Many PDFs of original documents are linked in the story below.
See JFP Melton Blog/Archive here.
It began with an interview. Last Thursday, Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin had more on his mind than re-election when he officially announced he would run for sheriff again. Following a barrage of political questions from the Jackson Free Press—the only media outlet that showed up for his announcement—the reporter asked if there was anything important he had neglected to ask.
"Yeah," McMillin replied. "You didn't ask if Frank Melton is being arrested this afternoon for violation of probation, and the answer is: he is," McMillin said.
The JFP broke the news of Mayor Frank Melton's impending arrest on jacksonfreepress.com, and within minutes, telephoto lenses of local news organizations were gazing through the bars of a heavy iron gate at Melton's 2 Carter's Grove home. He had originally planned to leave town the next day on American Airlines Flight 3750 (PDF, 216 KB) for a trip to Meadowood Resort, in Napa, Calif., for a BMI board meeting. Bodyguards Michael Recio and Marcus Wright had tickets for the same flight, though they are no longer allowed to carry firearms and have been assigned to clerical work for the police department.
On March 1, Police Chief Shirlene Anderson went into the house and Melton's bodyguards drove his city car right up to the garage. A moment later, that same car raced out from behind the gate, causing several reporters to leap back in alarm. There were already satellite trucks and reporters at the Hinds County Courthouse, waiting for Melton to turn himself in to McMillin. Instead, Melton went to St. Dominic's hospital, complaining of chest pains, where he remains as the JFP goes to press.
The Letter of the Law, Privatized
Judge Tomie Green, who presided over Melton's November trial for weapons violations, issued the arrest warrant (PDF, 100 KB) for numerous probation violations, including staying out past his midnight curfew, participating in police raids, spending the night with minors and failing to notify his probation officer that he was extending his stay in Texas for heart surgery. Just before that November trial began, Melton pled guilty to two misdemeanor weapons violations and no contest to a felony weapons violation reduced to a misdemeanor. As part of his plea agreement, Melton agreed to a six-month suspended jail sentence, one year of supervised probation and a $1,500 fine.
Through the plea deal, Melton avoided jail and a possible felony conviction, which would have removed him from office. But Melton had to abide by his probation or risk serving out his six-month sentence.
Green did not assign Melton's probation to the Mississippi Department of Corrections but to Probation Services Company of Jackson, a private company that monitors people on probation or bond.
Contractors get the misdemeanor cases involving minor offenses, Probations Services Company CEO Robert Johnson told the JFP. Unlike MDOC probation officers, however, probation officers with PSC have no authority to make arrests for probation violations or any other offense.
"We could have one of our offenders commit a crime right in front of one of our officers, but the only thing he could do was call the police and report it," Johnson said.
There was a wrinkle in monitoring Melton, however, because Johnson, a former Jackson police chief, was also Melton's campaign manager during part of his 2005 mayoral campaign. Friends of both Melton and Johnson say the two had a falling-out during Melton's campaign, but some wondered if Johnson's relationship with Melton could influence the company's recommendations to Green, one way or the other.
Johnson denies that there was a conflict of interest. "I took the case not because of any name associated with it, but because the judge gave it to me," Johnson said, adding that Green could have used another company.
Johnson refused to talk about his relationship with the mayor, but he said that concerns about conflicts of interest were overblown. "I don't supervise any of our clients," Johnson said. "I'm not involved in supervising or monitoring any of them. I'm CEO of the company, and the methods for supervision are spelled out in company policy," he said.
The former chief seems to have made good on that promise when Melton's probation officer, Dennis Grant, issued a report on Melton's numerous probation violations.
Hell Bent for Leather
McMillin says honoring his probation should have been simple for the mayor. "It's not too hard to follow these probation orders. If you need to adjust to schedule conflicts in your order, then you just talk to your probation officer and make whatever changes you need to. It's a matter of the kind of personality you're working with," McMillin said.
However, Melton refused to honor the terms of his probation despite warnings that he was risking jail time. On Jan. 9, after Melton spent the night with the family of Valerie Austin at the Christian Brotherhood Apartments, Grant wrote Melton (PDF, 284 KB) warning him to take his probation seriously. Grant listed a number of Melton's probation conditions, including a midnight curfew, a ban on him using police equipment and a prohibition on him spending time with minors under 17. Grant also reminded Melton that he had to ask permission for exceptions to these conditions at least 48 hours in advance, possibly in response to the fact that Melton informed Grant of his plan to stay with Austin (PDF, 70 KB) on Jan. 3, just hours before his visit. "Remember, ANY AND ALL violations of conditions of probation will result in revocation of suspended time and immediate arrest," Grant wrote.
Nevertheless, Melton continued to violate his probation, most notably with a Feb. 11 raid on the Upper Level nightclub, which the fire marshal closed temporarily for being over its legal capacity. Despite the warnings, Melton informed Grant of his plans to conduct police raids at 3 p.m. on Feb. 10, only hours before the operation began. The next day, Melton sent Grant a letter postdated Feb. 10 (PDF, 376 KB) that described in detail plans for further raids. Melton wrote that "target areas" would include Pops Around the Corner, Freelons, Birdland, Williams Lounge and the Upper Level, among others. The police team would include the Parks Unit, Narcotics, K-9, the Gun Interdiction Unit, the Protective Unit and the Jackson Fire Department.
McMillin said that Melton has contempt for authority, and he seeks to replace office holders who are beyond his control. "The mayor doesn't like the idea of being investigated by other agencies like the (district attorney's) office or the sheriff's office," McMillin said. "That's one of the reasons the mayor's got people running to replace the DA in the upcoming election. It's one of the reasons he's got two Democrats running for my position (in the primaries), and he tried to convince one of my employees to run against me as an independent in the general election."
This Tuesday, Deputy City Attorney Michele Purvis announced her plans to run against DA Faye Peterson, who brought the felony charges against the mayor. Stephanie Parker-Weaver, who works for the city but is also a vocal political supporter of the mayor, was present for the announcement, as was Melton's sister-in-law Carolyn Redd. Robert Smith, who represents Wright and Recio in the Ridgeway trial, has also announced his candidacy for the DA's office.
The two Democratic candidates running for Hinds County sheriff are Tyrone Lewis and Jackson code enforcement officer Lester Williams, who served with Melton in the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Hinds County Sheriff investigator Victor Mason, who McMillin said Melton encouraged to run, did not qualify to run for the sheriff's office by the March 1 deadline.
Mason confirmed that Melton had approached him "a couple times" about running against McMillin. "I just told him it wasn't time, yet," he told the JFP.
Melton did not return calls.
Under the Knife
Melton's Feb. 11 raid on the Upper Level came just over two weeks after Melton had double-bypass surgery in Tyler, Texas, where his wife lives. Melton originally went to Texas to have a pacemaker/defibrillator installed to treat congestive heart failure, but when doctors catheterized Melton in preparation for the surgery, they discovered that two of the arteries in his heart were badly occluded.
Melton planned to return (PDF, 128 KB) Jan. 28 but was not discharged from Mother Frances Hospital until Jan. 30, when he was released to the care of his wife Ellen Melton, who is a board-certified physician. On Jan. 29, Grant wrote Judge Green (PDF, 108 KB) that Melton had extended his stay in Texas as a consequence of the more invasive surgery, but he had not yet received from Melton documentation verifying the procedure. "I will be making out a violation report if I have not received this information by the end of the week," Grant wrote.
On Feb. 2, Danks wrote Green (PDF, 204 KB) asking for more time to provide that documentation. On Feb. 6, Danks provided the documentation and said that Green had extended the deadline. Nevertheless, Melton's extended stay in Texas is among probation violations listed in Green's arrest warrant.
Melton's medical records (PDF, 650 KB), which were attached to legal filings, describe a man in poor health. According to a diagnosis provided by Dr. William Turner, Melton suffers the effects of ongoing tobacco abuse and a history of alcohol abuse. He also suffers from congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Doctors have prescribed Melton Plavix, Vicodin, Restoril, Aspirin, Coreg, Altace and Zocor. Those same records put to rest persistent rumors that Melton did not have bypass surgery in Texas, but they also raise questions about how quickly Melton returned to work. Turner's diagnosis says that Melton suffers from angina, or chest pains. That is the same complaint Melton made when he went to St. Dominic's last Thursday.
Last Chance?
Melton remained in the hospital over the weekend, and McMillin said he would not arrest Melton in the hospital. "We don't want to arrest him and have to pay for his medical bills," McMillin told The Clarion-Ledger.
Then, last Monday, Danks filed motions with the Hinds County Circuit Court (PDF, 484 KB) and the Mississippi Supreme Court (PDF, 3.56 MB) requesting that Melton's arrest warrant be vacated or stayed. In a March 5 motion, Danks sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, requesting that Judge Green be recused from any further matters involving Melton. Danks' argues that Green should "immediately" be recused based on her earlier decision to recuse herself from Melton's approaching felony trial.
"Previous actions of the trial judge would cause a reasonable person knowing all the circumstances to harbor doubts about (Green's) impartiality to preside over any probation revocation hearing," Danks wrote, referring to Green's Dec. 4 decision (PDF, 128 KB) to recuse herself from all cases involving the city of Jackson except those involving the police department.
Danks also accused Green of violating Rule 8.04 B.4 of the Uniform Circuit and County Court Rules, which "expressly states that '[t]he trial judge shall not participate in any plea discussion.'" He asserts that Green rejected an earlier plea bargain between Melton's attorneys and prosecutors during his November trial, insisting on stricter conditions.
The motion states that it was Green who insisted that Melton wear an ankle bracelet, a condition that clearly bothered the mayor. "I would like to respectfully request that the monitor be removed to avoid any embarrassment while in the hospital," Melton wrote Grant Jan. 19. In a previously sealed conversation during plea bargain talks, Melton said he objected to wearing an ankle bracelet not because of his ego, as Green had suggested, but rather his concern than an ankle bracelet would alarm potential investors.
As part of the plea agreement, Green agreed to keep certain conditions of Melton's plea under seal. On March 1, Danks wrote Green requesting "an expedited copy of the sealed portion of the plea negotiations," and he complains in his motion that he has not yet received that document. Green released those plea bargain negotiations (PDF, 1.3 MB) on March 6.
Jackson Attorney Joe Hollomon said that judges should stay out of the plea bargaining process. "The trial judge shall not participate in any plea discussion, according to state law," Holloman said. "The Supreme Court more than frowns upon it. There's no leeway. The rules themselves encourage plea-bargaining, but that's the duty of the executive, the district attorney or the prosecutor. It's not the role of the court to haggle over what should be the recommendation of a particular sentence."
The crux of Danks' argument is that Melton's probation violations were not violations at all because the terms of his probation were never formally established. For instance, Danks claims that Melton's curfew was set by his probation officer rather than Judge Green. "Mr. Melton's counsel was advised by the probation officer that he had nothing in writing from the Court establishing a curfew, but that it was 'an unwritten policy.'" Danks acknowledges that Melton was "present" during the Upper Level raid. "However, the presence of Mr. Melton as Mayor during activities of the Jackson Police Department is not a violation of any condition of his probation," Danks writes. He also argues that Melton did not violate his probation when he spent the night in the presence of minors Jan. 3 because this was not a term of his probation, either.
"I asked Mr. Grant whether or not there was any written documents requiring Mr. Melton to comply with a curfew. Mr. Grant indicated that such curfew was just the police of Probation Services of Mississippi, LLC, a private coporations (sic), and that the requirement was not in writing," Danks wrote.
The JFP has made repeated requests, including a formal public records request, for the terms of Melton's probation, to no avail. Green did not return calls for comment.
However, probation parameters described in Mississippi Code 47-7-33 and 47-7-34 specifically forbid those on probation from entering "places of disreputable or harmful character." This puts Melton in a catch 22, because by his own admission, the Upper Level reeked of marijuana when the fire marshal shut it down Feb. 11. That and the fact that the Upper Level serves alcohol makes it a "place of nuisance," which means Melton should never have entered the club.
In his affidavit (PDF, 356 KB), Melton wrote that he had never even been told about his curfew until he received Grant's Jan. 9 letter. However, all but one of Melton's probation violations occurred after Jan. 9, when Grant explicitly set out the terms of Melton's probation, including his curfew. Despite Grant's letter, Melton professes ignorance of how he had violated his probation, writing that he had called Grant with schedule changes.
"Mr. Grant had promptly returned my previous telephone calls," Melton wrote. "Mr. Grant had promptly returned my previous telephone calls until the last two or three weeks at which time he ceased returning any of my telephone calls. The only time I have talked to him the last two or three weeks that I can recall is when I finally was able to speak to him on March 1, 2007, concerning his approval for my going on a business trip that day out of state for a BMI board meeting. I previously sent over all the information and the itinerary days before. He told me that my attorney would have to talk to Judge Green about whether or not I could do. This is the first time I was ever was (sic) required to seek the direct approval of the Judge prior to making a trip."
March 1 was the day before Green issued Melton's arrest warrant, and Grant had presumably already made his report to her.
Late Monday, the Mississippi Supreme Court denied Danks' motion (PDF, 276 KB). In a decision written by Justice William L. Waller Jr., the court determined that it did not yet have jurisdiction. "This Court is without jurisdiction to act while the questions of recusal and stay of the arrest warrant are pending before the circuit court," Waller wrote.
Without further action from the Supreme Court, Melton will be arrested when he is discharged from St. Dominic's.
End Game
This Tuesday, Melton was still at St. Dominic's, where has now spent more days under observation than he did at Mother Frances for his heart surgery.
Danks was still not finished with the Mississippi Supreme Court, however. Tuesday morning, he filed another motion for emergency relief (PDF, 256 KB), arguing that the court now had jurisdiction because Green had dismissed his motion with the circuit court. Danks wrote that late in the afternoon Monday, Green filed a decision with County Clerk Barbara Dunn. Shortly after 5 p.m., according to Danks, Green's law clerk told Dunn she needed the order back, and in a subsequent telephone conversation, Green told Dunn that she needed to withdraw her decision because of a "major error." Dunn noted the withdrawal on her docket/minute entry.
Danks contends that Green's withdrawal is more evidence of bias, and he accuses Green of violating 97-9-3, which states that "tampering" with court records is punishable by five years in prison. He argues that Green withdrew her decision only when she "learned of (the Supreme Court's) opinion of March 5, 2007, in an attempt to deprive (the Court) of jurisdiction."
Danks' argument may suffer from the fact that the new motion Green filed is virtually identical to the one she withdrew except that it has attached exhibits, including the sealed plea bargain negotiations and a preliminary report on the Upper Level raid from Grant.
In her response, Green contends (PDF, 288 KB) that Danks' motion is "frivolous and is filed merely to delay the judicial process required by law." (Ed. Note: See the attached exhibits (PDF, 1.3 MB).) She answers the complaints Danks made Monday point-for-point. She denies that she meddled in the plea bargaining process, writing that she only clarified plea terms and explained that the court would not be bound by certain terms. "This is irrelevant and has been waived by Defendant's plea and signature on probation documents," Green wrote.
Green denies that she would be a material witness in a probation revocation hearing because it is the probation officer who would testify about Melton's violations. She denies that her recusal from Melton's felony case has any bearing on her authority over Melton's probation. "The terms of probation were described in open court," Green wrote, "televised, and are in Defendant Melton's probation order. Defendant Melton made no objections … to conditions of probation until the warrant for arrest was issued March 1, 2007." As a consequence, Green argues, Melton waived his right to object on that basis, and Danks' motion for her recusal is left with "no factual or legal basis."
Late Tuesday, the Mississippi Supreme Court ordered Green (PDF, 32 KB) to respond to Danks' new motion by noon, Wednesday. If the Supreme Court declines to intervene, Melton will be arrested whenever he checks out of St. Dominic's.
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