Marshals, troopers arrest Peabody pair
Staff writer
After a lengthy stakeout, U.S. Marshals and Kansas Highway Patrol arrested two absconded parolees on undisclosed charges Thursday in Peabody.
Melissa R. Merunka, 38, and Dusty L. Trusdale, 40, both of Peabody, were booked into the Marion County jail.
Kansas Department of Corrections information lists several aliases for Melissia Merunka, the name under which she was booked into Marion County Jail.
Under the name Melissa Coles, she was convicted March 12, 2014, of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated indecent solicitation of a child.
She was paroled Feb. 26 to Shawnee County and absconded April 25. She was paroled two earlier times, on June 17 and Dec. 8.
Trusdale has been convicted of 13 offenses in three counties going back to 2004. Most of his convictions are for drug offenses, but he also has convictions for criminal damage to property, theft, burglary, violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act, and forgery.
He was discharged to parole in Reno County Oct. 2, 2024, and absconded March 20.
Jennifer King, director of public affairs for the Department of Corrections, said the arrests might have been for something other than parole violations.
“If the U.S. marshals were involved, they could be facing charges we don’t even know about,” King said.
Undersheriff Larry Starkey said the sheriff’s office got a call from the marshals saying they were in Peabody and asking for deputies, but the department had none to spare.
Later, the marshals brought the pair to jail. The arresting agency is not listed on the jail website and only “KDOC” is noted as the charges on which the two are being held.