(Vancouver Police Department)SEATTLE - Kirkland Warren was out on bail pending a long-delayed murder trial in Arkansas.
But when he was arrested in southwestern Washington state early this month on charges that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and fired a gunshot into her apartment, he quickly posted bond and was released again.Just a few days later, his ex-girlfriend, Meshay Melendez, 27, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, vanished.
Police named Warren a person of interest in their disappearance.The discovery of their bodies in thick brush down a road embankment on Wednesday has raised questions about why someone facing a murder charge in another state would be released from custody after being arrested for a serious domestic violence offense.Cymber Tadlock, the deputy prosecutor who handled Warren’s case in a 2017 killing in Jefferson County, Arkansas, said the Vancouver Police Department in Washington notified her on March 2 that they had arrested Warren for drive-by shooting and other charges, stemming from an incident in December.
They also told her the next day that Warren had a court appearance and his bail was set at $100,000.It wasn’t until March 14, after she had received official paperwork from Clark County, Washington, that she filed a motion to revoke Warren's bail in the 2017 murder case.