“There seems to be two sides to Mr. Melcher, a Jekyll and Hyde,” stated Randolph County State’s Attorney Chris Koeneman at the April 30 sentencing hearing for Noah M. R. Melcher. “And when the other side comes out, he is a real danger to society and people at large.”
Melcher, 19, of Edwardsville, was being sentenced for a charge of aggravated robbery. He had been arrested for robbing the Red Bud MotoMart with an airsoft pistol on the evening of March 6, and was detained at the Randolph County Jail since the initial incident.
At an April 2 hearing, Melcher entered a partially negotiated plea of guilty for the charge. Per the plea agreement, his potential sentence would be capped at four years to the Illinois Department of Corrections. (The maximum sentence possible for the charge had been 15 years to IDOC.)
For more on Melcher, please see this week’s print edition.