Sen. Mitchell tries to help paroled drug lord avoid conviction for assault with a handgun

Subject:

Comments:
: Former drug lord receives 22-year prison term : 'Career Criminal' statute turns handgun charge into lengthy sentence : By Michael James, Sun Staff, March 3, 2000 : Melvin "Little Melvin" Williams : Melvin "Little Melvin" Williams -- one of the biggest drug lords in Baltimore history -- was sentenced yesterday to nearly 22 years in prison after a federal prosecutor denounced him as living a life of "constant criminal behavior." : Williams, 58, received the lengthy no-parole sentence in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, where he was prosecuted under the federal government's Armed Career Criminal statute. The law provides stiff sentences for any criminal with multiple convictions for drug trafficking or felony crimes of violence. : The crime that sent Williams to prison for perhaps the rest of his life wasn't drug dealing but felony possession of a handgun. : That, coupled with three previous convictions for drug-related activity, qualified him as a career criminal. : A jury convicted Williams in October after hearing that he had used a 9mm handgun to beat a man on West Baltimore street during a dispute over a $500 debt on a bail bond policy Williams had written. : . : . : . : At the time of the alleged beating in March 1999, Williams had been on parole for 2 1/2 years from a 24-year federal heroin trafficking sentence he received in 1984. The federal prison system has since abolished parole. : . : . : . : <B>Prosecutors had tried to convict Williams in September 1999 for the same offense, but the case ended in mistrial after one juror refused to find him guilty. During that trial, notables such as state Sen. Clarence M. Mitchell IV of West Baltimore testified on his behalf.</B>

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: