LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Police have arrested a suspect they say was responsible for the attempted murder of Louisville Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg.
Quintez Brown, 21, was taken into custody Monday. He has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment. According to USLegal.com, wanton endangerment refers to an act or an instance of putting someone or something in danger of exposure to peril or harm.
His arraignment happened Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. where he pleaded not guilty. Brown's bond was raised to $100,000 and if posted will be released to the Home Incarceration Program (HIP). His lawyer says a mental evaluation will be done.
Quintez Brown has also been issued a no-contact order for Greenberg and his employees or campaign staff. Brown also has a no-firearm order as well.
Brown's attorney said he didn't believe the bond needed to be raised.
"Respectfully judge we would object to the increase, we think it’s being increased because of the status of the victim," he said during Tuesday's court appearance.
"I think that the bond is high, but I don’t think it should be certainly any higher. He shouldn't be made an example of because of who the victim is," he said.
The judge though disagreed, and raised the bond from an initial amount of $75,000.
WHAS11 reached out to local law experts about the amount of the bond.
Karl Price, a former assistant county attorney and candidate for county attorney, said he believed the bond amount was unusually low.
"Why would you only recommend $100,000 full cash bond, god forbid if he makes the bond he's free to go out and do it again if you believe this was a callous act," he said.
Price said the amounts are typically at the judge's discretion. He said judges take things like criminal history, the gravity of the allegations and the defendant's ties to the community into account.
WHAS11 also reached out to a defense attorney, who said he didn't find the bond amount to be unreasonable.
Brown will be back in court on February 23 at 9 a.m.
Brown is a well-known activist and organized youth protests during the social justice movements of the summer of 2020. He often wrote opinion columns about race relations in the Courier-Journal.
He was also the subject of a missing person investigation last June. Brown had gone missing in late June 2021, leading to a citywide search. He was eventually found, and his family had asked for privacy while they focused on his mental, physical and spiritual health.
Brown recently announced that he was planning to run for Metro Council's District 5 seat.
What happened?
Greenberg said he and his staff were at a campaign office for a meeting when he said a man walked into the office. Upon greeting the man, later identified as Brown, that’s when Greenberg said he allegedly pulled out a gun, pointed it at him and fired.
A staff member, he said, was able to close the door on Brown and the team was able to barricade themselves inside until police arrived.
Police said Brown was stopped about a half-mile from the Story Avenue campaign office where they allege he was carrying a drawstring bag, containing a 9mm gun and additional magazines.
Greenberg said the incident left him and his staff “shaken, but safe.”
The shooting has left the community with more questions than answers in this incident.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields didn’t have immediate answers but said the department would investigate any possible motive.
"Mr. Greenberg is Jewish, so there’s that, we don’t know if it’s tied to the candidates or is political or if we are dealing with someone with mental issues or is venomous," she said. "We are looking at this from all angles."
Greenberg said he would not comment any further until the investigation is complete.
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