E'town man arrested after evading police for a year

An Elizabethtown man who evaded law enforcement for more than a year is scheduled to be arraigned today in Hardin District Court in a wanton endangerment case police said involves children.

SHUPE

Melvin Glenn Shupe, 37, was wanted by Radcliff Police Department for two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.

According to police, the incident occurred Aug. 7, 2011, and involved children who were less than 6 years old at the time.

On two occasions, RPD submitted Shupe for inclusion in The News-Enterprise’s Hardin County’s Most Wanted.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office picked up Shupe on Wednesday in Metropolis, Ill., after Illinois police served him with the Radcliff warrant, spokesman Greg Lowe said.

He was lodged Thursday afternoon at Hardin County Detention Center in lieu of a $20,000 cash bond.

According to court documents, Shupe signed an extradition waiver Nov. 30 in Johnson County Circuit Court in Illinois.

In addition to the Radcliff warrant, Lowe said Shupe also had four active misdemeanor bench warrants for probation violations and failures to appear in fourth-degree assault and driving under the influence cases.

Court records indicate two of those warrants were issued in June 2011, prior to the alleged incident in Radcliff.

According to the sheriff’s office, Shupe also is wanted for wanton endangerment in Anderson County where he has an outstanding warrant for fleeing and evading police, wanton endangerment, menacing, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and several traffic violations.

Lowe said he has two more active warrants in LaRue and Laurel counties.

Shupe is scheduled to be arraigned today via video feed in Hardin District Court.

First-degree wanton endangerment is a Class D felony, which is punishable by one to five years in prison if found guilty.

COMING MONDAY: The latest installment of Hardin County's Most Wanted

Sarah Bennett can be reached at (270) 505-1750 or sbennett@thenewsenterprise.com.