Jackson Free Press

Sign Up for Melton-Recio Verdict on JFP Twitter Feed
See JFP Melton Blog/Archive/Tweets Here

U.S. Marshals escorted defense witness Christoper Walker, Frank Melton's former mentee, into the courtroom this morning before jurors arrived.

Melton's defense attorney John Reeves questioned Walker's personal knowledge of drug activity at the duplex, Walker testified that he informed Melton of the drug activity before the raid. On cross examination from federal prosecutor Mark Blumberg, Walker said that he was Melton's longtime friend, and told jurors that he lived with Melton for a period of time. Blumberg asked Walker if Melton had ever protected him--specifically from any charges--to which Walker responded: "Everything I've been arrested for I've served time for."

Blumberg also introduced a videotaped interview Walker had with an MBN agent at which Melton was present. Blumberg cited that Walker had admitted in the interview to participating in robberies and witnessing murders. Walker revealed that Melton had not arranged for Walker to be arrested for any of the things that he admitted during this interview. Reeves said later that Walker was a confidential informant for MBN.

During his examination, Blumberg also asked Walker about an exchange that occurred last night and this morning. Around 5:15 p.m. last night, Walker requested to speak with government attorneys. Blumberg was unable to meet with Walker until later this morning, but it was after he had already met with Reeves. Jordan told jurors that there was nothing improper about the meeting between the two.

But Blumberg suggested that during Reeves and Walker's meeting, something happened that convinced Walker not to meet with Blumberg.

"Didn't you tell me 'because I feel friendly with Frank Melton, I'll just stick with the story I promised to give'?" Blumberg asked Walker during questioning this morning.

Walker denied saying this, but when pressed agreed that he did feel friendly with Melton. "Me talking to John (Reeves) isn't the reason I'm on the stand today," Walker said.

Stokes took the stand after Walker, but only after Reeves succeeded in convincing Judge Dan Jordan to permit Stokes' testimony. Stokes' name did not appear on the original defense witness list.

"Mr. Stokes is the only witness we've offered that doesn't have conviction," Reeves pleaded.

Stokes testified about an alleged conversation he had with Melton about his concerns about the duplex. Jordan limited Stokes' testimony to only include Stokes voicing concern, without the mention of drug activity, because Stokes himself had no first-hand knowledge of drug activity at the duplex and could have only offered hearsay.

Reeves and defense attorney Cynthia Stewart, representing former mayoral bodyguard Michael Recio, reiterated their motions to dismiss all charges, again arguing that there wasn't enough evidence that either Melton or Recio had anything to do with Marcus Wright carrying a weapon into the home for the gun charge to stick.

Closing arguments began around 1 p.m. with Blumberg delivering his arguments first. With the courtroom packed full (to name a few people in attendance: WLBT Howard Ballou, former JPD Chief Bracey Coleman, Sheriff-Chief Malcolm McMillin), Blumberg began saying,"Today in this place, the law is the only thing that matters."

He proceeded to read to jurors the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and then laid out his case. Blumberg characterized Melton as being "drunk with power" on Aug. 26, 2006, citing his ego as the reason he went to 1305 Ridgeway St. Despite the defense's argument that Melton's motivation was a valiant attempt to investigate drug activity at the duplex, Blumberg cited the fact there was no drug investigation of the duplex and no one was arrested for selling drugs.

"He took advantage of those young men," he said. "He didn't care. .. The law says you have to care."

Blumberg continued his arguments, reminding jurors of Melton's alleged comment to former WLBT reporter Andrew Hasbun--"We tore that sh*t up"--and testimony from Marcus Wright alleging that Melton had knowingly committed illegal acts in burning down houses on Congo Street and having Wright and Recio falsify documents.

"He was so fixated on his ego," he said.

Reeves focused on the idea of "bad purpose" in his closing arguments. "Sometimes things aren't always what they seem," he said. He began by painting the image of duplex owner Jennifer Sutton as an "absent landlord" who is only interested in money. Though Sutton claimed to be afraid to call JPD, Reeves said, she called a lawyer instead of another law-enforcement entity. "Have a wreck, get a check," he said.

Sutton sued in federal and state court after the duplex demolition, requesting $250,000 in damages.

Reeves continued his attempts to discredit prosecutorial witnesses, calling Lawrence Cooper a "liar and a drunk" and insinuating that Wright had a lot of motivation to lie in his testimony. "Wright was facing 40 years and got a misdemeanor for it," Reeves said. "Wright has a lot of reasons to lie to you. 40 of them. 40 years."

The defense attorney told jurors that Melton went to 1305 Ridgeway St. to check on the house: "Was that bad purpose? Reeves pulled at jurors' heart strings, and pleaded with them to "go to the place where your heart resides." He encouraged jurors who might go against the grain to hold out "even if 11 other people went the other way."

Recio's attorney Cynthia Stewart laid out her case next, and urged jurors to look at Recio's case independently of the mayor. Stewart explained that Recio wasn't the boss and that, as Wright testified, the two bodyguards didn't know why they were going to the duplex when Melton instructed them to do so.

She pointed to Melton's head-strong attitude, calling him a "difficult boss." She cited Tyrone Lewis' statement that the mayor "did things his own way."

"(Recio) did not go in, search the house or touch the house," Stewart said, citing the Fourth Amendment. "... (Recio) made absolutely certain that his son did not get off the bus."

Stewart told jurors that Recio did the best he could with a difficult situation and a boss he couldn't control.

After a 20 minute final argument from Blumberg, Jordan gave jurors final instructions.

Previous Comments

ID

143704

Comment

Great coverage and reporting, maggie. This court is beginning to sound more and more like KANGAROO. Stokes has been Ward Councilman for that community for 20+ years. He has sat in that seat for that length of time, yet, he did not bring "crack house" charges against Welch nor did he (Stokes) contact the property owner or the parents who were responsible for Evan Welch, the vulnerable adult. Did Charles Evers and Frank Bluntson testify as character witnesses? Nobody answered my question about the prisoner who testified for melton, wearing a JSU (Jackson State University) warm-up suit during his testimony. My question is: The guy did not finish high school and was not a student at JSU: Why would the Judge allow this type of marketing? Were the melton lawyers trying to send a message that this was one of the 150 young men that frank says he is paying tuition for in colleg/university programs all over the country?

Author

justjess

Date

2009-02-18T13:19:37-06:00

ID

143710

Comment

Jess, I think this is Ward's reporting that Maggie posted, though I could be wrong. Regardless, I'm sure the whole team has been working their butts off on this thing. Though your comment about Smith wearing a JSU jumpsuit made me smile, I don't know that the jury is going to think that Smith is an honor's student. Didn't he testify to dropping out of high school while he was living with Melton, or was that only Michael Taylor? In any case, I think it's hard to argue that any reasonable person hearing these young men testify could think, "Wow, the mayor really turned this young man around. He had half as many arrests for dealing crack under Melton's patronage than he had before, and only a few shootings!" If the defense is resting, does that mean we could have a verdict tonight, or at least tomorrow? It's my birthday tomorrow, so you know...

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2009-02-18T14:25:21-06:00

ID

143711

Comment

Judge Jordan is a really good judge. If you want to see a kangaroo court, they are all over Jackson but not Judge Jordan's courtroom.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2009-02-18T14:28:18-06:00

ID

143712

Comment

Happy birthday, Brian! All drinks on you, right?

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-02-18T14:28:49-06:00

ID

143716

Comment

I'm still concerned that a Judge would allow a convicted felon the opportunity to wear a JSU (Jackson State University) warn-up to court. How did Reeves decide on that outfit for him? Would a Milsaps, MS College, USM, or Ole MS outfit be more appropriate. This might sound trivial, but this pissed me to the roof and I am not a JSU Undergraduate Alumnus. This really sends a negative message. I'm also concerned about the Judge allowing frank to tamper with a witness by visiting with his baby and buying presents for the kid. Still another KANGAROO appearance is the Judge allowing melton to serve a warrant on Evan Welch. OK. Maybe not KANGAROO: What about ANOS 'N ANDY? Ward, I am so sorry for giving your acolades to Maggie. Thanks for posting, Maggie and Ward, you did an excellent job of reporting. You guys are really great at the JFP and I enjoy many of your reports.

Author

justjess

Date

2009-02-18T14:53:36-06:00

ID

143737

Comment

The JFP gets extra credit for the Twitter feeds. Wish we had that last time. Good info!

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-02-18T18:09:46-06:00

ID

143738

Comment

It's my birthday tomorrow, so you know... well, Brian, I already know what you want as a gift. LOL

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-02-18T18:12:04-06:00

ID

143740

Comment

WAPT says that the judge sent the three alternates home and ordered the rest a pizza. Looks like he's hoping they'll reach a verdict tonight. They said the judge gave the jury 22 pages worth of instructions.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-02-18T18:28:55-06:00

ID

143742

Comment

The defense attorney told jurors that Melton went to 1305 Ridgeway St. to check on the house: Checking on a house and tearing it down isn't the same thing.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-02-18T18:42:37-06:00

ID

143743

Comment

I'm thinking the JSU warm ups were just something someone had in a gym bag and they let him wear them instead of the orange jumpsuit. I don't think there is any hidden agenda there.

Author

LKL

Date

2009-02-18T19:15:07-06:00

ID

143744

Comment

What is it about jury deliberations that make me feel like I'm waiting for someone to come out of surgery? Ugh!

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-02-18T19:27:26-06:00

ID

143745

Comment

Looks like we won't know anything until tomorrow. Not surprised.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-02-18T19:57:06-06:00

ID

143746

Comment

Donna, Did I understand correctly? Melton stuck his tongue out at you! I am at a loss for words...Just hope this ends tomorrow.

Author

Razor

Date

2009-02-18T21:14:35-06:00

ID

143747

Comment

This is a team effort as always. Ward has been in courtroom day in and day out; I've been in and out a lot; all day today, too, after Chris Walker; Maggie has been updating stories all day from office. Adam hasn't been covering it -- he's busy on the city election beat and DeLaughter scandal now -- but it did break the original story that started it all. ;-) And Brian Johnson was part of the original team as well. And then there are the photographers Jaro Vacek, Pat Bulter, Kate Medley, Darren Schwindaman and now Kenya Hudson and Austin Agent. We've been hard on the Melton beat for four years now, and it's been a real team effort. I also believe our folks have kept worse things from happening with their hard work to watchdog Melton. Cheers to them all for caring about this city enough to document the truth no matter who it pissed off.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-02-18T21:40:33-06:00

ID

143750

Comment

Yes, Razor. I think he was trying to be cute. He does stuff like that around me a lot. To me, it all just adds to the tragedy of the man who is Frank Melton. I don't believe he realizes the seriousness of what he's done -- although I do think today he was feeling that he could go to prison.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-02-18T22:38:50-06:00

ID

143751

Comment

Everyone at the JFP should be congratulated for their hard work over, especially in the Frank Melton era. Who knows what else Melton would've done if the JFP wasn't around to keep tabs on what he really could've done. Given how long it took other media to report on the Ridgeway Street house, it's possible he may not be on trial right now.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-02-18T23:26:11-06:00

ID

143753

Comment

I also commend JFP for their efforts and hard work. This is as close to "Court TV" as you can get with this trial, ha ha. I hope the jurors find it obvious that Frank's time is up.

Author

chip

Date

2009-02-19T08:23:27-06:00

ID

143756

Comment

It is interesting that the only thing the jurors asked for was a transcript of Wright's testimony. I wonder what person on the jury was Reeves talking to when he said, "even if 11 people......" This was different.

Author

justjess

Date

2009-02-19T10:28:33-06:00

ID

143758

Comment

Whomever Melton's got in there that he paid off. I'm betting his got a juror or two already on the payroll.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-02-19T10:34:28-06:00

ID

143766

Comment

Didn't I read somewhere that Cynthia Stewart said that "Wright was the only one with a gun". Wasn't Recio on duty? Aren't all on duty officers required to carry a gun. I know that some departments require their officers to carry their duty weapon while on duty and either their duty weapon or a approved weapon while off duty. What's JPD policy? Beside I thought he was Melton's bodyguard, if he didn't have a gun, he's pretty useless as a bodyguard.

Author

BubbaT

Date

2009-02-19T11:50:06-06:00