Covington Teen Convicted of Hate Crime Murder Denied Probation Following Transfer to Adult Prison

Joseph McMeans, convicted of a 2023 racially motivated murder in Covington, has been denied probation and transferred to adult prison to serve 25 years.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 11, 2026, 6:50 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from WKYT

Judicial Refusal of Leniency in Targeted Killing

A Kenton County judge has formally rejected a motion for probation filed by Joseph McMeans, the teenager responsible for a fatal 2023 shooting described by officials as a hate crime. During a court appearance on Tuesday, Judge Patricia Summe ordered McMeans to begin his transition into the adult prison system following his 18th birthday. The defense had filed a request on March 6 seeking to avoid the transfer to adult prison in favor of probation, a plea that was met with a stern refusal from the bench. Judge Summe emphasized the severity of the act, noting that McMeans was the individual who pulled the trigger during the violent encounter.

Origins of the 2023 Racially Motivated Attack

The conviction stems from an incident in which McMeans, then 15, and a younger accomplice targeted two Hispanic men for a robbery. According to prosecutors, the defendants specifically sought out these victims under the belief that they would be carrying significant amounts of cash because they likely lacked access to traditional bank accounts. This premeditated targeting led Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders to label the case as the truest hate crime he had witnessed in two decades of legal service. Surveillance footage from the scene captured the robbery as it escalated from a physical altercation into a shooting, during which McMeans fired two rounds at the fleeing men.

Administrative Transfer to Adult Corrections

McMeans was originally sentenced as an adult in December 2023 after pleading guilty to charges of facilitation of murder and robbery. Under Kentucky law, his 18th birthday served as the mandatory trigger for his relocation from a juvenile setting to a state prison. Having already served two years of his 25 year sentence, the court had to determine if his conduct or circumstances warranted a shift to probation instead of continued incarceration. The Tuesday ruling confirms that the court views the original sentence as the appropriate response to the gravity of the homicide, ensuring that McMeans remains in custody for the foreseeable future.