Federal prosecutors have rested in Jackson Mayor Frank Melton’s civil rights trial. Court is adjourned until 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Prosecutors this afternoon called an official with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Equality to testify.
Jerry Cain, director of the Office of Pollution Control for MDEQ, said he talked to Melton on Aug. 25, 2006 after he heard Melton had been burning houses illegally. He said he asked Melton to stop burning houses without MDEQ approval.
“He became abusive, threatening,” Cain said. “He tried to bully me to give him approval to burn the houses. ”
Cain said he saw Melton on the TV news that evening in front of a burning house.
The judge told the jury they could use the testimony to get a sense for Melton’s state of mind or intentions.
Magnolia Tribune
