Prosecutor targeted in kidnapping case suspended

Published June 30, 2016

The North Carolina prosecutor whose father was kidnapped by a gang leader she prosecuted has been put on paid leave while the district attorney looks into accusations of misconduct on two unrelated cases.

News outlets report that Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman suspended Colleen Janssen on Monday, almost a week after an appeals court ruled she withheld and manipulated evidence in two robbery cases.

Janssen, an assistant district attorney, is accused of urging a Raleigh police detective to delay bringing drug charges against her key witness until after the 2014 trials.

Freeman says she expects Janssen's actions will be reviewed by the North Carolina State Bar, the agency that licenses lawyers in this state.

Janssen's father was kidnapped in 2014 under the direction of Kelvin Melton, who Janssen had prosecuted in 2012. The father's captors were finalizing details to kill him when the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team stormed a southeast Atlanta apartment and rescued him, authorities said.

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