Man who killed 2 during KY police chase gets life in prison

A suspected gun and drug trafficker who led Cincinnati police on a high-speed chase into Kentucky has been sentenced to life in prison after the pursuit ended with a deadly crash at a Newport restaurant, according to Campbell County officials.

Mason Meyer, 29, was sentenced by a northern Kentucky judge Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to murder in the deaths of Raymond and Gayle Laible, a married Newport couple who were both in their 80s. Meyer also injured two people, Steven and Maribeth Klein, in the Aug. 7, 2020, crash. Meyer pleaded guilty in October.

“Mason Meyer senselessly took the most precious thing we have in this world: life,” prosecutor Michael Zimmerman said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. Zimmerman, the chief assistant to the Cambell County commonwealth’s attorney, was a prosecutor in Meyer’s case. “With all the aggravating circumstances, ‘life’ was the only appropriate sentence for his crimes.

“We cannot undo the irreparable destruction he inflicted upon the Laible and Klein families, but the conclusion of this case will hopefully allow them to take a step forward on their long and uncertain road to healing.”

Although Meyer got life in prison, he’ll be eligible for parole in 20 years. Parole eligibility may be less significant since court records say he has an inoperable brain tumor.

Meyer also was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to wanton endangerment, fleeing police and criminal mischief. That five years of prison time will run concurrent to his murder sentences.

Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Dan Zella told Meyer his conduct was “unconscionable” and “repulsive,” according to FOX19.

”Mason, you are everything I teach my kids not to be,” Steven Klein said in court Tuesday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Meyer, 28, is facing additional federal charges stemming from the day of the fatal crash. He was being investigated by federal agents who suspected he was involved in narcotic and firearm trafficking. The Aug. 7 chase was initiated after federal agents watched him conduct a suspected gun transaction. Meyer refused to stop when Cincinnati police tried to pull him over.

The chase traveled from Cincinnati into Kentucky, with Meyer veering into oncoming traffic to try to avoid arrest, according to court records. Police drove into oncoming traffic, too. The chase ended when Meyer crashed into the outdoor dining area at a Newport restaurant.

Meyer, his girlfriend Kirsten Johnson and another passenger were taken into custody by Cincinnati police and federal agents.

Meyer and Johnson — along with 12 others — were subsequently charged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy, according to federal court records.

After the crash, investigators found two handguns — which were cocked and “ready-to-fire” — in the car Meyer was driving, according to federal court records. They also found 78 grams of suspected crystal meth, according to an affidavit.

Investigators wrote in court records that Meyer “had little concern for life” because he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor.

“Meyer was extremely violent, repeatedly threatened to shoot police and others, and held firearms to the heads of people who owed him money for drugs,” law enforcement wrote in Cincinnati Police Department records, which were filed into federal court.

Meyer allegedly bragged about killing and assaulting people, according to court records.

Meyer is also facing civil litigation. The Laible’s son, who is from Covington, sued Meyer and the city of Cincinnati, along with individual law enforcement officers, over the crash. Steven and Maribeth Klein are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They’ve alleged that Meyer and police were culpable in the crash because police could have stopped the dangerous and deadly pursuit.

This story was originally published November 24, 2021 10:29 AM.

Jeremy Chisenhall covers criminal justice and breaking news for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. He joined the paper in 2020, and is originally from Erlanger, Ky.