Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Accused drug lord kept in 'inhumane' conditions By ARTESIA DAVIS ~ NG Senior Reporter ~ artesia@nasguard.com: Accused drug lord Melvin Maycock Sr. won't know until August 4 whether he'll be freed on bail pending the determination of his extradition request and other criminal cases. However, the circumstances of Maycock's detention at Her Majesty's Prison could get easier now that prosecutors have admitted that he was made to endure inhumane conditions. Attorney Craig Butler had filed a constitutional motion on Maycock's behalf, but the hearing ended with an agreement by prosecutor Franklyn Williams that Maycock should be kept in a regular cell, rather than one with a steel plated door, and that visits with his family members should occur in the same manner as other remand inmates. Justice Jon Isaacs will issue an order with these stipulations at a later date. Florida prosecutors requested Maycock's extradition in June 2004 on allegations that he is the alleged mastermind of the Caribbean arm of a multinational drug gang. Police arrested Maycock, 43, following a high-speed chase in June 2008. By the time of his arrest, Maycock was wanted by local police on a major drug bust at an apartment on Marine Drive in May 2008. Police found three guns, an assortment of ammunition and 1,250 pounds of marijuana inside the residence. No one was home when police carried out the raid, but Maycock's fingerprint was found on a vacuum sealer in the home, the court heard. Maycock and his son, Melvin "Lil Mel" Maycock Jr., are also accused of switching places in the lock-up of the Elizabeth Estates Police Station. Prosecutors allege that Maycock Sr. was arrested with several other men at Yamacraw Beach on suspicion that they were involved in a drug trafficking conspiracy. But prosecutors allege that Maycock Jr. had swapped places with his father by the time officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit came to collect the suspects. Both cases are still pending. Thirteen other alleged drug dealers who are charged in the same indictment as Maycock Sr. were freed on bail in 2006. Friday, July 3, 2009