LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man was recently arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, an arrest that came several days after a body was found in the road in the Russell neighborhood wrapped tightly in plastic and duct tape.
Chadwick Fleming was in court Monday a week after he was charged.
Police found Mitchell Jackson Jr. dead with multiple gunshot wounds around 9 a.m. Oct. 20 at South 18th Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, according to a written statement from the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
During Monday's hearing, Louisville Metro Police Detective Charlie Roberts said surveillance video captured a black SUV, dragging the body behind it down the street. Roberts said at one point the body became disconnected from the vehicle and eventually the SUV speeds away.
" ... it's apparent that when you watch this, this was obviously not the operator's intention to leave a body in the middle of the roadway," Roberts said.
The case quickly had the community asking questions, and Fleming, 35, was arrested Oct. 25 during a traffic stop at Oak and Dr. W. J. Hodge streets in west Louisville.
He hasn't been charged with murder and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him which include abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
"The fact is, we believe they've got the wrong person — we know they do — but it's up to the commonwealth to figure that out," Fleming's attorney said.
During Fleming's court appearance Monday, Roberts said police believe Fleming and Jackson were roommates and said the SUV seen on an image that captured the license plate shows it is registered to one of Fleming's relatives.
"Did you attempt to make an identification of the individual on that video?" Fleming's attorney asked Roberts.
"The video is too far away to be able to identify someone specifically from it," Roberts said.
"I mean, as far as the ID goes, we do believe that there's plenty of evidence that the court could rely on to show that Mr. Fleming was in fact the person who did these allegations," the commonwealth said.
During court, Roberts also said that Fleming allegedly spoke with someone about the crime.
"We had a witness come forward to who advised that Mr. Fleming had confided in them that he left the remains in the roadway," Roberts said.
The judge ultimately ruled there's enough evidence — just narrowly — to send the case to the grand jury.
Fleming's bond was set at $50,000. He is due back in court next month.
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