Roberts murder leaves York community shocked

By Jonathan Allen - Enquirer Herald

YORK --

Shock, sadness and fear permeated the atmosphere in York after the slaying of former Mayor Melvin Roberts, whose body was discovered outside his home Thursday.

“I was really surprised, well, shocked more than surprised,” Harmon Merritt said Friday. “I don’t know what the motive could be.”

Merritt knew Roberts well. He said many people are speculating whether the slaying was related to Roberts’ law practice or if it was a random robbery because Roberts lived in a large house that the killer thought would be an easy target.

“Melvin Roberts knew a lot of people,” Merritt said. “He touched a lot of lives.

“I think the mayor said it all about how aggressive he was in the courtroom,” Merritt said of Mayor Eddie Lee’s comments in Friday’s Herald. “You got your money’s worth with Melvin.”

“What I’ve sensed so far from people is a sense of remorse, and I think it would be same for anyone that age to be killed like that.”

Daniel D’Agostino, Roberts’ partner until 2004, said: “Everyone is in shock, it’s unbelievable.”

D’Agostino, who began his legal career as a law clerk in Roberts’ office in 1989, said his friend and mentor had helped countless people in York.

“I started my law career with him,” D’Agostino said. “He trained me, he taught me how to practice law. He was a great friend.”

D’Agostino said he thought his friend would be most remembered for his willingness to help people and his tenacity in defending his clients.

“Melvin believed in helping people,” he said. “It didn’t matter who you were. Melvin was a truly great person. He believed in the law, he had a great respect for the judicial system.”

Over the years, Clover attorney Leroy Pendleton became friends with Roberts. He agrees that Roberts’ reputation for tirelessly defending his clients was a hallmark of his practice.

“He was a hard worker,” Pendleton said. “He always believed strongly in his clients.”

At Jasmine Café on Friday morning, owner Linda Ellington said her customers told her about the slaying before she read about it in the paper.

“It’s devastating to think something like that is going on here,” Ellington said. “I’ve always felt safe and secure here, and this challenges some of that.”

“I hope they find who did it.”