Missing Juror Deepens Mystery Surrounding Drug Kingpin, Accomplices

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of the kingpin and two of his accomplices last month in an epic federal drug trial has deepened.

A juror disappeared at the same time as the defendants vanished, and the federal judge overseeing their trial wants to know if it’s a coincidence or if there’s a connection, The Detroit News reports.

The juror, David McIntosh, 48. of Detroit, didn’t attend closing arguments or the deliberations.

The case against drug dealers Carlos Powell, his brother, Eric Powell, and a friend, Earnest Proge, is described as one of the largest drug trials in metro Detroit history. A fourth defendant, former state Rep. Kenneth Daniels, did not flee.

The Powell brothers and Proge distinguished themselves throughout the two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy by wearing fezzes with long tassels, headgear they said was in keeping with their religion as members of Moorish Science Temple of America.

The trial was the result of a years’ long investigation in which 66 pounds of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of marijuana and more than $21 million in cash were seized from Carlos Powell’s Macomb County home – a  cache largeenough to put the kingpin in a class among the most prolific drug dealers in metro Detroit history.

When agents raided the home, they found about $3 million in cash stashed in plain sight – for example,  at the tops of drawers, under the television and in the kitchen pantry. “It was almost as if he was running out of places to put the cash,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Gabel said during opening statements.

As U.S. marshals continue a manhunt for the three defendants, Murphy has ordered the AWOL juror to appear in court June 11 to explain his absence.

All three should be considered armed and dangerous, prosecutors said.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the Powell brothers and Proge – who are considered armed and dangerous – is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at (313) 234-5656.