Over a dozen individuals showed up at the courthouse to show their support for Mario Melton. They met for coffee at Speckled Paw in Wadesboro following the trial.
The charge of Resisting a Public Officer against Mario Melton (left) was dismissed on July 7, 2020. Melton is pictured here with his civil advocate John C. Barnett (right).
WADESBORO — The charge against Mario Melton, 36, of Resisting a Public Officer was dismissed on July 20, 2020.
The incident in question took place on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in the parking lot of Harvest Ministries. Melton was leaving from morning worship services when he saw Sgt. Thomas Luckey of the Wadesboro Police Department detaining his nephew.
Melton approached Luckey’s vehicle to inquire about the situation. “The children were scared and petrified on their father’s behalf,” Melton told the Anson Record in February. Luckey allegedly told Melton to back up or face arrest.
What Melton describes as a “tussling match” then took place after Melton responded, “I’m not afraid of you,” to Luckey, according to court documents.
This incident was recorded on a cell phone and uploaded to Facebook where it went viral. The video begins with Sgt. Luckey repeatedly pushing Melton against the car. Eventually, a sheriff’s deputy shows up on the scene and tackles Melton to the ground. Melton is then handcuffed and detained in the patrol car.
Harvest Ministries Pastor Steve Adams attempted to intervene on Melton’s behalf and was handcuffed as well. Pastor Adams was released almost immediately. “They took the cuffs off Pastor Steve to keep the peace but they’re going to keep me because they said I was ‘aggressive’,” said Melton.
Melton would be charged with Misdemeanor Resisting a Public Officer. The warrant for the charge alleged that he “unlawfully and willfully did resist, delay and obstruct Officer Luckey, a public officer at Wadesboro Police Department by failure to comply with being handcuffed.”
The services of civil rights activist John C. Barnett were enlisted by Melton to assist him in his upcoming trial. Barnett is the Founder and President of True Healing Under God Civil Rights Initiative (T.H.U.G.). According to their site, “T.H.U.G. is NOT a law firm, yet merely provides attorney referrals to better assist their members.”
“We were prepared to go forth with a full-fledged bench trial and full-fledged jury trial,” said Barnett in reference to Melton’s trial. “We had some supporters here, too, about 15 people came out.”
Now that the charges against Melton have been dismissed, him and Barnett are considering pursuing civil charges against Internal Affairs officer Lt. Davis, “Lt. Davis never got back to Mario on his complaint against Luckey. It shows negligence, because if he had got back, he could have supported today’s dismissal,” said Barnett.
Reach Charles Wood at 704 994 5471 or at cwood@ansonrecord.com