Attorney for Wesley Wells speaks on possible retailation

Jim Waide says arrest warrants issued for Wells after mall incident in which he was mistakenly detained by police

Following a case of mistaken identity after a shoplifting last week.

Today the attorney for wesley wells is asking who tried to get an arrest warrant on his client not for the incident at the mall...but for some bad checks written two decades ago.

Wtva's wayne hereford talked to tupelo attorney jim waide about what he plans to do about the warrant... standup.."i am holding a couple of complaints filed against wesley wells .

One from 1994 another from 1999 for bad checks written here in the city of tupelo.

Those complaints have long been filed away and the businesses that filed them no longer seem to care .

But wells' attorney wants to know who suddenly brought them up after that incident at the tupelo barnes crossing mall last tuesday."

Tupelo attorney jim waide says he and wells were called by an anonymous caller that wells got an arrest warrant for those bad checks written years ago.

"and luckly we were able to find out about it and get the justice court judge to do exactly what which she should have done which is release him on his own recognizance."

Waide says a judge can issue a warrant after a law enforcement officer presents an affidavit .

Waide says someone wanted wells arrested after the mall incident 'that's what we are looking into now, who's responsible for that.

There is some heresay that the city of tupelo police department denies they had anything to do with it which means it would mean in all likelihood the sheriff's department.

We don't know if that's true or not ."

Waide went on to say this about a possible retalitation against wells following the incident.

"but we are going to try to find out who is responsible.

Because retaliting against a person exercising his first amendment rights is a very serious matter."

Waide will ask the county attorney if the sheriff's department is responsible for the warrants.

The warrants were for checks