Mayor Frank Melton was sitting behind closed doors with his attorney and former police bodyguard Michael Recio when he learned Tuesday morning that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked.
“It’s nothing to play with. There’s no room for arrogance. I felt very humble,” Melton recalled later in the day. “I’m never going to put myself nor this city in that position ever again.”
Across town, Evans “Bubba” Welch greeted news of the mistrial with disgust.
“I feel like they let a criminal continue to walk the streets. They shouldn’t convict anyone in the state of Mississippi until they convict him,” he said. “I don’t want to hear any more about this trial until he is convicted.”
Welch was living in a duplex on Ridgeway Street on Aug. 26, 2006, when Melton appeared on his doorstep with his bodyguards and an entourage of young men.
