 a.m., Oran police chief Marc Tragesser got a call from a resident living next to that address about 57-year-old John Wayne Melton.

The events that followed would make Tragesser fear for his life, put Melton in a mental facility and later in the Scott County Jail, where he is now awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of assaulting a police officer, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. All three charges are felonies.

That morning Melton's neighbor said the man was asking for his guns and hearing voices -- voices that were telling him to kill.

"When I arrived ... he came out the door and said 'I know if I kill them they'll go away,'" Tragesser recalls. "This never happens in Oran."

Tragesser said Melton was having delusions, hearing voices. When he came out, Melton was holding a shotgun. Tragesser said he wrestled to get the shotgun from Melton, who continually tried to get a finger on the trigger.

According to the statement Tragesser filed with the prosecuting attorney's office on June 21, Melton was hearing one voice louder than the others -- a female voice that said she'd go away if he killed someone.

When Tragesser arrived at 507 Missouri St., he became that someone.

Melton told the chief to let him kill him so the voice would go away, and asked Tragesser if he heard the voice.

Tragesser was able to detain the man, and then transported him to the Metropolitan Psychiatric Center in St. Louis. There Tragesser hoped Melton would get psychological help.

But within a few weeks, Melton was back on the streets of Oran. The hospital was supposed to notify Tragesser of Melton's release, but the chief said the facility made no contact with the Oran Police Department.

Citing privacy laws, the hospital refused to provide any information about Melton or confirm that he had been a patient there.

'Wasn't afraid to kill me'

The same day Melton arrived back in Oran, someone told him to go to the police department to let them know he was in town, Tragesser said. "He asked for his guns and said he wasn't afraid to kill me."

The chief wonders why Melton was released from psychiatric care.

"He is a danger to society," Tragesser said. "I just had to get him off the street."

Since Melton had already been released once from a psychiatric facility, Tragesser got an arrest warrant.

From the appearance of Melton's house, Tragesser said, paranoia controlled the man's mind. Inside the home were 26 rifles and 16 handguns, some pieced together by Melton himself. There were also several boxes of ammunition, some of it homemade. Guns were set up where they could be accessed quickly from Melton's bed.

The only food in the residence was large cans of beans, rice and stew. The only thing in the refrigerator was a large jug of water. Melton was filthy.

More than a week after his arrest, Melton is still in jail on $50,000 bond. With no known family in the area, Melton will likely stay there until his trial.

Tragesser says Melton should probably be in a psychiatric facility rather than jail but that he had no choice but to arrest Melton.

Whether Melton will get mental care remains to be seen. His attorney, public defender Ian Page, was unavailable for comment Friday, and calls to Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd were not returned.

Now Melton's fate is in the hands of the court system. He has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 23.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182