MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Former Shelby County Judge A. Melissa Boyd is back behind bars for two days, after reportedly violating her plea agreement.
According to the Shelby County Jail records, Boyd was booked May 1, 2024, on a misdemeanor harassment charge. Her attorney Art Horne told ABC24 she was locked up for violating her plea deal. He said it is alleged Boyd has continued to contact a woman with whom she was ordered to have no contact.
Boyd pleaded guilty to a harassment charge April 5. As part of the plea deal, her coercion of a witness charge was dismissed.
Boyd was told to complete a 28-day inpatient program at the Aspell Recovery Center in Jackson, Tennessee. After completing the program, she was to report to Shelby County Veterans Court and conduct check-ins to prove her sobriety and receive addiction recovery aid.
Boyd was charged with coercion of a witness and harassment in 2023. She had been booked into jail in December then released after paying a $5,000 bond, according to jail records. On March 27, a judge granted a motion by prosecutors to revoke bond for Boyd after she reportedly failed a drug screening. She was then rebooked into the Shelby County Jail.
Between January and March of 2023, a woman said Boyd sent her unwanted messages, some including sexually explicit content. The plea agreement requires Boyd to have no contact with the woman moving forward.
During a previous hearing before the plea deal, prosecutors said Boyd tested positive for marijuana on Jan. 3, then went into treatment. They said she was released Feb. 29, but then tested positive for cocaine and alcohol on March 12. They asked the court to revoke her $5,000 bond for failing her bond conditions.
Boyd has also reportedly admitted to using cocaine while on the job. Her enrollment in the recovery program replaces a sentence of 11 months and 29 days at the Shelby County Correctional Center.
Failure to comply with the plea agreement could result in Boyd having to serve the 11-month and 29-day sentence.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee accepted Boyd’s resignation from the bench April 2.
Boyd was suspended from her job in May of 2023 and had two public reprimands. Her current term had been scheduled to end in August of 2030.
