Until the cops stepped in, that is:
Police say longtime Grand Rapids Press sports columnist David Mayo grew marijuana in his home, neatly preserving his crop in canning jars…
Mayo, 48, was arraigned Wednesday in Grand Rapids District Court on charges he manufactured more than 20 but fewer than 200 plants, a seven-year felony. He also is charged with maintaining a drug house at his home on Fuller Avenue NE. That charge is a two-year, high-court misdemeanor….
Mayo turned himself in Wednesday morning at the Kent County Jail. A warrant for his arrest was issued by the prosecutor Friday.
Press Publisher Dan Gaydou said the newspaper became aware of the allegations Wednesday morning. Mayo has been suspended with pay pending further investigation, he said….
Lawyer Bruce Block said Mayo, his client, is cooperating with police and prosecutors. Block said the plants were for personal use and Mayo was not selling them….
David Mayo has been employed at The Press since 1985 and has covered collegiate and professional sports, including the World Series and Super Bowl. He specializes in boxing coverage and has traveled the country to report on the career of Floyd Mayweather. A native of Kirby, Ark., he is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
So what’s up with the suspension? Shouldn’t that at least wait until a guilty plea? Is there a Plaxico Burress-like “good conduct” clause? Is there a medical angle? Or do you think this sort of arrest might hurt Mayo’s credibility in college locker rooms and boxing gyms?