A Tuscaloosa man who had been indicted on charges connected to a 2012 killing tied to a motorcycle gang’s Baldwin County clubhouse has been found dead, and investigators say the cause of his death remains uncertain.
Adam Mayton, 31, was discovered unresponsive around 1 a.m. on June 24 by his father and sister at his father’s home in Tuscaloosa County, according to the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit. Investigators said there were no visible signs of trauma, and an autopsy was ordered to determine how he died. Officials noted that Mayton had a history of substance-abuse issues and some health problems, leaving open the possibility of an accidental overdose or a natural death.
Baldwin County Case Background
Mayton had been indicted by a Baldwin County grand jury on a charge of hindering prosecution stemming from the 2012 death of Samuel Dixson, 54, a member of a motorcycle club’s Gulf Coast chapter. Dixson’s body was found near the Styx River off a Baldwin County roadway in September 2012, days after investigators believe he was shot inside a mobile home on Northcutt Lane that served as a clubhouse for the club’s Tuscaloosa chapter. The shooting reportedly occurred during a gathering marking the chapter’s first anniversary, after which the mobile home was set ablaze.
Six people, including Mayton, were arrested in connection with the killing. Mayton was initially charged with murder, but a grand jury later reduced the charge to hindering prosecution. His attorney said the reduction had brought some optimism to the case shortly before his death.
At a preliminary hearing held in late 2012, a former Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigator testified that Mayton was a member of the motorcycle club’s Tuscaloosa chapter and that he admitted being present in the mobile home when Dixson was killed. Mayton reportedly identified another man as the shooter; that man, a Northport resident, faces a murder charge in the case.
Several other defendants tied to the case, including residents of Theodore, Elberta and Wilmer, were charged with hindering prosecution for their alleged roles after the killing. A Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office major said the agency planned to meet with the county’s district attorney to discuss how Mayton’s death might affect the ongoing prosecution strategy.