Date of Offense
Reporting Authority
Supporting Document(s)
Statement
Brendan Sartin, acting in his official capacity as the City Prosecutor for Pearl, Mississippi, engaged in a coordinated effort with Chief of Police Nick McLendon to intentionally subvert a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. The misconduct occurred during an active criminal appellate window for defendant Leon Seals and involved the following actions:
While Leon Seals’ criminal case was actively in the appellate phase (awaiting trial *de novo*), Prosecutor Sartin, in concert with Chief McLendon, authorized the release of confidential, active trial evidence. This included:
* Unprocessed body camera footage
* Crime scene and arrest photographs
* Case-file statements and records
Instead of maintaining the integrity of this evidence for the court, Sartin and McLendon released these materials to Clay Edwards (legal name: Clayton Arthur Bolls), a pro-police "shock blogger" and social media influencer operating *The Clay Edwards Show*. Edwards subsequently published a highly edited, three-part biased docu-series using these state-held materials to publicly vilify the defendant.
Sartin condoned and participated in the dissemination of prejudicial, extrajudicial statements via the Pearl Police Department’s official Facebook page (reaching over 28,000 followers) and through syndicated radio broadcasts (Channel 103.9 FM). Releasing snippets of active evidence to tens of thousands of local residents during an active appellate window represents a deliberate, bad-faith attempt to pollute the local jury pool and deny the defendant an impartial trial.
Sartin prosecuted criminal charges against Leon and Morgan Seals that arose after the couple demanded officers leave their property (conducted without a warrant, consent, or probable cause). Furthermore, after Chief McLendon orchestrating a retaliatory "trespassing" arrest of Leon Seals inside City Hall while Seals was quietly waiting for a public records zip-drive containing exculpatory communications, Sartin continued to pursue prosecution. This action effectively insulated the police department from transparency and weaponized the municipal judicial system against a *pro se* litigant.
