Ex-Pine Bluff man held in Washington killings

A former Pine Bluff resident already jailed in Washington state has been booked on two counts of first-degree murder.

The Vancouver, Wash., Police Department on Friday announced the charges against Kirkland C. Warren, 28, in the deaths of Meshay Micole Melendez, 27, and her daughter Layla Stewart, 7, both of Vancouver, whose bodies were found in a rural area near Washougal, Wash., March 22. Melendez's mother reported them missing March 18, six days after Melendez and her daughter had last been seen, according to a report from The Columbian newspaper of Vancouver, a suburb of Portland, Ore. Police say Melendez was an ex-girlfriend of Warren.

Warren is already held in the Clark County, Wash., jail in lieu of $1 million bail from charges of tampering with a witness, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and a protection-order violation in Clark County Superior Court on March 20. The bail was upgraded from $100,000, which was set March 3 in connection to a series of incidents between March 31, 2021, and Dec. 23, 2022.

In a news release, Vancouver police detailed a March 12 incident that reportedly involved Melendez, Layla and Warren as they went to the residence of an acquaintance at about 5 a.m. Warren reportedly returned about three hours later as the acquaintance saw Melendez "passed out" in the passenger seat of his vehicle, went inside the residence to pick up Layla and drove off with her in a Dodge Charger.

A search warrant involving two vehicles linked to Warren and multiple cellphones was executed March 19 at Warren's residence, and he was arrested on the charges related to a Dec. 13, 2022, domestic violence incident Melendez reported 10 days later but recanted, citing mental health and drug-related issues, according to the release and court documents.

"The search of the vehicle Meshay and Layla were last seen leaving in with Warren (Dodge Charger), revealed blood evidence in both the front and back seat of the vehicle, .22 shell casings, children's clothing matching clothing Layla was believed to be wearing on March 12, and a purse containing Melendez's identification," Vancouver police wrote. "During the search of the second vehicle associated with Warren (Hyundai Palisade), a .22 pistol was located in the center console."

Preliminary evidence at the scene where Melendez and Layla were found indicated both had been shot, Vancouver police wrote. Police added Layla was found to have sustained two bullet wounds in the head "from a small caliber projectile, similar to a .22," and Melendez was found to have sustained one gunshot to the left temple area from a similar weapon.

The investigation is ongoing, police added.

In Pine Bluff, William R. "Randy" Wright, a special judge for the Jefferson County Circuit Court first division, revoked Warren's $250,000 bail from first-degree murder and abuse of corpse charges related to the Nov. 27, 2017, death of Curtis Urquhart, 57. Warren reportedly admitted to police he shot Urquhart in the head after Warren became fearful for his life as they left a notary office in Pine Bluff and then dumped Urquhart's body in a ditch off a gravel road near Stuttgart.

Cymber Tadlock, a chief deputy prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County, successfully filed a motion to revoke Warren's bail March 14 after learning of his arrest in connection to the charges he faced March 3. Wright revoked the bail March 17.

Warren is refusing to waive extradition to be turned over to Arkansas authorities, according to The Columbian.

That means Warren will remain jailed in Washington state even if he posts the $1 million bail in connection to his March 20 charges. But now, Warren will also appear in court today to answer to the first-degree murder accusations and appear April 21 to answer to a fugitive-from-justice count in Vancouver. He'll also be tried for Urquhart's death Oct. 23-27 in Pine Bluff.

    Layla Stewart
  

    Meshay Melendez