Melissa Shelton
Melissa Shelton
Photo of Melissa Shelton wearing a bikini top.
Melissa Engel Shelton is a mother of two and call center operations supervisor residing in Marion, Texas. In January 2018, she was charged with felony mischief after police say she smashed the car windows of an interracial couple viewing a house in the Marion neighbourhood in which she lives. [1]
Personal Life
Melissa Shelton is a mother of two daughters living in Marion, Texas. [1]
Career
Melissa Shelton works as an operations supervisor at a call center in New Braunfels, Texas. She previously worked at Sears as an assistant manager, along with jobs at a health care company, a trucking company and a Chrysler dealership.
Allegations of Racism and Mischief
Photo of the damage Melissa Shelton allegedly caused to Jason and Victoria Chapa's 2008 Lincoln MKX.
Photo of the shattered windscreen on Jason and Victoria Chapa's 2008 Lincoln MKX alleged to have been caused by Melissa Shelton.
Photo of the concrete curb piece Melissa Shelton allegedly used to damage Jason and Victoria Chapa's 2008 Lincoln MKX.
Photo of the concrete curb piece Melissa Shelton allegedly used to damage Jason and Victoria Chapa's 2008 Lincoln MKX.
In the early hours of December 10, 2017, Jason and Victoria Chapa were leaving a family gathering in Marion, Texas, when they decided to check out a home in a new subdivision, because they have “been dreaming of finding a new home to raise their daughter, attorney Justin Moore said in a press release.
Moore said the couple figured that since they “were in Marion and would not be back for a while, it was the most opportune time to see this new neighborhood.
The fact is, the Chapas, who like every young family in this country were merely dreaming of a better life for their young daughter, and in furtherance of fulfilling this dream, they were looking for a home in a neighborhood that they believed comports to their values.”
The couple drove to the house, exited their vehicle and began to walk around.
As they were walking from behind the house, they heard glass shatter.
According to authorities, they rushed to their car to discover Melissa Shelton, a white woman who lives in the neighborhood, in the process of smashing their front windshield and back driver’s side window, directly over the location where their child’s car seat was located.
Fortunately, their child was not in the vehicle.
The couple said that Shelton had seen them walk to the back of the home.
When they returned to their car after hearing the glass shatter, Shelton allegedly began screaming racist slurs at them, calling them “niggers” and “spics” who were too poor to move into her neighborhood.
Jason Chapa is Mexican American and Victoria Chapa is African American. [1]
After the Chapas called 911, two deputies responded to the scene.
Shelton and her companion identified as Mason Mycus on the police report told deputies that they had just arrived home when the Chapas approached and accused them of vandalizing their car.
According to the couple, however, when Mycus realized that Shelton had been caught in the act, he offered to pay for the broken windows.
He was not indicted on any charges related to the incident.
Police were called to the scene of the incident on December 10, according to a report posted on Facebook by Justin Moore.
Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to Lost Maples Way at 2:45 a.m. for a “disturbance involving a female who was breaking out the car windows of a 2008 Lincoln MKX,” the police report states.
The deputies “observed the front windshield of the vehicle was shattered and the back driver side window had been completely broken out with what appeared to be a broken piece of cement curb.”
Melissa Engel Shelton told police that she arrived home from a restaurant along with Mason Mycue and they “were approached and accused by a female of breaking windows before even getting out of their window.”
Shelton denied breaking the windows.
But the Chapas attorneys told The Root that when the man she was with, Mason Mycue, realized the couple had witnessed the incident, he tried to offer to pay for the windows.
Victoria and Jacob Chapa told police they saw Shelton approach their vehicle with a rock and proceed to break the windows.
No arrests were made at the scene and the case was turned over to the Marion Police Department to investigate.
Marion Police eventually forwarded the case to the Guadalupe County Attorney’s office.
Justin Moore, an attorney for the couple, said in a press release that the officer didn’t make an arrest “despite clearly viewing the damage done.”
Attorney S. Lee Merritt, who is assisting Justin Moore in the representation of the Chapas, wrote in a Facebook post following the incident:
“The local police, of course, did nothing. The neighborhood housing association, the local realtors, all offered nothing but a silent endorsement of the attack. This was not Black History Month. This is not black history. This didn’t happen 50 years ago. It happened a few weeks ago. This is America 2018.” ** “Incidents like this act of terrorism and intimidation are common tactics used since segregation was deemed unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1948,” Merritt said. “Law enforcement plays a pivotal role in enforcing the law, a duty the Marion Police Department has been decidedly derelict in upholding in this case. If hate crime legislation, discrimination statutes, and basic law and order is to mean anything, we must demand equal protection under the law for all citizens.”
In a statement, Moore said the felony criminal mischief charge, “is a step in the right direction,” but “we retain a healthy level of caution.”
Moore added, “the crime reported on December 10, 2017, was one of hate; not mere mischief.
We will continue to make appeals to the Guadalupe County Attorney’s office to enhance these charges to that of a hate crime.
The facts are ripe for this charge, and it is important to the safety of all minorities in the state that a strong message is sent those who believe they can use intimidation to keep people of color out of spaces that should be available to all.”
Moore said in a statement posted on January 21, 2017, prior to the indictment:
Just imagine being out, enjoying a night with your significant other, and you stop by that neighborhood you’ve been dreaming of moving to. You’re a young couple, and you long for the day where you can have a nice home to raise your young family. Unfortunately, one of the residents there is so enraged by the fact of having persons of color in the neighborhood that she decides to intimidate you from buying a home there. She smashes your car windows with a sharp, broken piece of curb, while shouting out racial slurs. To make matters worse, when you call the local authorities, they flat out ignore your pleas for justice. How are you supposed to feel? You have just been told by that police department that it’s ok for people to commit crimes of hate against people of color. This is exactly what happened to the Chapa’s family. They felt so helpless due to the inaction of the Guadalupe County Police Department and the City of Marion police department that they reached out to my office and asked that we investigate this obvious hate crime and that we fight for them to receive justice for their victimization. Well, that’s what we are going to do. We will fight our hardest to ensure that the assailant suffers for this crime and send a message to folks who think they can get away with committing crimes against citizens who look different from them.
Criminal Record
According to online court records, Shelton, then 20, was arrested in Bexar County, Texas, in 2009 and charged with misdemeanor theft of items between $50 to $500. She was released on $1,000 bail in that case.
Shelton eventually pleaded no contest and entered into a 6-month deferred prosecution agreement, according to court records. As a result, the case was dismissed in January 2010.