A New Jersey man who tried to set fire to a cop car during George Floyd protests goes to federal prison
Killian Melecio was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison on Monday for attempting to set a Trenton police car on fire during May 2020 unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd.
A Burlington County man who tried to set a Trenton Police car on fire during the unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd last year was sentenced Monday to 28 months in federal prison, federal authorities said.
Killian F. Melecio, 20, of Columbus, had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to obstruct, impede, or interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti sentenced Melecio to three years of supervised release.
Melecio was charged for his role in the civil unrest that rocked Trenton and cities across the country on May 31, 2020, after Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Prosecutors said the Trenton protest began peacefully but devolved into looting and the destruction of police vehicles.
Melecio was captured on surveillance cameras attempting, with two other men, to set a police car on fire, prosecutors said. The cameras captured a man throwing an explosive device into the open front driver’s side window of the police vehicle, then removing his shirt and tossing it to Melecio, who tried to stuff it into the gas tank and ignite it — but those efforts were thwarted by police, authorities said.
The two other men, Kadeem Dockery and Justin Spry, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the crime.