Two men indicted with murder

Aug. 4—The Daviess Grand Jury indicted two men Wednesday in a June 13 fatal shooting on West Seventh Street.

The grand jury indicted Damian M. Fields, 27, of Livermore and Derrick Carroll, 29, of the 1600 block of Mayo Street with murder in the death of John Leak Jr.

The incident was first reported as a vehicle collision the night of June 13, when officers received reports of a vehicle that had crashed into a fence near Greentree Apartments.

Owensboro Police Department reports say when officers began providing assistance, they found the man, later identified as Leak, had been shot. Leak later died of his injuries at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.

OPD Lt. Chris Green said officers spent hundreds of hours investigating the shooting by gathering evidence and sorting through tips from the public.

"It spread across multiple states," Green said of the investigation, during which several search warrants were served. Officers with law enforcement agencies in Illinois, Alabama and the McLean County Sheriff's Department participated in the investigation.

"A lot of assistance came from community partners" who provided information, Green said.

Detective J.D. Faith said he could not discuss the timeline of the incident or what specific evidence led to identifying Fields and Carroll.

"It's an open investigation," he said.

Faith said he notified Leak's family after the indictment was returned.

Fields and Carroll were already incarcerated when the indictment was returned.

Fields is incarcerated in the Daviess County Detention Center on charges of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, trafficking in a controlled substance (carfentanil or fentanyl), tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and other offenses.

Carroll is incarcerated in Limestone County, Alabama. According to a report by Huntsville TV station WHNT, Carroll was arrested on June 28 after a police chase.

The report says Carroll was in a vehicle with a woman, and that they fled through the city of Decatur, striking a person on a bicycle before being forced to stop by officers. Carroll was charged with reckless endangerment, attempting to elude a police officer, drug trafficking, possession of a pistol by a violent felon, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence, WHNT's report said.

In January 2018, Fields was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree forgery, first-degree wanton endangerment and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in a home invasion in the 2200 block of East Ninth Street. Fields pleaded guilty to amended charges, for a total of 16 years in prison.

According to the Kentucky Department of Corrections website, Fields was placed on supervised release in January.

A court date for Fields had not been scheduled as of Wednesday afternoon. Carroll will have to be extradited from Alabama.

Faith thanked the public for providing information, and Leak's family.

"I can't thank them enough for their patience with me and their trust in me," he said. "I hope this is the start of helping them cope with their loss."

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse