Man gets life in prison for murder of JSU professor

A week less than a year from the crime, the man accused in the brutal death of a Jackson State University professor was convicted of murder.

Melvin Potts, 21, was sentenced to spend life in prison on the murder charge, and received an additional 10 years on charges of auto theft.

Garrick Shelton was found stabbed to death in his home in what Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest described as a particularly brutal crime. The medical examiner determined that Shelton had been stabbed or slashed 18 times, in addition to being shot in the back.

Guest said the force with which Shelton was stabbed fractured his skull, and part of the knife broke off and was embedded in his head as well.

"As Dr. Shelton lay dying on the floor, Mr. Potts stepped over the body, unplugged the television and X-Box gaming console, loaded them in Dr. Shelton's car, and drove to Jackson," Guest said. "What we had was a brutal slaying, a slaying in which following the death, his property was taken. Then the defendant claimed his actions were justifiable through self-defense."

Shelton's black 2013 Chevy Malibu was missing when his body was found, police said, but it was found later in the parking lot of Addison Place Apartments on Robinson Road in Jackson.

Police said Shelton's body was found when a relative went to his home because he had not reported for work. Upon finding Shelton, the relative called police.

Potts and Shelton met on a website a little less than three weeks before the professor's death and agreed to sexual encounters. On the day Shelton died, he picked Potts up in Jackson and took him to his home in Madison, then realized there was a gun in his waistband. Guest said Shelton asked Potts to leave the home repeatedly and Potts refused, so Shelton went to the kitchen to get a knife and told Potts he was going to call the police.

Potts testified he didn't want Shelton to call the police because he was afraid his gun could be stolen and didn't know if it could be linked to any homicides in Jackson. He told authorities he sold it on the streets between the time of Shelton's death and the time he was arrested.

It was Madison's first homicide in its incorporated history.

"There was no additional pressure as it relates to being Madison's first homicide, but in this case as with any other, we wanted to make sure the victim's family knew this case was vitally important to us, and we hoped what we did in the courtroom would help give them some closure as it approaches the anniversary of Dr. Shelton's death," Guest said.

The trial began Tuesday and ended around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The jury deliberated for four hours before returning the verdict.

"We were able to try the case before a jury in slightly under 12 months," Guest said. "Our goal is always to see that cases are handled as quickly and efficiently as possible, in hopes that we can help the victim's family as they mourn the loss of their loved one."

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.