The man who gunned down Hopkinsville Police Officer Phillip Meacham on March 29 was an escapee from a Louisville halfway house.
Authorities said 35-year-old James Decoursey walked away from the halfway house on February 5 after being told he was being sent back to prison to serve 29 years. Christian County officials, though, as per standard operating procedure, were never notified of Decoursey’s escape, even though Decoursey’s address was listed as being in Christian County, according to multiple media outlets.
Decoursey was shot and killed by Clarksville, Tennessee police only hours after murdering Meacham.
Decoursey’s criminal activity dates back to 2001, when he was 18-years-old. Since that time, he’s been arrested and or convicted on a multitude of charges, including burglary, manufacturing methamphetamine, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), fraudulent use of a credit card, and criminal possession of a forged instrument, among other charges. In a 2015 arrest in McCreary County, Decoursey was busted with 25 grams of high-grade methamphetamine.
Christian County Sheriff Livy Leavell voiced concern as to why a man with Decoursey’s criminal past was ever sent to halfway house.
“When you look at a man with a criminal history like Decoursey has, he should have never been given the opportunity even to get released,” Leavell told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Leavell said the system failed at least three times in dealing with Decoursey — that he was notified that he was being sent back to prison; that Department of Corrections officials failed to notify Christian County authorities of Decoursey’s escape; and that the multiple felony offender was placed in a halfway house to begin with.
“Because of what happened here, we are left with this,” Leavell told the Lexington Herald-Leader, referring to the murder of Officer Meacham.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
