CANTON, Miss.- Melvin Potts has been found guilty and sentenced to life for Jackson State University professor Garrick Shelton’s murder.
Potts received a life-sentence for first degree murder Wednesday. He was also found guilty for stealing Shelton’s car and sentenced to 10 years for that.
Potts was arrested in 2014 in connection to the stabbing death of Shelton.
Shelton was found dead in his home with 18 stab wounds and a gunshot wound to his right shoulder, according to the Mississippi State medical examiner.
Potts’ attorneys claimed that Potts acted in self-defense. Others from the state crime lab were called to the stand during trial and testified that Potts’ blood was on the driver side of Shelton’s car found in Shelton’s carport.
