Reputed gangster on trial in plot to kidnap prosecutor's dad
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this April 10, 2014, file photo taken from video, FBI agents collect evidence at an apartment complex in Atlanta, where federal agents rescued kidnap victim Frank Janssen, of Wake Forest, N.C. Kelvin Melton, a violent criminal described as a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang goes on trial Monday, June 6, 2016, in North Carolina on a federal kidnapping charge after authorities say he helped orchestrate the abduction of Janssen, a prosecutor's father, from his prison cell. (AP Photo/Johnny Clark, File) (The Associated Press)
A violent criminal described as a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang goes on trial in North Carolina after authorities say he helped orchestrate the abduction of a prosecutor's father from his prison cell.
Fifty-one-year-old Kelvin Melton was already serving a life sentence for ordering underlings to shoot a Raleigh man when the prosecutor's father was abducted two years ago. Melton's trial on kidnapping and other charges starts Monday in federal court in Raleigh.
Authorities say Melton used a smuggled cellphone to target the Wake County prosecutor who put him away for the Raleigh shooting. The botched plan led to gang members snatching the prosecutor's father instead. Frank Janssen was saved when authorities stormed an Atlanta apartment where he was held. His captors were finalizing details to kill him and dispose of his body.