Jackson Free Press

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that Judge Swan Yerger has revoked the bond of Michael Taylor, a mentee and housemate of Mayor Frank Melton, in an armed robbery charge brought in late December 2005 because he is a danger to the community. The case has been on Yerger's docket for about a year and has not yet been brought to trial—and Taylor was allowed to stay free even after reports of his role in helping the Melton and his entourage commit felonies on Aug. 15. The Jackson Free Press broke the story on Dec. 4 that Taylor was arrested for an armed carjacking on Nov. 18 and is in the Hinds County Detention Center.

Melton and his police-bodyguards—who still travel with him—are under indictment in five charges of destroying a Ridgeway Street duplex in August and face up to 50 years in prison. The charge that brings the most jail time is that of causing a minor—Michael Taylor who was 16 at the time—of committing a felony by helping destroy the duplex with a sledgehammer.

Previous Comments

ID

124770

Comment

Well, at least Judge Yerger is doing what Melton couldn't and that is put young criminals in jail. The whole fact that Melton has gotten into the press that Taylor didn't do anything wrong and didn't steal the car, etc. is typical of the hypocrisy of Melton and his supporters.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-12-08T12:54:24-06:00

ID

124771

Comment

Maybe we don't need more space at the Raymond Dentention Center because it seems like every criminal in Jackson, at one time or another, has spent time at Frank's place.

Author

snowjob

Date

2006-12-08T14:09:11-06:00

ID

124772

Comment

Is it strange that numerous child lawbreakers have become seasoned criminals as they pass through the guardian gates of the Melton Mansion? Isn't it even stranger that the great "Crime Fighter" is actually the catalyst from which the current criminal activity is seemingly originating?

Author

justjess

Date

2006-12-08T14:54:58-06:00

ID

124773

Comment

sat on docket for a year? Free on bond all this time? Who's fault is this? Yerger's or Petersons?

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-12-08T17:48:50-06:00

ID

124774

Comment

I've heard that the D.A.'s office tried to get it revoked after Ridgeway. But, so far, no official confirmation from judge or D.A.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-08T17:52:46-06:00

ID

124775

Comment

kingfish, I really don't know the answer but still another angle is: sat in melton's mansion for years? Helped him tear down a home on Ridgeway? So, who's fault is this? The Dept. of Health and Human Services or the Police Department? Just asking?????????

Author

justjess

Date

2006-12-08T17:57:06-06:00

ID

124776

Comment

And I should add that that came from a third party, so take it for what it's worth. We're trying to find out now why there was no revocation after Ridgeway. That part makes no sense, regardless of whose fault it was. It is so bizarre to me that Taylor was allowed to just go free after being accused of armed robbery and then getting in trouble again on Ridgeway Street. I understand why he wasn't charged; the adult who allegedly put him up to it should have been charged in his stead. But what a$$hole let him go back and live in the same situation again?!?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-08T17:58:00-06:00

ID

124777

Comment

I agree with justjess: Where has the Department of Human Services been all these years? Where were they when Michael Taylor was mentored on Ridgeway Street this year? Who is protecting these kids from being turned into roving bands of vigilante "thugs" by their so-called mentors?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-08T18:00:01-06:00

ID

124778

Comment

Also why has it sat on hte docket for over a year? Some will wonder why Melton's case zips through yet this person has a case that sits on the docket so long. Legitimate question.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-12-08T18:42:57-06:00

ID

124779

Comment

Well, the question of Melton's case zipping through is irrelevant. He is/was in a position of power, where he was actually accused or ordering accused criminals to commit more crimes, and had access to guns and police equipment to commit his crimes. And the city is held hostage while folks are figuring out what to do about him. The only responsible thing was to rush his case. No intellectually honest person would argue that. As for the docket, don't many cases sit on Judge Yerger's docket a long time? That's what I consistently hear. It's long been said that he's a major part of the logjam in our "broken justice" system. So I don't think there is a surprise there.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-08T18:46:18-06:00

ID

124780

Comment

Am I the only one who is hearing deafening silence on the defense of Melton since we broke this story last week? You get the feeling that people are just speechless over the reality behind their crime crusader. From today's Clarion-Ledger re: Michael Taylor: Burch identified Taylor as the man who stole her car at gunpoint Nov. 16 and later tried to sell it back to her for $300. Cefalu recalled text messages and conversations she had over her sister's stolen cell phone with a man who identified himself as "Michael." When her sister's cell phone was recovered, the camera phone contained pictures of Taylor and several others, she said. "He said it was what he did for a living - steal cars and deal drugs," Cefalu said. "I said, 'Well your family ought to be proud.' " Cefalu said the caller threatened to rape her and otherwise hurt her and her family if she went to the police. He later offered to sell the car back, she said. Taylor was nabbed when he showed up Nov. 17 to sell the car back at the Conoco convenience store on Lakeland Boulevard in Fondren. The sting was set up by Randy Newell, a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks enforcement officer and a friend of the sisters. Prosecutors indicated Taylor also may be charged with extortion for allegedly attempting to sell the car to Burch. At the time of his arrest, Taylor was on bond for a 2005 armed robbery. Yerger revoked that bond. Taylor hung his head and said nothing during the hearing. His attorney, public defender Ginger Gibson, attempted to cast doubt on whether Taylor was the carjacker by suggesting that a photo lineup was "tainted" because Burch had seen Taylor's face on her camera beforehand. Although Taylor was arrested by Jackson police officers, Cefalu said Newell deserves the credit. Jackson police were hard to work with, she said. "We couldn't get anybody to call us back," she said. Even when Taylor showed up to swap the car for cash, city police dispatchers were reluctant to send a car, she said. Here's a big question: Why wasn't Shirlene Anderson's PD more interested in this case? Allow me to repeat ourselves: Houston, we have a problem.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-09T12:06:08-06:00

ID

124781

Comment

No you are not the only one. Just the only one in the media.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-12-09T12:07:18-06:00

ID

124782

Comment

Under orders from Frank not to interfere with his kids?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-09T12:33:40-06:00

ID

124783

Comment

I'll throw some props to the Ledge for digging a little deeper into this now that the story is out. How can the Meltonites separate Taylor's problems from the mayors? It is time to jump the sinking ship and realize you backed a bad egg. "He said it was what he did for a living - steal cars and deal drugs," Cefalu said. "I said, 'Well your family ought to be proud.' " Cefalu said the caller threatened to rape her and otherwise hurt her and her family if she went to the police. He later offered to sell the car back, she said. So, when is enough, enough? I think this would be a good time to remind the readers of the man who was being kept at the hotel under orders of Melton, who was on the run from Atlanta PD. He then stole a car and "supposedly" disappeared. The leaders of Jackson who so steadfastly support Frank cannot keep pretending that each time a new issue arises with Melton that it is a "first time" occurrence. It time to call Jenga on this administration!

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-12-09T12:47:33-06:00

ID

124784

Comment

Well, Pike, if the "Passport Inn Man" was wanted by the Atlanta PD then it begs the question: Why did Melton pay to house him at the motel and why did Chief Anderson visit him at the motel? Where is he now? Was that stolen/borrowed car found and returned? If this man has been found, what has he said? I really don't expect you to have these answers but surely someone does by now! Would enjoy an update on this story.

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2006-12-09T13:39:41-06:00

ID

124785

Comment

I have 2:1 odds that Danks now calls for Yerger's removal from any and all Melton cases.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-09T16:09:27-06:00

ID

124786

Comment

I believe the real issue that is uncovered here is criminals being turned away from jails to commit more crimes. If we continue to dart away from this particular theme whether or not Melton remains mayor, there is still a festering sore in regards to prosecuting criminals. If these punks were going to be turned loose on the streets again what would have been a better alternative for them? Post up in Jackson with the gangs and drug dealers or live with Melton? Somehow I just can’t believe that Melton hosts some type of criminal education class in the confines of his mansion. Have any of these troubled teens gone on to do something positive? That would add a level of objectivity to the story. Seems like it’s missing that.

Author

Skinnyp

Date

2006-12-10T14:18:44-06:00

ID

124787

Comment

What's remarkable to me if that Frank Melton could potentially care so little about this then-16-year-old that he would actually direct him to commit a felony—while the kid was out on bond for an armed robbery! Clearly, the young man needs some sort of help, and the community needs to feels like Melton isn't picking and choosing the young men he likes and wants to help so they don't go to jail. But how much can he truly care for a young person when he both puts them in harm's way (by riding them around on the Mobile Command Center while searching for dangerous criminals like Vidal Sullivan) or then *directing* them to destroy private property. I rather doubt that Melton holds classes in how to commit crimes in his home, either; however, he seems to be doing that out on the Mobile Command Center. Or, at least that night on Ridgeway and at the Upper Level, if the investigators are correct. He clearly has no business being put in charge of at-risk children. He is actually mentoring them, it seems, in the attitude that being above the law is OK and something that successful black men can get away. One wonders if that's what led to Mr. Taylor's naive arrogance in toying with these young women on their cell phone and then trying to meet and sell the car back. He clearly seemed to think he was untouchable; and it sounds like if it was up to Anderson's JPD, he may well have gotten away with it. As for your question about the teens, we've reported before that some of Mr. Melton's mentees have gone onto college. Many, however, have gotten in serious trouble with the law; a number have been killed; some have gotten into trouble after attending college. And a number of the older ones (in their 30s now) who have gotten in a lot of trouble are now on the city payroll and come and go freely from his home. The track record is not stellar. And there is no argument that any of his successes could anyway negate the seriousness of the situation with Michael Taylor. Mr. Melton can't argue that he didn't know that he was protecting an accused felon. He was the one who tried to keep deputies from arresting him. I understand the argument that these young men need more than just being tossed in prison. But that doesn't mean they should live in a situation with a mentor who shows them that the law doesn't apply to them and, presumably, them. This is going to hurt them much more in the long run. At this point, Mr. Taylor has now allegedly been involved in three felonies in one year, and faces serious prison time for two of them. It's hard to argue that his association with Mr. Melton has helped him one bit. And then how does it help other young people who hear the mayor proclaiming the innocence of Taylor, while either targeting them with sledgehammers or, if they are among the ones that Mr. Melton chooses to bring into his circle, also treating them as if they are above the law. I repeat: Houston, we have a massive problem.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-10T18:09:22-06:00

ID

124788

Comment

Maybe Melton really is teaching theses boys a valuable lesson in the fact that if one has enough money and some good lawyers they are able to work the law to their advantage. Sad, but true, this seems to be the way the American judicial system works.

Author

Skinnyp

Date

2006-12-10T18:22:21-06:00

ID

124789

Comment

Anyone hear the news on TV tonight that another of FM's house guests has been arrested for carrying a gun onto CO-LIN Campus? Seems he was on probation and listed 2 Carter Grove as his address.

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2006-12-11T23:27:15-06:00

ID

124790

Comment

Yes, Chris. I just posted about it; see the top of the site. I met Jeremy Bibb several times in his home. Certainly was a nice guy face to face, but seemed a bit weirded out by Christopher Walker's presence. It's complicated over at the mayor's house.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-11T23:30:16-06:00