Suspect in deadly Madison County break-in now faces charges for a separate crime
Shannon Gilday, the man accused of killing a former Kentucky politician’s 32-year-old daughter during a deadly home invasion in Madison County last month, has been charged with burglary for a separate incident in Kenton County.
After being arrested over the deadly shooting, Gilday allegedly admitted to police that he broke into a Kentucky driver’s licensing office and stole equipment so he could make fake IDs, according to court records. He allegedly told police he planned to use the fake IDs to help him obtain Bitcoin. He was served with a warrant Sunday for charges related to the break-in.
A criminal complaint says on Jan. 26, 2020, the Kenton Circuit Court clerk’s driver’s license office was broken into and several pieces of equipment used to make driver’s licenses were stolen. The suspect was caught on surveillance footage numerous times, but investigators couldn’t identify the person.
The total value of the stolen equipment equaled $13,230.24, according to court documents.
Gilday was named a suspect in the case when his family members told investigators they believed he was responsible. Court records say Gilday later admitted to committing the crime during an interview with Kentucky State Police. Police interviewed him after arresting him on Feb. 28 over the deadly shooting at C. Wesley Morgan’s home.
Most of the stolen equipment was later recovered from a dumpsite after an employee with Norfolk Southern Railroad found it, according to court records. Investigators found military records at the scene belonging to Gilday and other soldiers.
The machines were damaged beyond repair, according to court records. The equipment was sent to the FBI forensic crime lab in Quantico, Va., for DNA testing and results were still pending during Gilday’s interview with state police.
The only piece left missing was a computer tower, according to court documents. During the interview with state police, Gilday told investigators he dumped the computer into the Ohio River and admitted to abandoning the rest of the equipment at a rural location.
“Gilday said he defeated the building’s locking mechanism with the use of a cordless driver,” an investigator wrote in court records.
Gilday has been charged with burglary and theft over the Kenton County incident. He also faces charges of murder, assault, burglary, attempted murder and criminal mischief stemming from the death of Jordan Morgan at her family’s home in Madison County.
After the shooting, Gilday told investigators he was determined to get access to a bunker underneath the Morgans’ home and was willing to kill everyone inside, a Kentucky State Police detective said in court last week. After killing Jordan Morgan, Gilday got into a shootout with C. Wesley Morgan, which left Morgan injured, according to police.
Cameron Allen, the main investigator for the shooting, had an “extensive” three-plus hour interview after Gilday was arrested on Feb. 28. Allen said Gilday “wanted to access this bunker and secure it for himself and his family and friends” because of the “poltical environment” in the United States and internationally.
Gilday was still being held at the Madison County Detention Center without a bond.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 2:57 PM.
