Deputy Chief Magistrate Carolita Bethell yesterday postponed her decision in the case of alleged drug lord Melvin Maycock Sr.
Maycock has avoided prosecution for years despite engaging in a number of criminal activities, which included having his son replace him in a jail cell after he bribed cops to let hm escape.
Magistrate Bethell was scheduled to give a decision in the case, which dates back to May 2008 when police found marijuana worth $1.2 million and firearms in a rented home on Marine Drive, West Bay Street.
At the time of the discovery, Maycock was the subject of a police manhunt.
In 2004, federal prosecutors in the United States named Maycock as the head of the Caribbean arm of a multinational drug smuggling organization.
The home was unoccupied when police raided the residence but they claim there is evidence to connect Maycock to the home.
Police allegedly lifted Maycock’s print off one of drug filled packages and found a Rolex watch guarantee in Maycock’s name in the rental home.
Magistrate Bethell has already acquitted Maycock’s co-accused Kerrringtan Knowles at the close of the prosecution’s case. It was Knowles whose name the apartment was allegedly rented under.
Police found Knowles’ passport in the residence. Maycock claimed that he was in Ragged Island when the drugs and firearms were found. Maycock called two relatives to testify that he was in the small fishing village when police allege that he was in New Providence.
It is not clear why Maycock’s location at the time of the raid is relevant to the case. If they were his drugs, it seems it would have been an open and closed case.
Magistrate Bethell is now scheduled to render her decision on October 1 at 2:00pm. Bethell never explained why she delayed her decision.
Prior to his extradition to the United States, it was reported that Samuel ‘Ninety’ Knowles accused Magistrate Bethell of soliciting bribes. She denied the accusations.
Drug dealer Dwight Major also accused Magistrate Bethell of judicial imprudence.
While judges in the Bahamas like to say they are not responsible for the massive backlog of cases, Magistrate Bethell seems to have a habit of delaying cases, particularly her decisions. (See related articles below.)
Meanwhile, Maycock’s extradition hearing is supposed to begin in the Bethell’s court next January.
