Marcus Wright, a former bodyguard to Mayor Frank Melton, testified in federal court Tuesday that Melton was drunk and uncontrollable the night he and a group of young men set upon a northwest Jackson duplex with sledgehammers and a baseball bat-sized stick.
“We need to get out of here,” Wright said he told Melton. “He said, ‘Why?’ I told him, ‘Because it’s wrong.’ ”
The testimony came on day two of the federal government’s case against Melton, 59, and Michael Recio, 39, who are charged with civil rights violations and a weapons charge that, if convicted of, could land them between five and 25 years in prison.
Wright said he knew that he, Melton and fellow bodyguard Recio were breaking the law by participating in the warrantless raid on the duplex on Aug. 26, 2006.
Magnolia Tribune
