Defendant in 2020 murder case denied bond

Frank Cortez McQueen, 45, of Evergreen, has been held without bond pending trial following a Thursday afternoon Aniah’s Law hearing.

Frank Cortez McQueen

McQueen is the third and final remaining defendant that was previously out on bond in the 2020 murder of Micah Coon.  One co-defendant, Brittany Head, was tried and convicted for Coon’s murder in August 2024.  “Head testified in her own defense, implicating McQueen and others for their roles in Coon’s death.   Because of that, we filed motions for McQueen and two others to be held without bond under Aniah’s Law.  We are certainly glad to see these three defendants are now all in custody until this case can be tried,” said District Attorney Walt Merrell.

McQueen was initially set for trial before Circuit Judge Lex Short in October 2024 and failed to appear.  Short entered an alias warrant for McQueen’s arrest and the State immediately filed to forfeit McQueen’s $1.2 million bond.

The U.S. Marshals’ Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and particularly Troy Police Department Detective Lieutenant Brian McLendon, worked countless hours to locate McQueen.  He was ultimately located in Delaware, Ohio and taken into custody in late January by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities in that area.  He was extradited back to Covington County and booked into the jail on February 12, 2025.

McQueen’s charges stem from the 2020 home invasion and murder of Micah Coon.  The testimony at Head’s trial revealed that McQueen, Head, Tyquise Jenkins, Courtney Porter, and Dontavious Powell followed Coon to his residence after an altercation between Jenkins and Coon at the Thirsty Turtle.  The defendants forcibly entered Coon’s home, where they beat and shot him in retaliation for the fight at the convenience store.  Coon’s fiancé and children hid in a bedroom while Coon was murdered by the five defendants.

McQueen, together with his co-defendants, Tyquise Jenkins and Courtney Porter, is set for trial on March 31, 2025.  Merrell commented, “These defendants are the first case on the docket, and we fully expect to move forward with trial that week.  All three remaining defendants are in the Covington County Jail without bond, so there will be no failure to appear this time around.  Head has been dealt with, and Powell pled guilty, so we very much look forward to wrapping this case up in March.”

Aniah’s Law requires that defendants charged with violent offenses shall be held without bond pending a hearing to determine whether bond should be allowed.  For certain violent offenses, bond is no longer automatic.  “In these cases, we were able to reopen the issue of bond after Head testified at her trial and offered new information.  And with McQueen, he demonstrated in October his refusal to come to court, coupled with him fleeing to Ohio, we felt we had excellent grounds for him to be detained without bond at this point,” concluded Merrell.