In the late hours of a Monday evening in Owensboro, Kentucky, the life of 41-year-old John T. Leak Jr. was tragically cut short. On June 13, 2022, gunshots shattered the night, and Leak, a male resident of the city, found himself the target. He was behind the wheel of his vehicle in the 900 block of West 7th Street when he was struck by a single bullet. In a desperate attempt to escape his assailant, he drove away, but his injuries were too severe.
He lost control of his car and crashed into a home in the 1200 block of the same street.
When Owensboro Police Department officers arrived at the scene of the crash at approximately 11:08 p.m., they found a bystander performing CPR on Leak. As they rendered aid, they discovered the gunshot wound. Leak was rushed to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, but tragically, he succumbed to his injuries. The Daviess County Coroner's office later confirmed his identity.
The investigation into the homicide led detectives to obtain surveillance footage that captured images of two suspects and the vehicle they were in. The police considered the individuals armed and dangerous. A thorough and lengthy investigation, which involved law enforcement agencies across Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama, led to a breakthrough. On August 3, 2022, a Daviess County Grand Jury indicted two Owensboro men, 29-year-old Derrick Carroll and 27-year-old Damian M. Fields, for the murder of John T. Leak Jr.
At the time of the indictment, Fields was already in custody at the Daviess County Detention Center on unrelated charges. Carroll was being held in Alabama on separate offenses, and extradition proceedings were initiated to bring him back to Kentucky. The case against Damian M. Fields went to trial in April 2023. After a five-day trial and nearly five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on charges of complicity to murder, second-degree manslaughter, and reckless homicide. The legal proceedings for Derrick Carroll were to be handled separately, and a trial date had not been set at the time of Fields' acquittal.
