NATIONAL BRIEFING / MISSISSIPPI
Prosecutors asked a judge to jail the mayor of Mississippi’s largest city during his trial for allegedly destroying a suspected crack house with a sledgehammer.
Prosecutors want Jackson Mayor Frank Melton’s bond revoked because they say he tried to personally deliver a subpoena to a witness in the case.
Monday was the first day of Melton’s trial on charges that he violated the civil rights of the duplex owner and her tenant.
He and former bodyguard Michael Recio face three felony charges and maximum 25-year sentences. They have pleaded not guilty.
Melton, 59, who has already been acquitted on state charges in the same incident, has claimed he was just keeping a campaign promise to root out crime in Mississippi’s capital city. He has not denied damaging the home.
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