The Fabricated Felony: How Todd Lynch, Frank & Marlee’s, and Investigator Bundren Constructed a False Criminal Charge

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT — AMERICAN INJUSTICE SERIES

By Matthew Reardon | We The People News | WTPNEWS.ORG | April 25, 2026

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI — What you are about to read is not a theory. It is not speculation. It is a documented account, supported by a bill of sale, charging documents, court records, and video evidence, of how the criminal justice system in Lafayette County, Mississippi was weaponized to silence a journalist and political activist through a felony charge that was provably impossible.

At the center of this story are three things: a piano bar called Frank & Marlee’s, a man named Todd Lynch, and an AR-15 rifle that didn’t exist in my possession on the date I allegedly used it to threaten someone.

The Phone Call and Video That Started It All

Just days before I was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking, Todd Lynch — the owner of Frank & Marlee’s in Oxford, Mississippi — made a phone call and recorded a video that would become central to the conspiracy against me. This recording, aided and abetted through the involvement of Investigator Jarrett Bundren of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department, was part of a coordinated effort to construct a criminal case where no crime had occurred.

Video: Todd Lynch’s Criminal Conspiracy — aided & abetted through the help of Investigator Jarrett Bundren

Watch the video above. Then ask yourself: does this look like a man in genuine fear for his life? Or does this look like a man performing for the camera — manufacturing evidence to support a predetermined narrative?

Frank & Marlee’s: The Night of May 19, 2017

To understand how this fabricated charge was constructed, you have to understand what actually happened at Frank & Marlee’s.

On May 19, 2017, I walked into the piano bar — a place where I had been a regular patron. The establishment, owned by Todd and Ashley Lynch, had always been a place of casual comfort. My relationship with Todd Lynch had been cordial. We had never had any significant conflicts or disagreements.

Ashley Lynch, however, harbored animosity toward me stemming from a years-old business interaction where she had labeled me “a pushy salesman.” That first impression had calcified into a fixed narrative that colored every subsequent interaction.

Despite this history, I entered without hostility. My intentions were simple: order food, have a drink, and attempt to make peace with Ashley. I approached her and asked, “Can we talk? Squash whatever this is?”

Her response was immediate and cold: “No.”

In a moment of frustration, I muttered under my breath, “That’s fucked up.” The words weren’t shouted. They weren’t directed at her specifically — just a quiet expression of exasperation.

What happened next was calculated: Ashley reached over, grabbed the plate of food I had just paid for, and with deliberate slowness, dropped it into the trash.

When I asked for a refund, she refused. The message was unmistakable: the rules that applied to other customers didn’t apply to me. I left without escalating.

Outside, I activated Facebook Live and called for a boycott of Frank & Marlee’s — the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth, a normalized aspect of consumer behavior in the 21st century. People post negative business reviews every day. But in Oxford, Mississippi, in May 2017, for Matthew Reardon, nothing was ordinary.

The AR-15: A Timeline That Destroys the Prosecution

The following day — May 20, 2017 — I purchased an AR-15 rifle through Armslist, an online firearms marketplace. The transaction was entirely legal, documented with a handwritten bill of sale dated May 20, 2017. I followed every regulation, every statute, crossing every “t” and dotting every “i.”

My reason for acquiring the firearm was legitimate and personal: my ex-girlfriend, Phyllis Crowder, had warned me that someone had “put a hit out” on me. Whether that warning was genuine or manipulative, combined with the obvious hostility from local officials, it was enough to warrant precaution.

Now, here is where the entire prosecution collapses:

I was charged with threatening Todd and Ashley Lynch with an AR-15 rifle “on or before May 8, 2017.” I did not purchase the AR-15 until May 20, 2017 — twelve full days after the alleged offense. The bill of sale proves it. I could not have threatened anyone with a weapon I did not yet own.

This isn’t a matter of interpretation. This isn’t a he-said-she-said dispute. This is a mathematical and chronological impossibility. The prosecution’s own charging documents contain a date that makes the alleged crime physically impossible.

The Arrest: An Ambush by Four Senior Officers

On May 26, 2017, I was lured to a location near the Square under the pretense of a casual meeting. Before I could even reach for my door handle, my car door was wrenched open with violent force.

Four men materialized around my vehicle with coordinated precision: Chief Deputy Scott Mills. Major Alan Wilburn. Lieutenant Jared Bundren. Oxford Police Chief Joey East.

These weren’t patrol officers responding to a call. These were the leadership — the decision-makers who normally delegated arrests to subordinates. Their presence alone signaled this was no ordinary law enforcement action.

They didn’t announce themselves. They didn’t state the charges. They didn’t read Miranda rights. They simply attacked.

I was slammed face-first onto scorching pavement. A knee drove into my spine. Handcuffs were ratcheted to the point of pain. Only afterward did someone say: “You’re under arrest.”

“For what?” I asked.

No answer.

The Charge: Aggravated Stalking

At the Lafayette County Detention Center, after fingerprinting, mugshots, and the systematic stripping of dignity, they finally told me the charge: Aggravated Stalking — a felony.

The alleged victims: Todd and Ashley Lynch.

The allegation: that I had threatened them with an AR-15 rifle on or before May 8, 2017.

The charge was fabricated from whole cloth. A lie so blatant, so easily disproven, that it revealed something profound about the system: they didn’t expect to have to prove their claims. They assumed the mere accusation would be sufficient, that the machinery of prosecution would grind forward regardless of factual reality.

The Judge Refused to See the Evidence

Four days later, on May 30, 2017, I was brought before Justice Court Judge Carolyn Bell. Before entering the courtroom, Judge Bell met behind closed doors with sheriff’s investigators — a private meeting that shaped her subsequent actions.

When I attempted to assert my innocence, I had the physical evidence in hand: the bill of sale for the AR-15, dated May 20, 2017, proving the impossibility of committing the alleged offense on or before May 8.

The documentation was irrefutable.

Yet when I tried to speak, to show this conclusive evidence of my innocence, Judge Bell cut me off — not once, but twice — each time advising me of my right to remain silent. “I’m not choosing to exercise that right,” I insisted. “I have exculpatory evidence proving my innocence.” But Judge Bell refused to hear it. She wasn’t interested in evidence, in truth, or in justice. She was there to process, not to adjudicate.

The Defense Attorney Who Wouldn’t Defend

When defense attorney Horan was eventually appointed, he showed little interest in the evidence that could exonerate me. Most tellingly, he seemed entirely uninterested in the bill of sale — the document that proved conclusively I could not have committed the crime on the date specified.

A competent defense attorney would have recognized the significance immediately. A genuine advocate would have been preparing motions to dismiss. Instead, Horan spoke in vague generalities, offering reassurances without specifics, steering conversations away from legal strategy.

Investigator Bundren’s Role

Lieutenant Jared Bundren was not just one of the four officers who ambushed me during the arrest. He was an investigator with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department who played a central role in constructing the case against me — a case built on Todd Lynch’s claims and aided by Bundren’s willingness to lend institutional authority to what was, at its core, a fabricated accusation.

The video linked above — Todd Lynch’s own recording — demonstrates the coordination between Lynch and law enforcement. This was not an organic complaint from a frightened citizen. This was a manufactured case, and Bundren was the bridge between a personal grudge and the machinery of criminal prosecution.

The Bigger Picture: Chapter 3 of American Injustice

This incident is documented in detail in Chapter 3 (“The Setup”) and Chapter 6 (“The Ambush”) of American Injustice: One Marine’s Eight-Year Battle Against Government Corruption, False Prosecution, and the Machinery of Institutional Power by Matthew Reardon.

The book chronicles how every element of this story — from a discarded plate of food to a legally purchased firearm — was positioned to serve a narrative that had no relationship to truth but proved devastatingly effective:

“It was a lie so blatant, so easily disproven, that it revealed something profound about the system I was facing: they didn’t expect to have to prove their claims. They didn’t anticipate having to present evidence that would withstand scrutiny. They assumed — perhaps based on long experience — that the mere accusation would be sufficient, that the machinery of prosecution would grind forward regardless of factual reality.”

— American Injustice, Chapter 6

The Evidence Speaks for Itself

1. The bill of sale proves the AR-15 was purchased on May 20, 2017
2. The charging documents allege the offense occurred “on or before May 8, 2017”
3. The 12-day gap makes the charge a chronological impossibility
4. Todd Lynch’s own video reveals coordination with law enforcement
5. The arrest by four senior officers without Miranda rights reveals the true nature of the operation
6. Judge Bell’s refusal to hear exculpatory evidence reveals a system operating to protect its own

This is not justice. This is what happens when the criminal justice system is captured by a local power structure and weaponized against those who dare to challenge it.

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This article is part of the American Injustice series — a comprehensive investigation into government corruption, false prosecution, and the weaponization of the legal system in Lafayette County, Mississippi.