MITCHELL – A Michigan man who is facing second-degree murder for allegedly running over a woman multiple times and disposing of her body at a Mitchell gas station made his first court appearance on Tuesday since being arrested for the charges.
Anthony Melvin Harris, Sr., 60, of Detroit, was formally read the charges he’s facing during Tuesday’s court hearing. Judge Donna Bucher set Harris, Sr.’s bond at $250,000. He’s being held in custody at the Davison County jail while the case proceeds.
An arrest affidavit says Harris, Sr., who is a truck driver, allegedly ran the woman over multiple times and dismembered her body. Another truck driver found the victim’s body on March 11 under pallets at the I-90 Travel Center, near a city water tower.
The victim was identified as Melody Faye Gooch, 57, of Detroit. Authorities managed to identify the victim by running her fingerprints through an automated fingerprint identification system.
As officers investigated the crime scene, they found the victim’s head placed inside a garbage sack.
The investigation resulted in the arrest of Harris, Sr., who was charged in Davison County with second-degree murder and improper disposal. Second-degree murder is a Class B felony, which, if convicted, is punishable by mandatory life in prison.
According to the affidavit, local police were called to the scene and noted “it appeared the deceased person was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot where the human entrails were located. Around the human entrails was blood spatter consistent with a person being struck by a vehicle and then dragged away from the initial impact point.”
Officers watched surveillance video and noticed a truck making suspicious movements in the lot for about 30 to 35 minutes. The truck was seen leaving the area at about 6:06 p.m. and heading westbound on Interstate 90.
When Gooch’s family members were contacted, they identified Harris, Sr., as the person she was last known to be with, according to the affidavit. Harris, Sr., reportedly told her family members that she went into a store for food and never came back out. He also told family that he found her cell phone in the door pocket of his cab and the phone was broken, and that he did not know where she was located.
DCI agents contacted Harris, Sr.’s trucking company, Transfinity Logistics, Inc., and provided his daily logbook records, which showed he traveled 22 miles east/northeast of Mitchell at approximately 6:50 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, and “shut down” at 7:05 p.m., court documents say. The logbook showed he was at the same location of the Travel Center parking lot at the time of the alleged crimes.
The investigation into the alleged murder involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the DCI and Mitchell Police Department. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley made a trip to Mitchell on March 14 after Harris, Sr., was brought into custody earlier that day in Washington State.
Harris, Sr., is scheduled to appear in court on April 15. While he’s been charged with second-degree murder and improper disposal, he has yet to be indicted by a grand jury.
Mitchell attorney Chris Nipe was representing Harris, Sr., during Tuesday’s court hearing.
Sam Fosness joined the Mitchell Republic in May 2018. He was raised in Mitchell, S.D., and graduated from Mitchell High School. He continued his education at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in English. During his time in college, Fosness worked as a news and sports reporter for The Volante newspaper.
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