THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9408260601
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
A Virginia man who turned up on the Outer Banks claiming to have amnesia was still wanted on criminal charges in Portsmouth Thursday, more than a week after he was released from jail in Elizabeth City.
Michael Ray Haddock, 35, spent more than two months in jail after Elizabeth City police arrested him on a fugitive warrant from Virginia. He was freed last week after the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney's Office confirmed it did not plan to have him picked up.
Haddock remained charged with grand larceny in connection with a camcorder theft, Portsmouth officials said.
``We're still holding the outstanding warrant on him,'' said Sgt. Robert Culpepper, head of the criminal apprehension unit in the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office. ``Hard to say what he's going to do.''
Family members reached in Virginia on Thursday said they were unaware Haddock was released and did not know his whereabouts. Haddock apparently has had little contact with his family after a falling out nearly three years ago.
Gary Underhill, a court-appointed lawyer who represented Haddock at two hearings, also said he did not know Haddock had been released.
Haddock had told a judge during a June 30 hearing that he would turn himself in to Virginia authorities once he recovered his memory and could defend himself. He was arguing for reduced bail at the time.
Underhill said in late July that Haddock was ``slowly regaining some memory,'' but not of the alleged larceny.
Haddock, a large man with graying hair and a full beard, wandered into a Kill Devil Hills fire station in May and told officials he could remember nothing about himself.
He was identified by friends and family members after news reports surfaced during a 10-day stay at Albemarle Hospital. Haddock had been a chef in the Hampton Roads area.
Haddock was arrested at the hospital on June 1 and held on $1,000 bail until his release.
Will Jamerson, chief assistant commonwealth's attorney in Portsmouth, said people charged with grand larceny are rarely extradited because the charge is typically not serious enough for the effort. by CNB