Melissa Hayes-Spencer left a jail cell Wednesday night after the District Attorney’s office did not file a murder charge against her in the Saturday shooting of her boyfriend in their Chula Vista apartment.
Hayes-Spencer, 30, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, left the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility in Santee without talking to several television reporters. Someone picked her up and drove away.
Hayes-Spencer called 911 after she allegedly shot Rayshaun Cole, 30, and claimed she did so after he started beating her. She declared it was self-defense, but Chula Vista Police arrested her.
“The case is still under investigation,” said Deputy District Attorney C.J. Mody. “The (criminal) complaint was not filed.”
Because 72 hours had passed since the shooting, Hayes-Spencer had to be charged or released. The DA’s office could still charge her later. She was present at the Chula Vista Superior Courthouse and the scheduled arraignment before a judge was canceled.
On Cole’s Facebook account, his mother announced she was setting up a fund to pay for funeral expenses. Cole was in the Navy for six years and was a former aviation electronics technician, according to his Facebook page.
Hayes-Spencer and Cole worked together as co-owners of Quick Time Property Investors, according to their Facebook pages.
Hayes-Spencer has been placed on administrative leave with the Customs and Border Protection agency, and she won’t be returning to work immediately. The agency declined further comment.
