RICHMOND — A local man who shot and killed himself Thursday at his home was about to be arrested for allegedly receiving stolen property, including a motorboat, when he grabbed a handgun out of his truck and shot himself in front of authorities, according to police.
Jesse James Melanson, 33, of Richmond, was about to be arrested by a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputy, assisted by Richmond police Chief Scott MacMaster, at his home on Alexander Reed Road when he asked for permission to go to his garage to get his garage door opener, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. Once in his garage, he went into his truck parked inside, and got a handgun.
Following a brief struggle with the deputy and MacMaster, McCausland said, the two officers “backed off slightly, and that’s when (Melanson) shot himself. It all took place in the garage, in the pickup truck.”
He shot himself in the head and died, McCausland said.
Deputies with the sheriff’s office had gone to Melanson’s home with a search warrant Wednesday as part of an investigation into stolen property. McCausland said they saw other items during that search that prompted them to get another search warrant and return Thursday afternoon.
McCausland said he thinks the search was underway when the shooting occurred. He said Melanson was going to be charged with receiving stolen property. A motorboat that police had towed from the scene following the approximately 2 p.m. incident was one of the items sought in the search warrant, according to police.
McCausland said he did not expect the state attorney general’s office to investigate the incident as an officer-involved shooting.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
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