Jackson Free Press

Mayor Frank Melton and 20 members of the Jackson Police Department stormed the Upper Level club early Sunday morning and closed it as a potential fire hazard, as first reported online Sunday by the Jackson Free Press.

Attorney Chokwe Lumumba, who is again representing the club, held a Monday press conference in his office denouncing the raid by the mayor, bodyguards Michael Recio and Marcus Wright. Melton and his team arrived with at least 20 police officers between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Lumumba told the media that he and others—including attorney Sharon Gipson, ACLU Director Nsombi Lambright and NAACP President Derrick Johnson—were gathered to "deliver an urgent message of outrage" because the "Jackson Gestapo have hit again."

Melton and his police entourage found no fire code violations and issued no tickets, according to club attorneys, but nevertheless closed the club that night, with Melton himself yelling out, "Shut this motherf*cker down!"

"The mayor is running amok," Lumumba said. "This is not the kind of person we want in a position of leadership. This is not the kind of person we can trust with our community. He's not working in the interest of the community and the law."

Lumumba said the mayor was there with Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Sterling, who told WAPT's Greg Flynn that he had been called to the club, but would not say by whom. Gipson said the fire marshal's presence implies that the mayor planned the closure.

Gipson and Lumumba said the fire marshal never took an official head count of patrons before closing the club. "Witnesses say nobody ever got a head count," Gipson said. "They just closed it down."

Lumumba said that the mayor's behavior would have caused outrage under a white mayor. "We would not have tolerated this kind of behavior in the (Kane) Ditto administration. We would not have tolerated this kind of behavior under the (Dale) Danks administration, and we're not going to tolerate it in a chocolate-coated administration, just to appease everybody. It's time that this type of neo-Nazi behavior is vanquished from the city of Jackson," Lumumba said.

The NAACP, the ACLU and Lumumba are organizing in response to Melton's tactics, according to Lumumba, who founded the Malcolm X Center in Jackson in 1991 as a way to organize and train young activists. Lumumba is often called "the people's lawyer" due to his outspoken, often controversial, lawyering on behalf of African Americans. Lumumba said Melton's behavior would be judged by citizens in the press and at the polls.

Melton has a long history with the Upper Level.

Witnesses say the mayor showed up Aug. 26, 2006, and arrested club manager Tonari Moore, the son of owner Sandra Moore, after he refused to stop videotaping their visit—which was in violation of a July 8, 2005, agreement the club had with the city. In that agreement, the city agreed to take any safety or code concerns to Chancery Court Judge Patricia Wise.

Witnesses say that the bodyguards handcuffed Moore, then took him outside to the Mobile Command Center, where several teenage guests of the mayor stepped off the large police RV and beat and kicked Moore, who was still in handcuffs. As they were hitting Moore, the young men called themselves the "Wood Street Playas," witnesses say.

Lumumba said he hoped this latest incident would encourage Chancery Judge William Singletary to move faster on the Upper Level's seven-month-old motion for a restraining order against Melton and his entourage, filed after numerous visits and harassment by the mayor since he took office.

Gipson said she had not expected a restraining order to take so long to get a judge's decision, especially after alleged reports of the mayor's entourage beating club employees. "Sometimes these decisions are made on the same day they are filed," Gipson said.

Singletary's secretary said it is up to attorneys filing for a restraining order to set a hearing. Attorney Edna Jones Stringer, who was representing the club last July, filed for the restraining order but did not return calls regarding hold-ups.

Melton is under bond and probation terms from three gun convictions he drew late last year, and for a multiple-count indictment for the illegal burglary and demolition of a home on Ridgeway Street, first reported by the JFP last year.

The conditions of Melton's bond put the 57-year-old man under curfew from midnight to 6 a.m., and he must notify his probation officer at least 48 hours before any plans to be out past his curfew. Melton also cannot use law enforcement vehicles or other equipment, leave the country or take drugs or use alcohol.

"The conditions of your bond are also conditions of probation and any violation of either can lead to revocation of your suspended sentence," Dennis M. Grant, offender services coordinator for Probation Services Co., reminded Melton in a Jan. 9 letter. Grant told WAPT that he had not been alerted by the mayor of his plans to raid the Upper Level, but took no action to revoke the mayor's bond on Monday. Grant later told The Clarion-Ledger that he had no comment on whether or not the mayor had permission and that he reported "to the court."

Grant did not return calls to the JFP, and Probation Services Co. Director Robert Johnson would not confirm Grant's earlier claim of Melton's violation for WAPT. Johnson managed Melton's mayoral campaign for a period in 2005.

DA Faye Peterson said she suspected the system was giving the mayor's bond violations a pass, and she was cynical about whether the language of the bond would be enforced. "I can't say I know anything about this. This is not my issue anymore, but I'm afraid if you pester folks about this that might be all that gets done: they get pestered," Peterson said.

Attorney General Jim Hood refused to comment on possible bond violations.

Lumumba said Melton would not likely respond to anything short of incarceration. "Here's a man who doesn't wait on the court. He doesn't respect the court. He doesn't respect the community, the leaders of the community. … He just feels he can do what he wants to do," Lumumba said. "It could be while he's telling folks to close down because they're violating the law, he's probably violating the same law he's accusing others of violating. It just seems like if he feels he's been wrongfully charged, that he would be sympathetic to other folks in the community who are being harassed."

Donna Ladd contributed to this report.

Previous Comments

ID

67442

Comment

Kudos to Lumumba and the other attorneys for speaking out regarding the Mayor's recent antics. When will the Mayor and his team start real problem solving and stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes? He has not arrested anyone that has been prosecuted (more importantly — it is not “his job” to go on these midnight raids — that is the role of the paid police staff), he has not made any announcements regarding major economic development, and several of the City's departments do not have staffed leadership. Is the Mayor at work or not?

Author

joiedevie

Date

2007-02-15T11:51:06-06:00

ID

67443

Comment

while he and his posse were at a nightclub, the minors are having to sleep in their shop.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-02-15T12:00:18-06:00

ID

67444

Comment

Wonder where Melton's minors are sleeping? 8-o Did you know if you try to go to Melton's campaign website it redirects you to the City of Jackson's website? Hello, MS Democratic party? Here's the best... Notice they have added a link to send get well messages to Mayor Melton. But, they still can't update the News page with something more current than 2005. So, if our Mayor had people who have enough time to update the page with email links to the Mayor, why can't they get the new page up and going or at least update the one we have? Hello, this is the Capital City of Mississippi, and we've got a egotistical mayor who feels it is more important to have "get well" emails then a modern, workable website! Our City Council is really letting us down. I'm tired of them acting like they can't fix these problems. I hate the way Councilman Allen says he isn't going to debate certain issues in the press - unless it is an issue he feels need debating in the press.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-02-15T12:15:26-06:00

ID

67445

Comment

hate the way Councilman Allen says he isn't going to debate certain issues in the press - unless it is an issue he feels need debating in the press. Very true. And it's such a hypocritical statement considering the stuff he says on his own radio show.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-02-15T12:21:08-06:00

ID

67446

Comment

To revitalize Jackson, it will take a group of dedicated politicians that will collaborate with citizens and get to the work at hand. We are the capital city of the state — we should be the ‘model city.” Not trying to sound like Ms. Jackson — but we need to ask our elected officials “what have you done for me lately.” We need a major dishevel on the political scene at all levels - state, county, and city.

Author

joiedevie

Date

2007-02-15T12:46:13-06:00

ID

67447

Comment

Fascism is epidemic.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-02-15T13:01:57-06:00

ID

67448

Comment

I must have slept within the last few months, because I was under the assumption that when you are out on bond, and you must follow certain rules/regulations set forth by the probation dept. of the 'once great' city of Jackson, that those terms were to be followed by EVERYONE! Have I slept? How can the judiciary system believe in any manner of realism that we can control the criminal aspect of our community when we clearly cannot control the probation of our Mayor! We have thousands of people on probation and out on bond within this city who are 'caught' violating their bond weekly - THEY are not out in the press making their violations public - However, we have a so-called 'leader' of the community who thinks he is above the law, and apparently members of the judicial system feel the same way since they continually allow the violations and do nothing about it. If I was on probation and my limitations were being unable to be outside my home between 11pm-6am and I went to a club to even just pick up my friend, between those hours and someone saw me, well clearly it is obvious that I would soon be sitting behind bars......that is called enforcing the rules/regulation of probation. Woo-Hoo - I've never been inclined to participate in criminal activity, but if I decide to, I will certainly make sure I do my crimes in Jackson....of course first, I will run for mayor and get elected. Clearly this means that I can do whatever the hell I want, not follow any probationary terms, and make sure that the public knows I am thumbing my nose at the same system that I want utilized for 'thugs' for which I am interferring in their prosecution and providing monetary rewards while they await their trial. Damn, isin't this city great! THIS behavior is the reason that our kids are being held up at gun point in the middle of the afternoon on busy streets, our elderly are being assaulted and violated each and every day, and home owners have taken to sleeping with pistols by their beds -because this city has clearly lost the judicial representation that should be protecting us. Even our police officer's have figured this out........they are leaving in droves.

Author

Katie D

Date

2007-02-19T10:22:55-06:00