AG: Blakely should remain in jail until sentencing
Aug. 3—The state Attorney General's Office advised the court today that it opposes bond being granted to Mike Blakely, who until being convicted of two felonies Monday was Limestone County sheriff.
"The State understands that it is standard practice in Limestone County to deny bond to defendants who have been found guilty but have not yet been sentenced," the objection filed today reads. "The State submits that Blakely has not offered any persuasive reason to be treated differently than any other criminal defendant in his home county."
The state was responding to a motion filed by Blakely's defense lawyers immediately after the jury issued its verdict Monday. That motion asked that Judge Pamela Baschab set a bond that would allow Blakely to be released from jail until his sentencing hearing, which she said she would not schedule until after a presentencing report is prepared.
The defense filed an amended motion today, essentially identical to the one filed Monday, requesting that bond be set.
"Defendant has been a lifelong resident of Limestone County, has strong ties and family in the community. Defendant is not a flight risk," according to the motion filed today, which also noted he has never before been charged with any offenses.
Since his arrest on Aug. 22, 2019, Blakely has been out on $49,000 bond. His lawyers on Monday afternoon indicated they expected the same bond to keep him out of jail until his sentencing hearing.
In its objection to the defense request that bond be set, the state noted that it would be seeking prison time for Blakely at the sentencing hearing. If a custodial sentence is imposed by Baschab, the state noted, "there is no just reason to delay the start of that sentence so that he can be given credit for any time in custody."
Blakely, 70, was convicted of two Class B felonies, each of which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Several motions and responses have been filed by the defense and Attorney General's Office today. In one, Blakely's lawyers pointed to former Limestone County District Judge Doug Patterson as an example of why Blakely should be allowed to post bond.
Patterson, who pleaded guilty Oct. 30 to first-degree financial exploitation of the elderly, third-degree theft of property and use of official position or office for personal gain, was allowed to post bond pending his sentencing hearing. The Attorney General's Office prosecuted that case as well.
"Mr. Patterson was not immediately taken into custody," Blakely's lawyers wrote, and was allowed to remain free on bond until his Dec. 8 sentencing hearing.
The state responded that the key difference between Patterson and Blakely was that Patterson pleaded guilty, whereas Blakely's guilt was determined by a jury after 16 days of trial.
"It is no surprise then that Patterson remained free on bond pending his sentencing because he took responsibility for his actions and saved all parties and the county the expense of a trial," wrote Assistant Attorney General Kyle Beckman.
The 10-term sheriff who took office in 1983 was indicted Aug. 21, 2019, on 13 counts of theft and ethics violations. The charges arose from a referral by the Alabama Ethics Commission. The Attorney General's Office dismissed three of the counts, leaving nine felony and one misdemeanor counts.
The jury found Blakely not guilty on eight counts, including the misdemeanor.
He was found guilty of a $4,000 theft from his campaign committee. Evidence presented by the prosecutors indicated Blakely intentionally had his campaign treasurer overpay a political consultant and arranged with the consultant to issue a refund to Blakely. The political consultant, Trent Willis of Huntsville, delivered a signed, blank check to Blakely, who made it out to himself for $4,000 and deposited it in his personal account.
Blakely also was found guilty of using his office for personal gain. The evidence supporting this count came from Blakely's former jail clerk, Ramona Robinson. Robinson testified Blakely would routinely borrow money from a safe over which she had control that was used to hold inmate funds, and she would place an IOU in the safe each time.
Robinson said he would periodically give her a check on his personal account to settle the IOUs, but he frequently instructed her to hold the checks rather than depositing them. Robinson testified she would have feared for her job if she failed to hold the checks as instructed.
Another witness for the prosecution testified Blakely would have overdrawn his personal checking account if 19 of these checks — totaling $29,050 — had been cashed when issued, and that the checks were held without being deposited for up to 66 days.
"To be clear," Beckman wrote in opposing the former sheriff's bond, "Blakely is asking for a benefit that the people that he and his former deputies arrested would not receive in Limestone County if they went to trial and were convicted."
— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.
