Man Charged In 2022 Deadly Shooting At Dollar General In Spencer

More than a year after the crime, an arrest is made, for the second time, in a deadly shooting. 

It happened back in January of 2022 outside of a Dollar General Store on Spencer-Jones Road.

Kody Melendrez is back behind bars at the Oklahoma County Detention Center, this time, charged with murder. 

Police arrested Melendrez on March 7 for the murder of 28-year-old Donnell Smith.

“Out on the 9800 block of Spencer-Jones Road, we had a confrontation in the parking lot of a store there which led to one person being shot and the suspects fleeing,” Sgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department said. 

After police released surveillance video, Melendrez was arrested on Feb. 3, 2022, but released 28 days later with no charges against him. 

An arrest warrant filed last week details what investigators learned during the probe.

According to court documents, the victim tried to break up an argument between one of the men with him and two juveniles, one of which is the defendant’s son. 

Police said one of the boys saw the victim's concealed pistol in his waistband. That’s when according to police, Melendrez, who was in a nearby truck, pulled a weapon and fired 13 shots, hitting the victim approximately nine times.

Melendrez and the juveniles fled in the truck, and the victim later died at the hospital.

Through the course of the investigation, police learned the Ford F-150 at the scene is registered to the defendant. 

A witness identified Melendrez during a police lineup. 

Detectives retrieved phone data from Melendrez's phone, placing him in the area of the Dollar General at the time of the shooting.

On March 4 of last year, court records show Melendrez admitted to shooting and killing the victim while on a phone call through the Oklahoma County Detention Center’s telephone system.

Melendrez is being held on a $10 million bond.