Father of rapper whose party was shooting target released pending gun charge trial

Chicago Tribune

11-07-2025

Federal prosecutors on Friday told a judge that there was no connection between a Washington Park man's federal gun possession case and a mass shooting that targeted his daughter's album release party days before he was arrested.
Still, in asking that 49-year-old Melvin Doyle be held pending trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Vermylen said it was 'sad and unfortunate' that Doyle allegedly kept selling weapons following the shooting outside his daughter's party, where four people were killed and 14 were wounded.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally ordered Doyle released, however, saying she put 'no weight' on Vermylen's argument that Doyle's actions suggested he did not care for the safety of his family.
Melvin Doyle's daughter Melanie Doyle, a rising drill rapper who performs under the name Mello Buckzz, was hosting a record release party July 2 at a River North restaurant and lounge when still-unidentified shooters fired into the crowd from a moving car.
Authorities have not made any arrests in the shooting. Melanie Doyle claims an affiliation on her social media with NLMB, a gang faction based in South Shore and Grand Crossing, but the hearing Friday made no mention of possible gang-related retaliation.
Indeed, Public Defender Amanda Penabad argued that the attention to Doyle's case would likely deter any further lawbreaking behavior as he awaited his trial.
'Anyone with an illegal firearm to sell would have to be an idiot to get within 100 feet of Mr. Doyle,' she said.
Doyle is charged with selling 13 guns to undercover informants over about two months, including several in the days after the attack.
He entered a 17th floor courtroom at the Everett Dirksen Federal Courthouse for a hearing late Friday morning and greeted a woman in the second row with a slight nod.
Doyle shook his head occasionally as Vermylen alleged that he had arranged a series of illegal gun sales via text and conducted those sales at a residence located on the 6600 block of South Champlain Avenue and in his own building in Washington Park, where he worked as a maintenance man. Altogether, the alleged transactions netted Doyle about $13,800, Vermylen said.
Authorities on Monday found Doyle in his Lincoln SUV in the 6500 block of South Yale Avenue, not long after he'd allegedly sold three pistols for $3,000, according to a criminal complaint brought in U.S. District Court this week. At the time of his arrest, Doyle was carrying a cell phone he'd used to communicate with the gun purchasers and $1,100 cash, as well as a holster that fit one of the Glock pistols he'd just sold, the complaint alleged.
McNally said that while the government's evidence against Doyle was 'troubling' and noted that while Doyle has a serious criminal record that includes an attempted murder conviction, decades had passed since his last conviction and he had a union membership and strong family ties. She ordered him not to travel outside the Northern District of Illinois, not to possess weapons or drugs, and agree to potential drug testing among other conditions of his release.
'We're going to take a leap here together that you will live up to the conditions of this bond,' McNally said.
Later Friday, McNally rejected Vermylen's motion to hold Doyle while they appealed the release order.
Doyle is next set to appear in court for a preliminary examination July 17.