What started as a routine traffic stop on U.S. 1 took a turn for the serious Friday afternoon when authorities caught up with a wanted man hiding in plain sight.
John Ray Melvin, a 60-year-old Delray Beach resident and known member of the Pagan outlaw motorcycle gang, ended his run from the law on the streets of Grassy Key.
The encounter began around 3:15 p.m. near Mile Marker 58. Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies tried to pull over a group of motorcyclists, but the pack didn’t exactly play along, deputies say. Only one rider actually pulled over, eventually earning a ticket for a suspended license.
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The rest of the group kept riding, eventually coming to a halt on Kyle Avenue. There, the bikers reportedly clogged up the road and the nearby bike path, creating a traffic backup and catching the full attention of law enforcement.
Once deputies started running names, the 60-year-old Melvin stood out. It turns out he was a wanted man in Palm Beach County, facing charges for cocaine possession and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
While the rest of the afternoon may have been a sun-soaked ride for the group, it ended with Melvin’s motorcycle hooked to a tow truck and Melvin himself headed to the Monroe County Jail.
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Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay made it clear that his office has no patience for gang activity in the Keys.
“The Sheriff’s Office will continue to make gang-related crime a priority, and I will not allow such groups to interfere in the lives of peaceful and law-abiding citizens,” said Ramsay.
For now, Melvin remains in custody, waiting to face the music for those outstanding warrants from up north.
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