Cabbie receives probation in death of passenger

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

A former Las Vegas taxicab driver was sentenced to three years' probation Monday in the New Year's Eve death of one of his fares.

District Judge Nancy Saitta sentenced Andrew Doran Bayley II under the terms of a plea agreement after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Melody McMillin, 47. Should Bayley, 33, violate the terms of his probation, he could receive up to four years in prison.

According to police, McMillin was thrown from Bayley's taxi when it overturned as he turned in front of another vehicle near Paradise Road and Sierra Vista Drive.

McMillin's husband, David, told Saitta that Bayley had made several turns that night from the wrong lane.

Angry that the case ended in a plea agreement, McMillin said Bayley should receive the maximum sentence even though it wouldn't be anywhere "close to justice."

McMillin said his wife was an "extraordinary" and giving woman who taught law at Pima Community College in Tucson.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, McMillin set up group homes for children of the Tohono O'odham tribe who got into trouble with the law, rather than sending them to the juvenile detention center in Tucson.

McMillin had worked as the court solicitor in the Tohono O'odham judiciary system since 1992. On weekends McMillin had been a judge pro tem for the juvenile division of the Pima County Superior Court, David McMillin said.

She gave up the pro tem work to run last November for a seat on the Pima Community College Governing Board, a race she narrowly lost.

Bayley will be required to attend counseling, perform eight hours of community service per month and pay restitution -- the amount of which will be determined at a later date.

Saitta told David McMillin she hopes he will continue to carry on his wife's work.

Court records show that a lawsuit filed by David McMillin against Whittlesea Blue Cab Co. is pending.