Montgomery County Commissioner David Shelton arrested on contempt of court charge

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Montgomery County commissioner has been arrested on a contempt of court charge over what he said was a miscommunication in a civil matter.

On March 15, David Shelton, who represents District 21, was arrested on an order by Judge Craig Monsue when Shelton failed to appear in court earlier that day.

The arrest follows the adjudication of the civil suit against Shelton and his previous window treatment business, Made in the Shade.

Made in the Shade lawsuit

“Basically, I took a (business) order that I didn’t need to,” Shelton told Clarksville Now. “That order was kind of mangled from the beginning, and over constant problems and issues, they felt it was necessary to sue to get their full deposit back.”

According to court documents obtained by Clarksville Now, the plaintiffs filed the suit after failing to get the returned deposit. On June 12, 2023, the judge ordered that Shelton pay $14,300.

Shelton said he had to close the business in May 2023, and since then he hasn’t had income. As a result, he says he’s been working through his attorney to figure everything out.

On March 15, Shelton failed to appear in court for a “show cause” order. Shelton said it was misunderstanding. “I was under the understanding that I did not need to be there because we had filed a continuance since my attorney could not be there,” he said. “Because he had another case that he needed to be in that morning.”

Shelton said that misunderstanding led to a “very upset judge. … It was huge misunderstanding, and frankly, it was a huge embarrassment,” Shelton said.

Humbling process and MCSO professionalism

Shelton said he knew this was going to come out. Clarksville Now reports on arrests of elected officials. “I’m not going to be the guy that pretends there’s not a problem,” he said. “I’d rather somebody report on it – that’s what journalism does.”

Shelton said he has been humbled while dealing with the litigation.

“I appreciate the professionalism of everybody within the Montgomery County Jail. I never felt like I was demeaned, and I do not feel like anyone else there was either. They were professional, and I appreciated that.”