'Today' suspect caught on camera before hate crime arrest, rap sheet reveals attempted kidnapping conviction
· Fox News
The man accused of a hate crime when he approached "Today" co-host Craig Melvin at NBC's Manhattan studio has a criminal record spanning at least two decades, with charges including attempted kidnapping and trespassing, according to court records.
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New York City police arrested Andrew Truelove, 41, last week after NBC says he snuck into a vestibule near Studio 1A in Rockefeller Center and approached Melvin.
A review of footage from the show reveals a man resembling Truelove and wearing similar clothing was pictured in the background as early as 8:03 a.m. the day of the incident. At 8:05 a.m., the man in the background took off a backpack and appeared to place it in or behind a bush outside the building. He could be seen multiple times until 8:34 a.m., when actress Anne Hathaway was on set to discuss her role in the latest adaption of "The Odyssey."
'TODAY' SHOW INTRUDER IDENTIFIED AFTER ALLEGEDLY BREACHING SECURITY NEAR CRAIG MELVIN
According to the NYPD, Truelove was arrested at 8:57 a.m. after he allegedly confronted Melvin with a racial slur in a private area of the building not open to the public.
He was allegedly looking for Al Roker when he found Melvin instead.
In October 2007, Truelove was accused of trying to abduct an 8-year-old from a school in Norfolk, Virginia. He was convicted at trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which six were suspended, followed by 10 years on probation, court records show.
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A psychiatrist testified he had symptoms of bipolar disorder and had stopped taking medications after gaining more than 100 pounds prior to the incident, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
Truelove has an extensive rap sheet in the state of Virginia, where court records show he was also accused of trespassing, destruction of property, making bomb threats and multiple probation violations.
In 2023, he served 90 days in jail for the property destruction case. In 2014, he was arrested on charges of stealing signs from memorials dedicated to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
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He faces hate crime charges of burglary, a felony, and menacing, a misdemeanor, in connection with the Melvin incident.
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"An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A," a "Today" spokesperson said in a statement. "The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security. The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured. TODAY is cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the matter. NBC and TODAY take the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously. We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios."
Court records in New York show man with the same name and age as Truelove has additional pending cases in connection with an alleged assault in the NYPD's 5th Precinct in January, trespassing and reckless endangerment charges on the city's transit system from May — and a 12-count criminal mischief indictment from last year.
He's now being held on $10,000 bail in a New York City jail.
Melvin's colleague, Savannah Guthrie, is the daughter of missing Nancy Guthrie, whose Feb. 1 disappearance remains unsolved. She is believed to have been abducted from her home after Nest video shows a masked intruder on her front steps in the Catalina Foothills of northern Tucson, Arizona.
Anyone with information on that case is asked to call 1-800-FBI or 520-88-CRIME.
With no arrests or publicly identified suspects in the Guthrie case, some web sleuths have pondered a potential connection. However, Truelove has not been linked to the abduction by any law enforcement agency, and he does not match the physical description of a masked man seen on Guthrie's front porch around the time she was taken.
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New York jail records list Truelove as about 6 feet tall and 250 pounds. The masked intruder has been described by the FBI as 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall with an average build.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Truelove has reportedly traveled through the Sonoran Desert region, according to a 2023 profile in the Los Angeles Times that focused on his bout with homelessness on the West Coast after getting off of probation in Virginia.
It was not immediately clear when he arrived in New York City.
Truelove is due back in court Wednesday.