Ex-Bodyguards Challenge Ridgeway Restitution

File Photo

Former mayoral bodyguards Michael Recio, pictured, and Marcus Wright are challenging court-ordered restitution.

by Ward Schaefer
September 29, 2009

Two former Jackson police officers are disputing the amount that federal prosecutors say they must pay in restitution for the 2006 demolition of a Ridgeway Street duplex. Marcus Wright and Michael Recio, both former bodyguards to the late Mayor Frank Melton, claim that the $30,070 prosecutors want them to pay exceeds the damage they did to the house.

Of the total restitution prosecutors have requested, $10,050 is for property belonging to then-tenant Evans Welch, a diagnosed schizophrenic, while the remaining $27,030 is intended for duplex owner Jennifer Sutton and reflects the appraised value of the entire duplex. In a court filing, prosecutors explained that the Welch's amount came from a list he submitted documenting the items that were destroyed during the Aug. 26, 2006, raid. Those items include two $1,200 couches, a $1,000 wall-unit heater, a stove, a refrigerator, an air conditioning unit and a $400 set of dentures.

Wright's attorney, John Colette, challenged Welch's list, noting that some of the appliances may have been Sutton's and should be reflected in her amount instead. Colette also questioned the accuracy of the Welch's claim, which he said had not been made under oath. Some of Welch's belongings, like his refrigerator, were not damaged during the raid, Colette argued.

Before Wright's Sept. 9 sentencing hearing, Welch asked for $80,000, which Colette rejected. After a conversation with prosecutors, Welch revised the amount to $10,000. Colette disputed that number as well and demanded an itemized list of damaged property.

"It's ironic, I think, that when you now ask him to give a list, it comes out to $10,050," Colette told the Jackson Free Press.

Prosecutor Mark Blumberg declined to comment on the case.

Colette also rejected Sutton's restitution, arguing that the raid only damaged one half of the duplex. He made a counter-offer of $1,000 in restitution to Welch and $4,000 to Sutton.

"They said they couldn't agree to that, but I haven't heard anything," Colette said. "It's up to the courts now."

"The man certainly lost some stuff," Colette said. "But he claims his $400 pair of dentures. I just don't know where you draw the line on what's reasonable, especially for what Marcus and Recio did. There should still be some rational, reasonable basis. And of course, neither of one them has any money."

Cynthia Stewart, attorney for Michael Recio, also opposed the government's proposed restitution amount, but she offered no specific arguments against it. Stewart did not immediately return calls for comment.

Wright and Recio both received sentences of one year's probation for their roles in the Ridgeway incident. Recio, who pleaded guilty in May 2009, will serve three months of his sentence under house arrest. Prosecutors sought a harsher sentence for Recio than Wright, who pleaded guilty in October 2008 and testified against his former colleague and boss.

In court testimony, Wright admitted to clearing Welch's house at gunpoint but denied doing any damage to the property. Recio maintained that he had not participated in the house's destruction at all, but two witnesses during his 2009 federal trial testified that he had helped pull down an awning over the front door.

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