Jackson Free Press

Or whatever his real name is. And why is Frank Melton stashing him in a motel?

Previous Commentsshow

My first concern, besides a 6'3" 300lb harden criminal on the loose, is that Melton has "stashed" more than ONE person in protective custody (wink, wink) at this motel - in NE Jax! Where the infamous Luv Tub Spa is located! Guess the mayor can unwind while visiting his NE Jax "temporary prison."

pikersam

Jul 28 2006

He's not stashed there anymore. Who knows what Melton thinks sometimes...

Ironghost

Jul 28 2006

So, it appears that we have the Tarrymore Hotel of NE Jax with this place. It has always been a bit sketchy, even when it was the Passport Inn. But, now we have a motel, right in the heart of Jackson's commerce district, which allows very questionable behavior on its premises. Also, the owner/manager must be cooperating with the Mayor - which leads back to the Luv Tub Spa. He targets the video shops and the strip clubs; but, lets a "jack shack" exist at a motel where he regularly does business just a mile from his NE Jax home is highly suspicious. Now, Luv Tub may actually be the latest in hydro massage therapy; but, I doubt it. So, I guess our NE Jax elected officials have truly let us down. They are well on their way into making the I-55 corridor into the next Hwy 80. If I were a business located from Highland Village to Deville, I would be up in arms! Of course, statistics show that most of them probably voted for Melton, so you get what you vote for! sigh... I recommend going back and listening to the Charles Evers interview podcast. It actually is more poignant today then it was at the time. Head shaking stuff.

pikersam

Jul 28 2006

How come so many public officals and business leaders let Melton's antics slide? It's like police ushing cars by a bad wreck, "Nothing to see here ma'am - keep on moving..." They all tip-toe around this crap like Melton has naked pictures of all of 'em! Grow some backbones! It's not like most politicians don't think they can govern better then the next person.

pikersam

Jul 28 2006

It's not like all those hourly rate motels around 49N and Northside, anyway...

Ironghost

Jul 28 2006

You know, my legal sources tell me that under Mississippi Code there is no such designation as 'protective custody'. Can any of the legal type bloggers verify this? Straight off TV and sounds good, I guess. The relationship to the Mayor of all these young men, down on their luck, or otherwise unable to hold jobs, bothers me. Just isn't passing the believe-ability test. Would appreciate thoughtful comments from others.

ChrisCavanaugh

Jul 28 2006

Ironghost, are we sure this hotel isn't like those? I'm not going to find out. Those hotels are a diservice to the areas they are located and should be heavily regulated.

pikersam

Jul 28 2006

BTW: Read the Pdf. of the hotel receipt. Did you know you could call 960-1234 and ask for The Mayor?!? Sure is a lot of mixed information there.

pikersam

Jul 28 2006

"How come so many public officals and business leaders let Melton's antics slide? It's like police ushing cars by a bad wreck, "Nothing to see here ma'am - keep on moving..." They all tip-toe around this crap like Melton has naked pictures of all of 'em! Grow some backbones! It's not like most politicians don't think they can govern better then the next person. Posted by: pikersam on Jul 28, 06 | 9:44 am" Simple Pikersam. None of them want to admit they were wrong. It's really that simple. They have too much emotion invested in this one person. They backed him and now he's screwing the pooch and they just turn a blind eye. That is... until it affects them.

Cliff Cargill

Jul 28 2006

Michael (Larry) Chapman, B/M; DOB 1968 or 1974, possibly Newton County, MS; H 6'3" W 300 lbs.; Needs protection. If the motel registration is any indication, he was born in 1968, obviously can't subtract as age is listed at 32. He has livedin a city with a high number of blocks as in Chicago because he used a five digit street number. His height and weight are great identifying factors and I would think he could be found (by those who specialize in finding) with what is currently known. My question is, is he still alive? Cliff, in my humble opinion, this behavior already IS affecting ALL of us. The assaults on the elderly are not going to fade in anyone's memory in the near future. The news has gone nationwide via e-mail regarding Miss Breeland. She, at a very concervative estimate, taught over 2,000 Jacksonians who have succeeded well and remember her with fondness and gratitude. It is absolutely imperative that our elected officials get to the bottom of all this secret behavior and lack of conveyance of public documentation. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance and we MUST demand vigilance and accountability.

ChrisCavanaugh

Jul 28 2006

Definetly not born in 68 if his age is 32. :D Unless he's celebrating the 6th anniversary of his 32nd birthday.

Ironghost

Jul 28 2006

"Would appreciate thoughtful comments from others". I rarely comment on the political goings on in Jackson as I am more or less extended family to this blog (more at home when you guys talk about development and design).......you guys being in and around Jackson are family to the place. But this is absolutely unbelievable to me......there is something really wrong with Meltons actions......this can't be legal. If the mayor of Atlant were caught doing this the Feds would be in here like Ducks on Junes......

ATLExile

Jul 28 2006

Yes yes you all are right. This man is unorthodox to say the least. I wonder why Frank doesn't go through these extremes with females. You never hear of some 28 -32 year old woman who he's trying to "save". It's always a male. AND, to top that off, how are you protecting this man, Chapman, from whatever you are protecting him from and he has stolen a man's car and just dipped off into the sunset. Now all we get from him is, "he's on his own now" OR "the story is not true". Well Frank if the story is untrue, then why not offer us the truth. There are still some of us who want to believe in you, but when you do things like this it makes, as one blogger mentioned, it's believe-ability level steadily decline. It's just ridiculous that this man is on the front page of the newspaper every day in some form of chaotic situation. He's in the news more than the criminals. And if criminals are covered in the news, better believe Frank is in the story somewhere. I don't understand. And it's not like he's in the story as the Great Jackson Hope who comes in and rectifies the situation, he's there stirring up the pot, contributing to their diliquency. But, he's suppose to be doing all of this for the betterment of Jackson. Leaves me to wonder about his judgment and his motives. Things I don't want to have to constantly associate with the Mayor of my home city.

Queen601

Jul 28 2006

I also don't believe that the zip code 39206 is in Newton. It's clear the information is fake. Why do I doubt that his man if Michael Chapman? I tell you: Everytime I leave town, something *really* mind-boggling happens on the Melton front. Last time it was the state of emergency. This time it's this bizarr-o hotel stash and Melton's impersonating a Capitol police officer. Amazing that he thinks he can do in Washington what he can get away with in Jackson. And how 'bout his blaming the media again over in the Ledge: n a City Hall news conference, Jackson Mayor Frank Melton declared that stories published about him in today’s Clarion-Ledger were inaccurate, but under questioning confirmed many of the details of those stories. The mayor then had a separate news conference for two television reporters, but barred a Clarion-Ledger reporter and two television camera operators. When asked by the Clarion-Ledger reporter why he was being excluded, Detective Michael Recio, one of Melton’s two bodyguards, said, “In life, we learn from experiences.” He did not elaborate. I bet.

DonnaLadd

Jul 28 2006

I'm gonna tell ya...there is never a dull monent on this blog........never.... I wish this were funny but it ain't...........................

ATLExile

Jul 28 2006

“In life, we learn from experiences.” Somehow, I am not sure this truism actually applies to Melton . . .

Newt

Jul 28 2006

Queen, why did you make the point that Melton always helps men? I don't see what the problem is if he likes men. One of the nice things about this website has been its fight against homophobia and giving a proper forum for people who have suffered from it and seek to better educate society and fight for their rights. By making such a point about Melton and I am sure you did not mean to do so, bringing the prejudice of our society to this website. If Mr. Melton likes men, that is clearly his right to do so and not our place to criticize him for it. Homosexuals have fought hard for recognition and acceptance and do not deserve to see the old prejudices rear their ugly intolerant heads on this website.

Kingfish

Jul 28 2006

I also have noticed to see somewhat of a trend about Melton whenever something like this hits the media, he is almost always out of town. His latest antic in Washington was embarassing enough to last a lifetime, but King Melton dosen't do things the traditional way. Queen601 stated that he never mentions helping females. I whole heartedly agree. On the special last week by Tom Brokaw (forgive me spelling) there was a young lady that desperately needed help. Melton never mentioned helping her, he only said that he was going to try and find the young man to "help" him. This young lady had a newborn son. Is Melton waiting until her son get a little bigger so that he can help him too? Another thought is that I wonder if Melton is just relocating the people from the west Jackson establishments to have his "friend" closer to him?

lance

Jul 29 2006

Kingfish, I personally did not take from Queen the implication of homosexual behavior on the part of Meton - I DID, however, have my eyes open regarding the obviouse lack of 'help' that is being offered for females within this community by someone who reportedly has 'millions' to spend to help the needy. I personally could not care less whether his 'interest' lies in men or women sexually - I feel that is a person's own decision, however, it is extremely upsetting to me after seeing the national presentation of Mississippi today which show cased 2 'at need risk' teen's (one female / one male) and Melton's only public statement was regarding the young male! Did he not also see this troubled teen with a child who ultimately has withdrawn from school during the program? I whole-heartedly support his desire to assist this young man, yeah - I approve of something he said! Woo-hoo, but the reality is......that young teen mother has an infant SON who without guidance, and training will in a few short years, take the place of the other male teen! Wouldn't it be indicative of a need for assistance when a young mother, without completing high school to care for her young son is continuing the cycle which is destroying the African American communities through-out our city, be one of the MAIN ones that Melton would be willing to assist? I would think when you wish to stop a cycle of destruction you might want to begin at the beginning....like with a newborn life!

Katie D

Jul 29 2006

Good point Katie D. Interesting comments by Kingfish. IMO the issue is not whether Melton is homosexual or not. I believe that it is very notable that he always focuses around "young" men. It could very well be that he hates to see boys that are on their way to manhood fail. It could be something that we have no answer. The only people suffering though are not just boys trying to become men, but also young girls that trying to become women. One cannot survive without the other. It bothers me also that Melton has almost never given attention to young females that need help. If these young women fail then what have we accomplished?

rufus

Jul 29 2006

Maybe he's thinking if he helps one half, the other half won't have anything to complain about. If Frankie Boy thinks, that is.

Ironghost

Jul 29 2006

Yeah, as my son would say..............True Dat!

rufus

Jul 29 2006

Well, this might be who he is: Michael T. Chapman, B/M, DOB June 12, 1969. Residence from 1994 to October, 2002: 104 Fourth Ave, Newton MS 39345 SSN: 425-31-xxxx. Phone Listed to: Lamar Chapman. Someone should be able to pull up the drivers license and give us a picture with the above information.

ChrisCavanaugh

Jul 29 2006

Doesn't his "wife" live in Texas? Always helping "young men" and putting them in hotels? Indeed, if he's homosexual, good for him. If he isn't, good for him. If he is, he should take a que from Lance Bass and call [code]People Magazine[/code]. He gets more bizarre everyday. Over-ruling the police chief's decision to fire crooked cops, placing criminals (or tricks, depending on how you look at it) in hotels, proclaiming to be leader of Team America in Benny Thompson's D.C. office... it's our very own Doonsbury LIVE!

Jo-D

Jul 30 2006