Prosecutors seek tight control of testimony in Melton trial

The Clarion-Ledger, 9/30/8

Prosecutors have filed motions in the federal case against Jackson Mayor Frank Melton asking that defense attorneys not be allowed to introduce evidence of drug use at the west Jackson duplex the mayor is accused of damaging two years ago.

Melton and his two police bodyguards, Michael Recio and Marcus Wright, beat state charges related to the Aug. 26, 2006, raid on the Ridgeway Street duplex. In the April 2007 trial, defense attorneys for the men called a series of witnesses who testified about the house’s reputation in the neighborhood as a “crackhouse.”

In the motion, federal prosecutors said they anticipate Melton’s defense team will try that approach again.